lessons learned on the trail

Some of my favourite hiking I have ever done has been in beautiful British Columbia. There is something about the mountains that energizes me. I am reminded of just how small we really are in the world. And how rooted in the land our history is. Every step on the trail is different as it weaves through the towering trees, past lakes, rivers and sprays of cold glacial water. The mountains are both beautiful and harsh with constant reminders of how fragile life can be.

Several years ago, I was with a very good friend of mine for a girl’s getaway weekend in the Rockies. It was mid-June and still early hiking season in the mountains. Some trails were still snow covered while others were closed because of bear activity. We consulted with the local Parks Canada office and the original hike we had planned was closed due to avalanche risk. Instead, they recommended a hike a little further south in Kootenay National Park. It promised to be a difficult 6-hour loop with a 1055 m elevation gain that would have us climb up to spectacular alpine vistas and back down beside the Sinclair Creek. This sounded perfect to us. Off we set to the trailhead.

We were a little later setting out than we would have liked but with it being close to the summer solstice we knew we would have light until 10pm which would leave us plenty of time (in theory!). We were prepared with maps and trail guides, a GPS, lots of food and water, layers of clothing and bear spray. This was going to be epic!

My friend was in much better shape than I as she zipped up the trail while I huffed and puffed and sweated like crazy behind her. The trail started in the trees and wound its way up. And up. And up. And, wait … up some more. I was having moments of what the fuck had I gotten myself into. But I started to find my groove and was rewarded after about an hour and a half of hiking when the trail opened up to a wide-open view of to the mountains. We continued our ascent climbing past the treeline where the trail opened into a spectacular alpine meadow. I felt like I was on top of the world. We navigated a narrow path along the side of the peak and had a moment at the top celebrating and taking pictures. The wind was blowing and it was near 0 degrees at the top but we made it!

As we paused at the summit I was pretty tired but was looking forward to pointing my legs downhill - my quads and calves were killing from the climb up. Our map and trail guide directed us to follow the treeline for about 15 minutes at which point we would drop into the forest and the main trail would start again. Except we couldn’t find the trail. There was no cairn or trailmarker as we had expected. We had gone too far to retrace our steps so we continued down the mountain knowing we needed to connect with with Sinclair Creek to find the trail and lead us out to the road. By now we were pretty nervous. Not only were we lost but there was tons of bear scat and we had seen three sets of fresh bear tracks. We were in grizzly country and I felt like they were all around us.

Once we connected with the “creek” (more like a river in places) we followed it downstream hopping from side to side and bushwhacking our way through. There was no trail. We were going on instinct using our compass and marking our GPS points to keep track. At one point, we came to a canyon where the rocks rose high above the edge of the creek. The only way around was to climb up and over navigating mossy rocks and unsure footing. I don’t know what I would have done without my friend at this point. Getting to the other side of the canyon had left me feeling spent but she told me to buck up and keep moving. It was now 8pm and we were rapidly running out of daylight. It was a weird moment to realize that the only way off the trail was ourselves. No one was coming to rescue us. And it was getting dark. We had to push on and find the path again.

Push on we did. The bush whacking was crazy. Jumping over brush, breaking down paths as we went. I was soaked. My legs were cut and bruised. I was covered in mud but amazingly my body found another gear. I found the energy to keep going. I could only think of moving forward. And then we came around a corner and, like a blinking beacon, the trail appeared. Screaming with joy we quickly moved down the path while blowing our whistles, singing and making lots of noise so we wouldn’t surprise the grizzlies we knew were lurking close by in the woods. It was about 930pm at this point and, in the trees, the light was dim. We finally made it back to the highway where we were able to hitchhike the remaining 1.5 km to our car.

We had done it! It was an 11-hour day. At times, we didn’t think we would find our way but we did. We had the mental fortitude to persist and found another gear physically to propel us forward.

People often ask me what I like about hiking and, while the story I just shared is perhaps a more extreme example, the lessons I have learned on the trail are similar regardless of where I am.

Hiking is constantly putting one foot in front of the other. It is you, and only you, that can propel yourself forward. When you fall you have no choice but to pick yourself up and keep moving.

Sometimes you don’t always know where the path is. But you trust your intuition knowing that as you continue forward, the path will reveal itself when it is meant to. There is always a way forward – on the trail and in life.

One of the cardinal rules of hiking is to never hike alone. The same is true in life. Always find the people who challenge you, the people who cheer you on when you need it most and the people who will help you propel yourself forward. I never could have gotten through the 11-hour hike without my friend that day. It was truly a team effort.

Hiking can be hard. Life can be hard. But you never give up. You take a deep breath, dig in and find another gear. And, best of all, is the feeling of exhilaration knowing that you just challenged yourself. You tested your limits and went further than you thought. You grew as a person.

Hit the trails. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

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