Canada D'eh!

To celebrate Canada Day, my occasional housemates Kara and Stephen suggested we go for a hike in our neck of the woods. I thought that was a dandy idea. My knee has been doing well since I've stopped running/biking for the past 7 weeks so hiking has been an option again. On Tuesday Kara and I did a mini hike up Teapot and my knee was fine so we gassed up the 4X4 and headed off to Mt. Cheam on July 1st.

Super crazy logging road to the trail head, but the nice thing was not having to slog through the miles and miles of dense forest to start getting some views. Still plenty of snow around in the alpine we enjoyed amazing views of the Fraser Valley, the Fraser River, Mt. Baker and even Harrison Lake from the summit. On the way up we came across a couple in their 70's on their way down, the husband had a giant Canadian flag tied to his pack like a cape and they were all smiles and 'HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!' as they passed.

I feel like I have been trying to memorize all of these moments like stills in my mind for those times when I am homesick in Ireland. I am wanting to hold on to these last few days in the lower mainland, cherish them. My dogsitting/housesitting all week in Whistler has been a bittersweet time as I love the people, food, landscape, and recreation that surrounds me here. It is a perfect reminder of all of the things I will be giving up for the next, oh, decade. Wish I knew what propelled this desire to keep moving forward. Sometimes it doesn't seem like I am moving forward, just constantly in a new direction.

Life Actually

Two weekends ago James, Verena, Aaron, Simone, unborn child (currently residing in Simone) and I went on a weekend jaunt to the mountains near Nakusp. It was a great way to come down from the stress of the last month, er...months, er... year...

I am useless when it comes to knowing where I am, knowing what to pack, knowing what plants could kill me, knowing if I should drink the water or not...this is where James and Verena really came in handy.

They did the map reading.

Okay, we all make mistakes.

Still looking for the trail head...

Eventually we did find it. And we were off. There were many jokes made regarding my poor packing abilities, as demonstrated by the multitude of things hanging off of my pack. Really, it had nothing to do with trying to be cool looking (though I did wish I would have brought an ice screw to hang off the side of my pack, just in case...) No, it was more to do with the fact that once the snow pants, down jacket, rain gear, sleeping bag, spare runners, and food were in, there was little room left for the tent and extra food divvied up at the last minute...Laugh all you want, I DID get an "A" in PE James!!! :)

I think this was James pointing out my ability to build a spacious lean-to with only twigs and moss...

Observe, Newlyus weddus.
Rarely seen in captivity. Though do seem to thrive in National Parks.
Often try to blend with surroundings whilst eating their prey...

More pointing.

We did get some great views...

Okay...you get the drift.

Just one more...

Efficient wood collection.

Okay, I'll stop now for real.

Simone in her racy rain gear. Meeeaaoowww!

We didn't let the cold temperatures and rain keep us from rockin' out (or rather, folkin' out).

Ahhh..down jackets under rain jackets...are we in BC?

We sort of dropped the ball on the fact that it was the long weekend and the ferry would likely take forever...but...the long line didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves.

Another roadside attraction.
(And a chance to dry the orthotics.)

Verena's violin carried down to the water, serenading near and far.

Fin.