Petra has been our hut custodian at Kokanee Glacier Cabin since 2021. During that time, she has developed an intimate understanding of the park and the area surrounding the cabin. Lucky for us, she also has a remarkable talent for writing and illustration!
In 2021, Petra released her first book, In the Alpine, which takes readers through her first summer at Kokanee Glacier Cabin. The book features her daily journal filled with thoughts and sketches that brilliantly capture mountain life in the Kootenays, the park’s sublime beauty, and the gradual shift of seasons—from spring to high summer to autumn.
Of course, no two seasons are ever the same. Further in the Alpine—the second illustrated journal of Kokanee Park—is a continuation of Petra’s impressions. Through words and drawings, she reflects on her encounters with the park’s wild residents, its visitors, and her own human vulnerability, offering an intimate glimpse into life in the alpine.
Both books are sold at Kokanee Glacier Cabin as a fundraiser for the Friends of West Kootenay Parks ($30, cash only). Not going there anytime soon? Online sales will also help support this non-profit organization.
During my first season working in Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park I started journalling. It was born of a deep love for the alpine, and my desire to express this love in the form of art. Making visual art has been my happy place since I was a child; call it my love language. Every day that I lived and worked in Kokanee Glacier Park in 2021, I made illustrations in my journal. I wrote next to these drawings for the memories of it.
Pausing, observing and exploring every detail of something I treasure turned out to be more valuable for me than I could have ever imagined. And not only for me, because what I have learned since is that it has been meaningful for others too. I published that first journal after some encouragement, and still feel humbled by the responses that I continue to receive.
During my second work season I knew I wouldn’t have as much free time, so I decided not to journal. It turned out that my days weren’t the same without keeping my journal; they had less value somehow. It was almost as if I was less present in the Park altogether. I ended up journalling on the occasional day, still carrying my pen and notebook with me on the trails, but by the end of the season I only had a handful of entries.
My third season at Kokanee Glacier Park approached. Could I journal again? I was now an active board member of the Slocan Lake Arts Council, which I knew would take up most of my free time. Our responsibilities in the park had also gotten bigger, with our roles changed from park ambassadors to park operators. My work season started, and I journalled on my second and third day in the Park, still unsure about what to do. I skipped journalling for the next two days, and it just didn’t feel right. I realized that I was longing for my journal, for that deeper connection with my surroundings, no matter how full my days might be.
So here we are! Two journals, same person, same concept, same pen, same alpine, same job. Yet it didn’t turn out to be the same, keeping this second journal has been very different indeed.
We tend to repeat things that we love, and we might expect the experience to be similar too. But is it ever? Three years ago I saw a grizzly at a pond near Kokanee Glacier Cabin. I still walk almost daily by that pond, and each time when I approach it I expect to see that bear again. I haven’t of course, but I can’t stop myself from wanting to relive that beautiful experience. Then, some years later, I saw a porcupine as I came to the pond. Different, but wonderful. My first journal is the grizzly, this second journal the porcupine.
Journaling this year wasn’t the same as before. Things change; I’ve changed. The Park, on the other hand, is still as beautiful as always. To me, everything makes sense up there; it is pure and simple. The alpine is my safe haven in times of doubt.
This season while journalling, I noticed that some real-life challenges started to encroach into my words on the page. Yet the illustrations grounded me; they allowed me to live in the moment and connect with my surroundings. I couldn’t always find the time for my journal during the day, so I solved this by taking photographs in moments that I would have liked to pause and draw. Later at night in the cabin I would then draw from that photograph and relive the moment. These illustrations often have more detail as a result, since I wasn’t limited by my minimal tolerance for mosquitoes, starting rain, new arriving guests, freezing hands, or outhouses waiting to be cleaned. Admittedly, it did make for some shorter sleeps. Staying loyal to my journal, also through the challenging days, enabled me to keep seeing the wonders and beauty around me, to stay in touch with myself and nature, and to continue to be inspired.
I feel incredibly grateful for all my time spent in nature and for those moments in which I paused, drew, and wrote. This second journal is a work of dedication—to the arts, to the alpine, and to the pursuit of our passions. I hope that it may serve as an inspiration for others.
Thank you, Kokanee, for all you are.
In love with nature, Petra moved from The Netherlands to New Denver, BC in 2015. For the last four years she has been working with joy for the ACC at Kokanee Glacier Cabin as a hut keeper and park operator.
Her other big passion is the arts. Not only is Petra an artist herself, in the last years she has been an active volunteer board member of the Slocan Lake Arts Council, organizing and supporting events and workshops for her remote community.
Petra self-published her first illustrated journal In the Alpine – an illustrated journal of Kokanee Park in 2022. Since then, line drawings have been her artistic focus, although her water-coloured Holiday Cards have become a real hit in the stores too!
Aside from hand-illustrations, Petra explores landscape photography and short film. Her short film “In your Mind’s Eye – Moods of Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park” won the first price at the North Valley Mountain Film Festival in 2022! And you never know with her, any time now she might be travelling across the world again to build another playground, since her roots lie in public space design.
Visit www.petrahekkenberg.com or follow Petra on Instagram to see more of her work. You can also follow Petra on Facebook to see if she might be coming to your area with her artwork. Her self-publication of Further in the Alpine was made possible with a Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance (CKCA) grant from the West Kootenay Regional Arts Council.
We’ve had a busy few weeks with several major events that took months of planning. If you blinked and missed any of it, here’s a convenient round-up to enjoy!
The State of the Mountains Report is a commitment by the ACC to provide accessible, current, and accurate information about the forces that affect Canadian mountain places, ecosystems, and communities.
Art is important to the way we understand our outdoor spaces – it inspires us to get out and protect the places we play in. We’ve gathered a variety of work that instills that feeling and we’re proud to highlight our art and book supporters for the Summit Bid.
We appreciate that the lands known today as Canada are home to the enduring presence of all First Nations and Métis people, and the Inuit and we acknowledge the past, present, and future generations of these Nations who continue to lead us in stewarding this land, as well as honour their knowledge and cultural ties to this place. The Alpine Club of Canada’s head office is located in the traditional lands of Treaty 7, which is comprised of the Stoney Nakoda Nations of Wesley, Chiniki, and Bearspaw; three Nations of the Blackfoot Confederacy: the Piikani, Kainai, and Siksika; the Mountain Cree; and the Tsuu T’ina of the Dene people. This territory is also shared with the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region III. Before the signing of Treaty 7, and prior to the establishment of provincial boundaries, this region was also used by the Ktunaxa and the Maskwacis people.
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