Gateway, Alberta, 1911. The coming of the railroad to the Canadian Rockies has brought a parade of newcomers to the heavenly Bow Valley—climbers, coal miners, artists, scientists, runaway aristocrats and remittance men. Among the latter is the poacher Herbie Wishart, who arrived on a one-way ticket and has reinvented himself as a trail guide and teller of tall tales.

Herbie becomes outfitter for a fossil-hunting expedition headed by a prominent Washington, D.C., archaeologist. Rumours say that the findings of the secrecy-shrouded Hodgson expedition, as it comes to be known, could overturn all previous knowledge about early life forms. Brought along to help in the quarry for the summer are Hodgson’s adult children, mopey Humphrey and the captivating Isabel, with whom Herbie strikes up a campside alliance. But when an early snowstorm hits and trailside grudges come to a head, the expedition mysteriously disappears. The tragedy threatens to stain the Rocky Mountain park’s reputation just as its newly elected government overseers begin to sell the pristine Canadian wilderness to the world. Despite all efforts from that year on to solve, or bury, the mystery, the disappearance will haunt Gateway, and define the futures of Herbie Wishart and his stubbornly female descendants.

This was a very entertaining and good read. It gave us an insight into how Canadian National Parks came to be and the effect first the Railroads and later cars have had on the life of people living in Gateway. We follow Herbie Wishart through his life and how his life ends up being forever more connected to the Hodgsons. I did like the way it was written year by year - interspersed with chapters from 2011 told by his descendants . A proper family saga which I enjoyed a lot

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Caught at the Old Gang meet up. Thank you!

This was a really engaging tale about the aftermath of the disappearance of a group of people in rural Canada. It kept me guessing right until the end about what had really happened. I really wanted to know what would happen to everyone in the following years, and loved the glimpses of the future lives of Herbie's family.
Thanks for sharing this one kinedi, it was a good one!

Set free at the Old gang meet up. Happy reading!

I enjoyed this although I was disappointed that there weren't more chapters about the three sisters (the women, not the mountains) and the ending was a bit odd/borderline creepy! A good read though and a different and interesting setting.

Released at Old Gang meet up at Edinburgh Book Festival.