Tales Around the Bonfire: Lawrence
Growing up in Bowmanville, ON. I never really knew about or cared for the mountains. Mainly because I had never seen them or experienced the high you get when you are surrounded by them until I moved to Alberta a few years back. I have always had a passion for being outside, in nature, hiking, four wheeling and just getting away from reality, the 9-5 and the drama that comes with civilization. But I never knew I would become so hooked and even more passionate about the great outdoors until the first time I laid eyes on the mountains. I literally go through withdrawal if I haven't been in the mountains for a couple of weeks. When you go for a walk in the woods, it's just you, your own thoughts and the beauty of nature around you putting you back in the right state of mind.
Leading up to this hike (The Lady Macdonald trail, the town in the background is Canmore, AB) we checked out the weather. All conditions were perfect. So we had to take advantage of that. I got my day pack ready, grabbed my Easton hockey stick and loaded up. (Honestly, the shaft of a wooden hockey stick is perfect for hiking. Put that shaft to good use and use it for hiking rather than throwing it out). All I need is some maple syrup on this hike to make it super Canadian!
So my friends and I pack up and set out to cougar creek to push ourselves to the limits. Just like in life, to get where you are going, there will be obstacles in the way to get you out of your comfort zone and force you to decide, do I keep going or do I quit and turn back?
Right from the beginning we met our first obstacle, a curious wolf. We got stuck with the decision do we keep going or do we head back? We decided to keep going. We kept an eye out on the wolf. It stalked us for a good 15 minutes until we stopped, turned and just sat there watching him until he left us alone. With that out of the way, we encountered obstacle two; an uphill battle the whole way to the top. You never know how hard you will go to get to the top of that mountain until you're in a situation like this. You're drenched in sweat, and your legs, butt, and lower back are aching. You're getting more and more dehydrated by the second. You're so hungry! But you don't care. You want to see the beauty of what this fine country I am proud to call home holds at the top of that mountain! You want to stop but you can't. You know you're getting closer and closer with every step. Then you get to the top and you get this high and all of that pain and being so tired and thirsty and hungry suddenly becomes more than worth it in a split second. You sit there in disbelief on how beautiful that view is. It just seems so surreal and you feel so small yet so big at the same time. There is so many mixed emotions going on to handle and you don't want to leave this moment. You want to make it last forever. I will do this over and over until the day I die because to me there is nothing more beautiful than this country that I live in and I want to explore every part of it while the sun is still up.
So, it's sadly time to hike back down the mountain feeling fully satisfied but very disappointed that you have to leave that view. With a day well spent we head back into town and treat ourselves with a nice cup of coffee from Tim Hortons and a beaver tail!
I miss my family and friends back home in Ontario but I love it when they come visit me in Alberta. I get to show them my life out here and they get to experience what life is like in Alberta and seeing that look on their faces the first time they see the mountains, is priceless.
The caption I have for this photo on my Instagram really describes this photo best because it is exactly how I feel every time I am hiking. "In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seek"
-John Muir -
Leading up to this hike (The Lady Macdonald trail, the town in the background is Canmore, AB) we checked out the weather. All conditions were perfect. So we had to take advantage of that. I got my day pack ready, grabbed my Easton hockey stick and loaded up. (Honestly, the shaft of a wooden hockey stick is perfect for hiking. Put that shaft to good use and use it for hiking rather than throwing it out). All I need is some maple syrup on this hike to make it super Canadian!
So my friends and I pack up and set out to cougar creek to push ourselves to the limits. Just like in life, to get where you are going, there will be obstacles in the way to get you out of your comfort zone and force you to decide, do I keep going or do I quit and turn back?
Right from the beginning we met our first obstacle, a curious wolf. We got stuck with the decision do we keep going or do we head back? We decided to keep going. We kept an eye out on the wolf. It stalked us for a good 15 minutes until we stopped, turned and just sat there watching him until he left us alone. With that out of the way, we encountered obstacle two; an uphill battle the whole way to the top. You never know how hard you will go to get to the top of that mountain until you're in a situation like this. You're drenched in sweat, and your legs, butt, and lower back are aching. You're getting more and more dehydrated by the second. You're so hungry! But you don't care. You want to see the beauty of what this fine country I am proud to call home holds at the top of that mountain! You want to stop but you can't. You know you're getting closer and closer with every step. Then you get to the top and you get this high and all of that pain and being so tired and thirsty and hungry suddenly becomes more than worth it in a split second. You sit there in disbelief on how beautiful that view is. It just seems so surreal and you feel so small yet so big at the same time. There is so many mixed emotions going on to handle and you don't want to leave this moment. You want to make it last forever. I will do this over and over until the day I die because to me there is nothing more beautiful than this country that I live in and I want to explore every part of it while the sun is still up.
So, it's sadly time to hike back down the mountain feeling fully satisfied but very disappointed that you have to leave that view. With a day well spent we head back into town and treat ourselves with a nice cup of coffee from Tim Hortons and a beaver tail!
I miss my family and friends back home in Ontario but I love it when they come visit me in Alberta. I get to show them my life out here and they get to experience what life is like in Alberta and seeing that look on their faces the first time they see the mountains, is priceless.
The caption I have for this photo on my Instagram really describes this photo best because it is exactly how I feel every time I am hiking. "In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seek"
-John Muir -