The Best/The Worst

My least favourite part of hiking - the ups! Going up is painful and tiring. You can hear my groan, when I see that the trail leads up, for miles. I huff and I puff and I struggle when there is an up.

My most favourite part of hiking - the ups! After all the agony of the climb, getting to the top and knowing that I conquered the hill is exhilarating! I love it. 

Considering most of my hiking so far and for the 

foreseeable future, will be in the mountains and foothills, it's a good thing that I have found something about up that I enjoy!

This weekend we visited family in Golden, BC in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. On Saturday we packed up and drove for about half an hour (or less) to Cedar Lake which houses the Moonraker Trail System! We spent a fun couple of hours traipsing through the bush and conquering lots of up. There was even a rope to swing on but no one was brave enough to let go and swim in the lake. Likely the best choice considering the falling snow - the dog enjoyed the water, though.

There are over 50km of trails in the Moonraker System.

The day use area.

Cedar Lake 1

Singin' In the Rain

The weather has been conspiring against me these last few weeks - I guess spring was only fooling. It shouldn't hold me back but does for a couple of reasons:

1. I am a wuss - I like to be warm and dry and outside when the weather is fair
2. I don't have the clothing or equipment I should have to be able to hike comfortably and safely in inclement weather

Today, though, I decided to brave the rain and try a short, easy wander that I had heard about. Also I was babysitting my 18 month old grandson so his abilities had to be taken into consideration. After layering up, we headed out to Fish Creek Provincial Park in Calgary to tackle the Mallard Point Loop. 

Tackle ended up being an optimistic word. Instead I meandered about 100 metres up the trail while Grandbaby splashed and toddled and enjoyed. By the time we got to the point of almost not being able to see the parking lot any more, he was soaked through and it was time to go home. Still an enjoyable bit of time and I will for sure be taking him back to actually finish the loop when the weather clears up. What we saw of it was lovely.

Step One

'A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.' (Lao Tzu) And so my journey begins. I have always wanted to be a hiker but have never taken the first step. Saturday, I began my journey. The hikes I want to be involved in are hours and hours long, to summits with thrilling views. The hikes I am currently in shape for are rated easy and mostly not resplendent with views to swell the heart. That's OK. That's my first step. Now that I have taken it, I am on the road to my thousand mile journey.  My fist hike was the ever popular Diamond T. It is a 4 km (2.5 mile) loop in Kananaskis. Still very icy - Yak Trax necessary - but so beautiful. The smells of pine and spruce; the wind in my hair/face/ears/lots of wind! It made me so happy.   My plan now? Easy hikes in town and in the mountains until the spring really arrives in June-ish. Then I hope to move up to moderate but I am making myself a promise not to hold myself to impossible standards. If I am still only hiking easy trails, that's OK. I will move on to moderate when I am ready and then to difficult and I will be hiking those summits with amazing views in my own time. As my Mom always says 'the time will pass anyway. You may as well be progressing while you wait for it to pass.' I have let 50 years pass wanting to be a hiker. My plan is to live to be 100 years old and for the next 50 years I will be a hiker!