Whistlers Mountain
September 13th Monday
[Big day!] I woke up this morning and saw a mouse scuttle across the floor. I wasn't very surprised that it was there, but I looked up and my eyes locked with some other dude who saw it too... oh wells. [Thinking back, that was pretty gross... haha] When I went to shave a dude was already shaving. I don't have any shaving gel which has lead to a previous 2 cuts. I kept looking over while brushing my teeth to catch his eye, which I'm sure looked odd. He had an old school system involving a brush for applying and a white mass that whips onto the brush. I did eventually get his attention and he happily obliged. Europeans are much more down to earth about those kinds of things, especially the older ones. [Is that unsanitary? I guess it is a bit, but it's not like I used his razor... it's like borrowing tooth paste right?]
I bought some instant noodles for 75 cents and heated some leftover water in a kettle on the stove. This of course resulted in a gross, cheap-brand, half-cooked noodles. I packed my stuff in the lockers and started up Whistlers Mountain. [The noodles were pretty gross, but I at least ate, which was more than I could say for everyone else who didn't have any water that morning. I also bought a gatorade from a vending machine outside and filled my water bottle]
The climb started rough, and I had a hard time catching my breath. About a half hour to an hour in, I stopped and ate an apple. Whether it was the aclimatizing or the apple, I got loads of energy for the next few hours [I later learned that it wasn't likely to be either the apple or aclimitizing... it was most likely pacing and steepness]. It was an hour in when the rain started. It wasn't bad at first, but quickly became harder as I climbed higher. It was never bad enough to stop, but made the trail harder. As I kept climbing it got foggier as I entered the clouds. About 3 hours in I hit an opening with lots of rocks. I climbed the rocks as it began to snow. I stopped for a granola bar which was brief as it was cold and I was wet from sweat and rain [It was pretty interesting sitting there in silence eating a granola bar on the side of a mountain allll by myself... except for this little squirrel thing that was foraging about]. I switched to a warmer sweater and kept climbing. I soon realized the rocks were too steep to be part of the trail and back tracked. When I found the trail again, it was all out snowing. The clouds and heavier snow made it hard to see ahead but I did find the tramway [The snow wasn't too bad... but I had been climbing for 3 and a half hours and in a sweater and spring jacket]. When I got in, the girl said I was crazy for hiking in that weather. I was only a half hour to the summit but it was dangerous and I was told it was a white-out so I wouldn't see anything. I picked up a one-way down and a patch for my guitar case and trammed down.
Past the halfway point!
[Big day!] I woke up this morning and saw a mouse scuttle across the floor. I wasn't very surprised that it was there, but I looked up and my eyes locked with some other dude who saw it too... oh wells. [Thinking back, that was pretty gross... haha] When I went to shave a dude was already shaving. I don't have any shaving gel which has lead to a previous 2 cuts. I kept looking over while brushing my teeth to catch his eye, which I'm sure looked odd. He had an old school system involving a brush for applying and a white mass that whips onto the brush. I did eventually get his attention and he happily obliged. Europeans are much more down to earth about those kinds of things, especially the older ones. [Is that unsanitary? I guess it is a bit, but it's not like I used his razor... it's like borrowing tooth paste right?] Shortly after I shaved, I noticed a worker putting out of order signs on the showers. Apparently the water tank was empty and there was no water available. Thank god I showered the night before. [By the way, that shower was amazing after being on a bus all day... then again, most times when I got to shower was pretty amazing]
I soon after realized I didn't have any breakfast food outside of a couple apples from Hebs and Wakana, and some granola bars that Hebert didn't like [Those granola bars ended up being god-sends on my upcoming hikes].
I bought some instant noodles for 75 cents and heated some leftover water in a kettle on the stove. This of course resulted in a gross, cheap-brand, half-cooked noodles. I packed my stuff in the lockers and started up Whistlers Mountain. [The noodles were pretty gross, but I at least ate, which was more than I could say for everyone else who didn't have any water that morning. I also bought a gatorade from a vending machine outside and filled my water bottle] The climb started rough, and I had a hard time catching my breath. About a half hour to an hour in, I stopped and ate an apple. Whether it was the aclimatizing or the apple, I got loads of energy for the next few hours [I later learned that it wasn't likely to be either the apple or aclimitizing... it was most likely pacing and steepness]. It was an hour in when the rain started. It wasn't bad at first, but quickly became harder as I climbed higher. It was never bad enough to stop, but made the trail harder. As I kept climbing it got foggier as I entered the clouds. About 3 hours in I hit an opening with lots of rocks. I climbed the rocks as it began to snow. I stopped for a granola bar which was brief as it was cold and I was wet from sweat and rain [It was pretty interesting sitting there in silence eating a granola bar on the side of a mountain allll by myself... except for this little squirrel thing that was foraging about]. I switched to a warmer sweater and kept climbing. I soon realized the rocks were too steep to be part of the trail and back tracked. When I found the trail again, it was all out snowing. The clouds and heavier snow made it hard to see ahead but I did find the tramway [The snow wasn't too bad... but I had been climbing for 3 and a half hours and in a sweater and spring jacket]. When I got in, the girl said I was crazy for hiking in that weather. I was only a half hour to the summit but it was dangerous and I was told it was a white-out so I wouldn't see anything. I picked up a one-way down and a patch for my guitar case and trammed down. By this point I was soaked down to my socks, so I showered at the hostel. When I was at the bottom of the tram, I met a nice couple from Jersey. The lady gave me an extra map and they even drove me down to the hostel which was about 15 mins walk I saved [Sort of wish I took a snapshot of them, they were really nice. The man said "do it while you're young" or something of that matter, and to be honest, that's why I was]. After I showered I shuttled back to town, and gathered some info on the ice fields. Afterwards I needed some calories from my hike, so I ate some KFC. [I was so hungry by this point having not eaten anything but a pack of instant noodles, an apple, and a granola bar... it was around dinner time when I ate]
After settling my plans, I got a hotel and did some laundry [Hotel was quite nice, and a much appreciated break from locker-room hostels and mountain trails]. While it was spinning I called home and Nita. Since my shoes were still wet, Nita suggested drying my shoes so I did. I feel kind of bad for the next person drying because my shoes smell kind of funny. [Okay so my bad... I thought she meant I should put my wet shoes into the dryer... but she meant I should run it through the washer first since they were soaked all the way through anyways. I still don't think it's nice for the next person, but a lot nicer than what I did haha]
[It was at this point that I switched to the new journal, as I had finished off the last page of my first one. I sent my journal along with my cards to people over to Nita. It was about the same price for express and standard, so I just sent it for a quick 2-day]
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| Destination? that little house! (not that little) |