I'm feeling a bit pensive after a wonderful hike, so if you're not up to my philosophical malarky, feel free to skim the following! Otherwise, enjoy the rambling, indirect ride through my brain and my life!
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So, right on schedule, I did my Friday afternoon hike up Grouse Mountain today. It was a sunny but chilly day, which actually made for nice conditions in the forest during the hike.
For those of you that don't know Grouse Mountain and, particularly, the "hike" that I do called the Grouse Grind, it is, by far, the most strenuous hiking I have done save for one summit over Glissade Pass in the Tombstone Mountain range in the Yukon with a 60lb pack. Otherwise, it's definitely the hardest.
The incline is tremendous. It's a very physically, and mentally, exhausting trek up.
That's why I love it. It is so difficult sometimes.
And every time I get to the top, the thrill is no less than the last time.
There's a sense of empowerment that comes with acheiving difficult tasks.
Plus, the view is stellar too.
I could live up there.
Three minutes in, as usual, I was huffing and puffing and planning my pace. The moment you step foot on the trail it is UP and it continues, steeper and steeper upward for three kilometers. I was hoping to beat a sour time I had done last week: 1 hour, 7 minutes. At the trailhead, right before I began, as I adjusted my bladder pack, stretched, and tested my double knots, a far superior athlete (I could tell by his build and his super-cool gear) started off. Anxious to beat my time from last week and come in under an hour, which would qualify me as being better than just so-so on this hike, I quickly started the steep ascent behind this guy.
Of course, his pace was way faster than mine. And although I proudly stayed with him for a good twenty minutes, I quickly faded by the half way point and ended up throwing up by a lovely cedar. (Mom, don't worry. That's just a sign that I pushed myself! And pushing yourself is a good thing! I swear! But then I learned my lesson and stopped pushing myself that hard. So you can rest assured that I still have my wits about me and that the mountain air isn't getting to me... too much!)
Anyhow, not feeling too fantastic post-throw-up, I lightened my pace and the über-athlete hiked up and into the distance.
At first, I was disappointed. Then I realized that (1) this is not a race and (2) I was here for the experience and the work out and the love of nature. It's not about an ordinate of time.
Still, I kept a pace I was proud of.
I had my iPod, which I find essential on this hike. Because it is so strenuous, everyone is huffing and puffing so loud that you're convinced that everyone's lungs will pop out of their chests at any minute! I don't like to hear myself breathe hard. It reminds me that I am tired. So, today, I blocked out the auditory exhaustion with Michael Jackson's Bad, Madonna's Material girl, Beyoncé's Independent Woman, and other powerfully-lyriced, fist-pumping good tunes. Pearl Jam helped me get past the three-quarter mark. Some Aimee Mann calmed me through some tricky acents. Depeche Mode gave my stride some groove. I even had a little Rush in there for good measure. (actually, I put on my iPod just last night to see what all a friend's fuss was about). It helped me keep it real.
Thank goodness for music. I came home and danced in the living room to Sunshine State, Ben Harper, and INXS. A nice after-hike stretch!
But back to the hike...
As I crested the final few rocks to the summit, which are covered in about an inch or two of flowing water from the melting snow cap, James Blunt's song "You're beautiful" came on my iPod. (To be more fitting, it should have been: "You're sweaty and disgusting" but "beautiful" works...)
I caught my breath and let the cool air reduce the redness in my freckly face. I made a snow angel in the snow.
"My life is brilliant" is the first line of that song.
And it was very fitting that he sang it out at the very moment I made it to the top.
Why?
Because my life *IS* brilliant.
And this moment atop a mountain in BC, with nothing but my own perserverence, my personal thoughts, and my ambitions in my company, is just one of the many reasons why things are so swell. Why life is a pretty great thing for me.
I smiled and mosied over to take in the fantastic view of Vancouver, the ocean, and the wild abyss beyond. It's really quite a lovely view. The world is a much more beautiful place than you realize sometimes. Moments like this make me feel like a little speck in a much bigger universe.
I started thinking:
I just hiked up the face of a mountain. I can do that. Life is swell. This mountain (and many others) are twenty minutes from my house. I can explore whenever I want. That's a gift.
But now I'm getting all philosophical, and that wasn't really the point.
The point is: James Blunt echoed what I've been thinking lately: Life is brilliant.
I've surely had a few ups and downs, most noteably the wrenching pangs of homesickness. I miss seeing my nephew grow up. I miss hugging my dad. I miss long talks with mom. I miss my brothers making fun of me (oh wait... they still do. I don't miss that at all!) I miss weekend visits at the farm. I miss seeing Trevor's garden grow. I miss my friends. I miss Friday nights at the Queens Head. I miss dinners at the Szimanskis. I miss Lake Ontario (it's true! Crazy, I know!). I miss the Starbucks guy with the British accent who always knew that I wanted a Tall non-fat extra-hot caramel macchiato and always prepared with a smile and a "cheers".
As much as I yearn for these things, I realize that life is so much bigger. And that I know I will have these things again. And I know that my family and friends are behind me 100%. they always have been. I'm a lucky girl.
So where am I going with all this? (I'm a tangent-taker, you all know this by now!)
Here's the thing: My grams, who is an athletic inspiration and who teaches water aerobics and walks and cycles at age 80, always believed and has told me many times that if you've got legs, you might as well use them. The idea, of course, is that one day they might not work so well... might as well take advantage now!
Of course, learning to take this advice to heart has taken me some time as I fought through years of chubbiness and anguish and believing myself incapable of things just because someone said that I couldn't do it.
And now? Why I hike mountains in the afternoon. I kick butt at bootcamp as the sun rises in the morning. I run along the ocean with the cool breeze in my face. I'm learning to kayak. I cycle 80k with ease (well, *relative* ease). I compete in races. I have my own company. I love my work and I do good work. I have a dog whose adoration I try every day to be worthy of. I have GREAT friends. I have a fantastic family. I've got oodles of support from everyone. And I have so many more things left to conquer. Shaving some time off summiting Grouse is just one small notch in my belt (by the way, I made it in 58:04. Woohoo!)
Big or small, an afternoon hike up Grouse Mountain or a Patagonian summit, I can't wait for what life has in store for me next!
Life is brilliant, isn't it?
Big time.
