First hike of 2021!
2020 was brutal. Would not repeat.
I'm enjoying the rituals of preparing for a hike. The night before, I prepare my water bottles, my snacks. I made sure I've defrosted a bagel for a hike-appropriate breakfast (bagel with pb and scrambled eggs with cheese - every single time). I gather the things I need and put them in my pack. I make sure I have the appropriate map from the guidebook, and have routed the hike in AllTrails. I make sure my layers are ready to go in my bedroom. I know that my boots, spikes and poles are stored in my car.
Rituals help me feel safe and certain in a time where nothing is certain.
I'm writing this 5 days after my hike. I'm sitting with a lot of anxiety. I went back to work on Monday after an 8-day break from work and every morning this week my alarm has gone off, I've woken up in a panic, heart racing. It's 7+ hours later and I still feel tender from that waking moment. This week has been a shitshow between the vaccination roll-out, shit in the US, school shut downs, and just generally feeling every day of the last 9+ months of the pandemic.
On this hike, I'm starting off at a point not far from where I left off last time, just 800 metres, knowing that I'm going to have to do about 800 metres of road walking between the two points. This is not my favorite, so I leave it towards the end.
Pretty soon into this hike I realize that the spikes are not working for this hike, because it's a lovely packing snow and it's just packing into the chains and grips of the spikes. I suddenly felt the need to learn more about snow and how that is classified according to temperature.
Maybe because I've waited too long to blog about this, but nothing really stands out for me on this hike. The Toronto section is pretty flat so far. I come across about a dozen people, including a lovely pup.
Oh, but this heritage tree! This is the first one I've seen. Apparently there's a code word on this sign, but I don't see one at all.
On this hike, I have a fanny pack of peanuts in the shell, as I occasionally see cardinals and jays and thought I might leave them a treat. I scatter these in rock crevices along the way. Under one rock, I find scat, which turns out to be from a ruffed grouse.
Back at the car, I drop my pack and poles, put on my high-vis vest and walk over to the spot I left off last time, then return to the car. Post-hike shower awaits!
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