Oh, my legs…
My legs are burning… I really gave them a workout today…
Went up the the Stawamus Chief in Squamish yesterday, with Joyee and Elise, and it was just the most perfect day for it… Bright blue skies, and the sun was shining on the land. It definitely felt like the earth was in some sort of rebirth. All the snow and ice was melting, the trees shaking off their long winter slumber, shaking off the boughs of accumulated grey-green lichen. Some of the shrubs were starting to bud, as if sensing the fertility in the air… You can just feel the power of nature, as if alive, as it plays out the endless cycles of death and rebirth. Nature slowly turning on the switch to let the world know it’s time to live again, after the long winter.
I woke up that morning, not feeling up to hiking at ALL… but I knew that if i didn’t go, I would definitely regret it, as I would probably just spend my day at the computer job hunting.
I’ll admit that at certain times, I was just about to throw in the towel, like when I saw the chains bolted to the rock, and realized that I would have to grab the chain and basically pull my way up that slippery rock slope. And it was when I grabbed camera, and let my lens cap slip out of my hands that I knew I just had to go on… I watched it hit the rock slope, bounce once, and start to roll faster and faster until it disappeared from my view.
Honestly if you lose your lens cap to your camera, you can’t just give up… you’ve gotta put the pedal to the metal and make sure you have something to show for it…
It was spectacular up there at the top of Second Peak. All you could see was the snow-capped mountains surrounding you, the marauding clouds cresting on the mountain ridge, and the brown square shades of civilization far below.
And on the drive back, was the stunning view of the mountains, layered in fading shades of coniferous island forests, a landscape carved by the glacial forces of long ago. The smell of temperate rainforests crisp and fresh, permeating the inner sanctums of my being.
It’s experiences like this that really makes you feel alive, and make you want to fight to keep this beauty alive in the world, and let the rhythm of nature run its course.