Sept 27 On top of the world

With ragged breaths, I took the last few steps in the snow. I saw my goal in front of me, my friend was already there, he had a grin that stretched across his face. I knew what he was looking at and I pushed my muscles a little further. I gained the last steps and turned.  I shared the awe my friend felt, the joy on his face was as clear as the sun filling the mountain sky in front of us. I absorbed the view and breathed in the triumphant moment.

We had made it to the top of our world. We stood looking down the face of the cliff. We absorbed the view of Rhonda Lake and the snow-capped mountains in the distance. We had walked from the bottom of that mountain, we had journeyed one step at a time. We had trekked from his home in snow pines to the top of the Bullet Chair at Big White mountain.

It was epic.

When we left his house at the base of the ski hill he said we were going to hike the cliff. I laughed. I have not been hiking in quite some time and my daily walks have petered out to daily jaunts to the fridge. I thought he was being ambitious when he said we would go to the top of the mountain. Even halfway through our trek, I was pretty sure we would turn back.

Standing at the top of the world, the feeling of victory filled me with immense satisfaction. It was a thrilling moment and we soaked in the view. We still had a long walk in front of us, it was a triumphant sensation and it would be all good; it was all downhill.

I rode my motorcycle to Big White late Saturday afternoon. I had waited for the rains to cease and the sun to shine down upon the valley and warm up the road to the mountain. I had big plans. I was connecting at Big White with a friend from Vancouver, then going to ride south to Osoyoos and home from there. It was going to be a good ride on a nice fall day. I needed an escape, a release from the pressures I have felt lately. A motorcycle ride felt like just the remedy.

My Sunday morning lazed along and I stopped in to see my friends Jon and Liane before leaving Big White. I wanted to connect with them before venturing on my ride south to Highway Three and then west through Osoyoos and back north to my home in West Kelowna.

It was a beautiful day at 5000 feet and the air felt crisp and clean, warmed by the welcome rays of the sun that filled the sky and heated the earth. I smiled when my friends welcomed me. I was even happier when an offer of a nice meal was provided.

Time slowed down and we enjoyed the moments of conversation and reflections. Jon mentioned a walk he had recently taken in the alpine of his mountain home. I smiled, that sounded like a lot of fun. Exercise being something I was lacking, a hike up the mountain seemed like a great idea.

Before I knew it, I had let go of my three-hour motorcycle ride and exchanged it for a walk up the alpine meadows of our ski resort.  At the time I thought maybe we could go for a one-hour stroll and then I could still go for my ride.  

Once we began there was no turning back.

We wandered through the village and trekked up past the buildings. We followed a bike path up, away from the village. We were searching for Rhonda Lake road and the route to the base of the cliff. It was like an earthen rollercoaster and we followed the trail up, then down, then up and around. My legs began to burn, and my back started to ache.

Yet it was a good pain.

A pain my body craved. With every step I pushed myself, I felt a desire for more. When we finally reached the road we looked at each other. Were we going to go left and back to his place, or right and continue on towards the cliff; it wasn’t much of a choice.  We pushed ourselves and carried on; we had come that far…

We stood at the top of the world and looked back on the freshly fallen snow and the path we had traversed through it. We felt satisfaction, a sense of accomplishment.  I understood in that moment why people climb mountains; it is a connection with our world that is rare and beautiful. I am not about to start climbing mountains, but I will certainly take more time to walk amongst them.

The last steps up to the door of Jon’s home were the hardest ones. We knew our hike was done, in that instant, I felt all of the steps of our journey.

I felt inspired and tired all at once. 

We smiled at each other and his wife LIane. Grateful for the day, the companionship, and the awesome connection with nature, we said goodbye.

Days like that help me find balance. Connections with our earth and our friends are what we need in these times. The coronaverse disappeared in the bright sunshine at the top of a mountain. 

I cruised back home the short route, my ride south no longer needed. I was recharged, reconnected. Feeling a deep satisfaction from the day, I exhilarated in my ride home.

Fully alive.