Stampede is starting up this week blah blah blah maybe I'll post about it afterwards. This post will be about the hiking I have done so far this summer, or what I like to call, a Hiking Guide for an Average Unfit Albertan Who Has Never Appreciated Alberta Before 2015. Soooo May long I had this dreamy weekend and ended up going on my first "hike" in Alberta in maybe 10 years. I was accompanied by a friend and this was someone who I didn't want to be super sweaty around so I did some research and found the Grassi Lakes hike and figured it would be a good one. So, it was beautiful. Easy to find, very busy with families which I liked since that made me more positive it would be easy and I would still look cute when we finished the hike. There wasn't much of an incline to the walk and it ended at an amazing set of lakes, colors were gorgeous and an extremely enjoyable walk to get there and back. It took maybe 1.5 hours total? We also sat and enjoyed the lakes for quite a while though it was really very pretty. We did the "easy" route, I guess there is a "difficult" one too which maybe I would challenge if I did it again. But serious emphasis on the maybe there. So that was Grassi Lakes y'all here is one of my pics of a sweet lake! ( I am not a photographer)
Two weeks after that hike I had a lovely friend in town and she had some friends who live in Cochrane so we decided to do a hike from there. They had decided on Ha Ling Peak, but I had no part in planning or researching so I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. I told my friend that I am no hiker and she said it would be fine. It started off alright, and by that I mean my heart was pounding and I had to stop quite a bit but I am pretty sure we went up the wrong way. If you do Ha Ling make sure you research where to start because we fucked up and it was wrong and we got completely lost pretty much going up and coming down. Needless to say it was still picturesque. Closer to the top (where we deemed was the top for us) it was mostly scrambling. Before that day I did not know what scrambling was. I actually enjoyed the scrambling way more then regular hiking. Must be due to my extreme rock climbing and ropes course background. Yeah I said it so what. The group I was with brought two dogs and I liked that because I have been having puppy fever as of late. PUPPIES. I think roundtrip took us about 2.5 hours but again I have no memory or sense of time so plz don't quote me.
And then this brings me to my most recent hike of the summer! Yesterday I went with a group of girls to Nihahi Ridge. Oy I am out of shape! The hike all together took us about 4 hours. It was quite busy, we even ran into some old friends on the trail which was cool. So we started with the walk to the bottom of the mountain which we were climbing. The walk was a good warm up and by that I mean I was already pooped by the time we were starting the real thing. We were hiking through rain for about half of the hike I would say, but to be honest it was refreshing. We made it to a spot on the mountain where we took a bit of a rest and saw some other hikers who told us that we were half way there and the girls were like "should we keep going"? And for some reason I wasn't thinking and convinced the group to continue on. When we made it to (once again what we decided was the) top, it was like a Canada Day miracle. Oh yes, this was on Canada Day. There was the most breathtaking rainbow that any of us have ever seen!!!! WHO KNEW NATURE WAS SO PRETTY. The rainbow was seriously so bright and colorful and even had a double in there. Pics below obviously. So yes, this wouldn't have been a hike I would have taken a guy on when I was trying to look cute but it was so worth the pain in my feet and calves and thighs!!
SEE YAAAA and good luck with the Stampeding y'all! Let me know if you're going to Luda and Wiz Khalifa (what?? wiz khalifa is a babe!) because I'll be there!
XOXOXOXOXOX
