Young Writers Society

It was still dark out when my siblings and I set out. Sleepies were still in my eyes and I was tired, but I was still excited for the day ahead. This time we were headed to Mt. Seymour. The plan was to hike to Pump peak, which is the first peak on Seymour. We drove off at 7pm to beat the crowds.

When we arrived there was no one there. The parking lot was empty and it was very cold. After getting ready with four layers and extra socks we headed off. Sadly, I forgot my toque at home. My ears and face felt like they were going to fall off. Thankfully it wasn’t snowing, just cold. At this point there was no sun. We were in between two layers of cloud. Thus, we couldn’t see the city or the peak. The hike up was absolutely gorgeous. There was a light frost on the trees and it was so quiet that you could hear the ice melting, slowly trickling off the moss, down the trail and into the gurgling creeks. Other than that it was completely silent, the mountains were still sleeping. The first part of the hike was generally easy. This part of the trail followed the ski run, weaving in and out of the trees on a steady incline. After about 30 minutes, the trail joined the ski run, where we went up a couple of meters before going onto a maintenance trail. It goes down into a tiny valley, where there is a beautiful echo, it’s so clear and crisp! I think the people ahead of us were confused at why we were yelling. From the maintenance road, there is a connecting trail that leads to Brockton pt. Now began the second leg of the trip, I feel like it was shorter than the first. But yet again the ice slowed us down and we were exhausted. Nonetheless we kept trucking on. The view from Brockton pt. was amazing! When we were younger we used to always come up here. But as we’ve grown up we haven’t really gone out that much. So coming up here was a first for me in a while. The view though! From here you can see all the way out to vancouver island. The city scape is such a beautiful sight to see. If you turn to your right you can see the pump peak. From here it looks daunting as the cliff towers over you. It was a beautiful sight to behold, with the green lichen, exposed rock and evergreens, making it a picturesque moment. My older brother gave me some hot chocolate. Is it me or does hot chocolate taste better on top of a mountain?

We were well rested and ready for the last leg of the hike. This part was going to be long and would have to include a break somewhere. The climb up was steep, my body wasn’t used to this kind exercise. My heart was racing and my breathing was heavy. It was a good feeling, it meant that I was pushing myself and that I was alive. We had to take breaks more often, we hadn’t anticipated how hard this was going to be. Also, the amount of ice made it difficult not to slip. Even though it was exhausting, we still had a lot of fun. Checking out cool ice formations and frost, finding spectacular view points that just took your breath away and taking silly photos. It was just so much fun! As we climbed higher and higher the colder it got. The less vegetation there was and the more frost. When we walked onto the path leading up to the first peak. I felt as if we had walked right into a Lord of the Rings scene. Rock piles were everywhere, only a few people were roaming about and it was silent, absolutely silent. It felt ominous, creepy and yet so breathtaking. I’ve never been to Pump peak, so this was all new to me. I looked up, and there was the peak. Even though my muscles ached, I sprinted to the top. I wasn’t even at the sign post yet when I got my very first glimpse of the Rockies. It was the most amazing, God-given moment I have every experienced. I probably would’ve cried. My brother yelled from behind “Don’t stop, wait till you get to the top!” So, I ran the rest of the way up and boy am I glad I did! I can’t even express how beautiful that view was. We had almost a 360 view. We could see the tops of fluffy clouds spread over the mainland, but if you looked into the opposite direction you could see the Rockies. They were covered with snow and stretched for as long as the eye could see. The sun lit them up, shining on every crevice and rocky face. You could also see the nearby mountains like Cypress and Grouse. I was taken aback at just how many trees there were. An icy wind was blowing up from the Rockies and chilled me to the bone. In moments like this I feel the most alive! To top off this Godly experience we ate cold eggs and squished muffins. We also had some frozen starbursts before we headed back down.

I hated to leave, it was so awesome here. But I’m glad we left when we did. Hoards of people were tramping up, breaking the silence and magic of it all. At the same time it makes me happy to see so many people enjoying hiking as much as I do. Also the clouds started to drift up and socked in the peak. We didn’t take as many breaks coming down. I still managed to fall and scrape my hand though. We also had to be careful not to shock our knees and step lightly as we went down. You can really damage your knees if you're not careful. Nonetheless we made it to the ski hill in record time. We wisely decided not to go on the trail and just walk down the ski run. No one goes there and it’s perfectly safe. We made it back to the parking lot which was packed. On the drive home, I felt much more at peace with myself. I’m so thankful we are still allowed to go on hikes and enjoy God’s creation. I’m so thankful for the fun times I had with my siblings, I feel truly blessed to have the goofiest siblings in the world. Next week we hope to hike up to the highest peak!