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Lynn Canyon & the 90-foot pool
Posted by Michael Klassen on June 28, 2006 in Vancouver
Yet another story about a kid being pulled out of the icy waters of Lynn Canyon. Luckily, this one was alive when they rescued him.
As someone who made regular visits to North Vancouver's Lynn Canyon for over 20 years, the yearly stories of young bodies being pulled out of Lynn Creek never surprise me.
My buddy Drew and I made swimming down the gorge an annual rite. As much as we wanted to dive in during July, I knew that it was a bad idea. I remember going up one summer for a swim down the gorge (the gorge is the stretch upstream from the 30-foot pool). We hiked up the stairs, past the water pipe bridge and climbed down to the edge of a rushing Lynn Creek.
OMG, it was cold. And the water was pounding down. Drew harangued me and told me to go for it. Sorry, it was too cold and obviously dangerous, so we bailed. If I was younger and stupider (I was in my 30s when we did this), I might have tried.
I got too old and wise to continue the Lynn swims and cliff jumping. Getting married and becoming a dad were important factors.
I wish more kids would be careful in Lynn Creek, but I confess the water, the cliffs and the adventure are hard to resist. Thankfully there are a lot of big signs erected to warn people not to take the risks, and the park staff do their best to stop open liquor and drug use.
As someone who has been up at Lynn many, many times, my best advice is to stay away from the dreaded 90-foot pool, and don't bother swimming the gorge until the water levels go down in August. You'll live longer to reminisce about it like me.
Tagged: growing up, lynn canyon, north shore, north vancouver
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