Following high school graduation in the summer of 1974, I took a trip around the western U.S. and parts of Canada with my friends David and Jeff. We climbed several mountains and did lots of hiking.
The Watergate scandal was at its height. I was anti-Nixon, David was pro-Nixon, and apolitical Jeff was exasperated, joining whichever side of the argument seemed most entertaining at the instant. We argued and bickered incessantly.
Forty four years ago today, at beautiful Lake Louise in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies, we learned from hikers that Nixon was resigning. We hurriedly returned to the lodge there, and tried to locate a TV, but there weren’t any: TV signals from Calgary couldn’t penetrate the steep glacial valley. Instead, we watched Canadians station themselves at trailheads and inform out-of-touch American hikers of the news, and listened to the whoops of joy. The thrilled Canadians just grinned.
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