Thursday was Canada Day. If you have been following my blog long enough, you will know my tradition is to summit a mountain carrying either the Canadian or my rainbow coloured peace flag.
This year for obvious reasons, I left the Canadian flag at home.
It took some convincing but I managed to rope Lisa and Barry into joining me in my quest to summit Mt. Allan/Centennial Ridge. We were still in the middle of a heat wave so I understood their hesitation. Our plan was to meet at 7 a.m. sharp at the Ribbon Creek parking lot. I wanted to meet earlier but these two are not fans of early mornings.
So imagine my surprise when I drove into the parking lot at 6:58 a.m. to see the duo waiting for me. I was really flustered that they were waiting. Usually I am the person waiting, which I absolutely loathe. Not wanting to keep them waiting any longer, I quickly grabbed my gear and finished off my morning coffee (first mistake).
This is one of my favourite hikes in the area for two reasons: The first climb of switchbacks is tough and the imposing rock garden. It can be a tough hike for some people but it is well worth the effort. Parts of the trail is closed every year to allow the wildlife to roam freely.
As I mentioned the heat wave was still in full force in the region. Thankfully the heat didn’t affect us for the first few kilometres. We were still in the trees so we soaked up the shade. It wasn’t until we started navigating the switchbacks that I started to feel slightly off.
I realized as Barry was gleefully powering up the hills and I was staggering at the end of the conga line my big, stupid mistake. Instead of gulping water before I hit the road I was trying to wake up with cups of coffee. I don’t even think I drank a full cup before I locked my Qashqai and trotted down the trail.
Funny because all week I kept telling friends to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.
Once I realized my mistake, I drank and drank from my hydration pack. I was careful not to drink too much because I knew it was going to be a long day. By the time, we reached the rock garden, the fogginess had cleared and I resumed the bounce in my step.
Hot day, no doubt. But it was not as hot as we anticipated. Thankfully when it got too hot, a gentle breeze would cool us off. It was a quiet morning. We had only seen two men at the rock garden. Later we would catch up with them and chat at the summit.
We spent a good half hour hanging out and snapping pictures at the rock garden. This was Barry’s first time approaching Mt. Allan from this side so he quite enjoyed the garden. I went up with Lisa last year so she knew what was in store.
The last push to the summit of Mt. Allan was hot as heck. Thankfully it was cool at the top. We talked to the two men – who turned out to be father and son. They were pretty personable and interesting. It’s always so much fun to chat with people at the summit especially on Canada Day.
On our way down, I was given a lecture by this man in a full body suit about skin cancer. That was fun.
Great day despite my mishap with the water intake. It could have been worse but I am glad I had enough water to get me through the day. This is what happens when I get frazzled, I quickly forget everything. Great company too. I always have “interesting” conversations with Barry. I learned on this hike that he is about 62 not the 65+ I had pegged him for. Oops!
I am glad Lisa made it out too – despite what she considers the early start. After the hike, we soaked our feet in the river by the parking lot. Truly it was a perfect way to end a Canada Day in the mountains.
How was your Canada Day? Did you do anything fun? I would love to hear from you in the comments below.