Prairie Mountain (Story of the Tea)

It’s the middle of February. I shouldn’t be hiking up a mountain in Kananaskis. 

Thanks to climate change and good old Mother Nature, that’s exactly what I did on Sunday. I was joined by Rachel and Robyn (and half the City of Calgary). 

We decided to summit Prairie Mountain. Last weekend we had bumped into Harold at Cinnamon Spoon in Bragg Creek. He had just finished for the day on the mountain. Ding. Ding Ding. Plans for next weekend? Decided. 

We were not alone. Cars were lined up for at least a kilometre from the winter gates. Robyn had been up Prairie before so we took her lead. 

Our trek began with a fast climb through switchbacks. It’s not a long hike – 3K or so – but it is steep. The theme of the day would be vertical! 

I love climbing but I love downhills even more. Surprisingly I wasn’t feeling much burn. I was just so pumped to be on a mountain in February! 

We bumped into Harold and his friends on the mountain twice. He was up and down three times. I’d like to come back when the ice is gone for more serious training. It’s such a short hike that it seems a waste to do only once. 

The first half was dry with patches of snow and ice here and there. We navigated around the slick ice as best as we could until we were forced to put on some traction.  

We came across a group of hikers who were putting on spikes so we quickly followed suit. Thank goodness we did because it was all slick uphill for the last quarter of the hike. 

We made it to the summit! The panoramic views are stunning. We had a super fun day talking about just about everything. It’s so nice to speak to like-minded humans with good sense of humours. (I say this because they laugh at my jokes!) Seriously great day to be surrounded by so much positivity and energy.

BEST TEA EVER

The story of the day had to be the tea. So remember those hikers who were putting on their traction? Well I quickly became their official photographer as they posed by the Canadian flag. Rachel and Robyn were having a snack and trying to keep warm while I chatted away and asked 100 questions. 

It turns out the Calgary-based hikers (all 12 of them) had summited Prairie three times this year. They were speaking Farsi, which piqued my interest. (I love speaking to people from different countries) If I remember correctly, one man said they worked at Syncrude. They were originally from Iran. 

Anyway getting to the tea …. the group was sitting down with a picnic lunch and drinking out of a thermos. A few feet away, Rachel was trying to get the feeling back in her fingers and Robyn was eating some tasty sweet potatoes. I was snapping photos and embracing the mountain air. 

I looked over at the group and asked what they were drinking. Tea, they said. Suddenly three of them held up a thermos and asked if I wanted a mug. Not one to be rude, I ran over and accepted a cup. It really hit the spot.

Suddenly Rachel and Robyn were at my side laughing hysterically and reaching for my tea. 

I don’t know why I laughed so hard. I think it was the two of them – shocked that I was sipping tea with a group of strangers. I bet this group thought we were nuts because we were laughing like idiots. Hikers are generally good humans. I’ve had many experiences of hiking in other countries where I shared food with strangers. It’s lovely.

I was not feeling the ice on the way down. So I did what I usually do – slid down on my butt. Poles would have helped but mine were in the Versa’s trunk. I didn’t want to risk breaking anything so on my butt I went. 

We had such a fabulous day. I haven’t laughed so hard in a very long time. I can’t wait to get back to Prairie when the snow and ice are gone. 

EXTRA PHOTO