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Trip date: April 2, 2017

Spring gives us the unique chance to participate in winter and summer activities at the same time; if we feel like skiing or snow-camping, we can, and if we feel like avoiding the snow and indulging in some greenery, we can. When the weather starts to warm things up, the valley floor is the first thing to clear and local waterfalls usually start working their magic, tempting us to leave the snow behind. The Four Cascades Loop (from Lyle Litzenberger’s Burke and Widgeon – A Hiker’s Guide) gave us what we were looking for. We completed a loop of four waterfalls involving Harper Road, The Coquitlam Lake View Trail, the Sawblade Bike Trail, and Woodland Walk Trail. We completed the loop in a counter-clockwise direction; for a more demanding hike with steeper uphill terrain, you can complete it in a clockwise direction.

The Four Cascades in order: Read More

Oh hey! It’s been a little while…

Can I put out there that it’s already spring? Where did the winter season go? Oh, right, it ended prematurely when I signed up for five courses and field work this semester. I’ve been pretty wrapped up in my books, assignments, papers, tests, and/or the procrastination of lately, and I haven’t made time to sit down and write. I’ve opened up my blog, logged in, stared at the screen – wondering if I should post about a trip, an idea, some thoughts – and then I’ve walked away from it.
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Conventional society: get married, buy a house, have kids, settle down or you’ll fall behind.
Unconventional society: quit your job, sell your things, travel everywhere, don’t settle down or you’ll be sorry.

Either way you look at it, someone’s telling you what to do. Whether on the conventional or unconventional side of things, these people sound like they have it all figured it out, and so you listen, because you don’t have a clue.

Well, what if I told you they have no idea what they’re talking about? Read More

It’s that time of year again, when we choose the most perfect moments and reflect on them, hold on to them, to validate to ourselves that they were something special. We choose these memories because they are the way things should have been, would have been, had it not been for, well, life. In these snapshots, the moments are unwarped and golden. The views and sensations are in fine detail: wildflowers dancing in the breeze, rainfall streaming down my face, legs overrun by a burning sensation from pushing myself hard, and hills being conquered until there’s nothing left to ascend. The finest detail, though, is in how I felt: I was laughing, we were sore and tired and relaxed at the same time, and we were always dreaming about the next adventure.

I learned many lessons throughout the year, including Twenty Things Only Adventurers Would Know, but the most important of all is attributed to what the mountains taught me:

For a wild place, where anything can happen, I never feel more in control than when I’m in the mountains.

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