There’s Still Mountains to Climb

We are in that little bit of unsettled stage in our retirement transition.  We have our house for sale and we try to keep it in show ready but we still have to live in it.  We don’t know exactly where we will find our forever house but we still need to live in the present. So, before we sell and move, we continue to explore our area.

We have had a hike on our “to do” list for a couple of years.  It was one that gave me a little pause.  It was long and listed as hard, difficult or challenging depending on the source. It was also something that I really wanted to do before we moved. We set the date for last Friday.

We left just after 8:00 a.m.  Ron drove the truck and I followed in the car.  Ron parked the truck near Cameron Falls in Waterton and got in with me.  We drove drown the Akimina Parkway to Cameron Lake.  We parked and got our backpacks ready, put on an extra jacket and headed to the trail head.  It was only 5

degrees Celsius.

The first four kilometres are considered the easier incline.  This still had me breathing hard and shedding extra layers of clothing.

We walked in and out of the views of Cameron Lake below us.  We have walked along the shore and canoed the lake but now we were enjoying aerial views.

Ron is always very patient with my slow hiking speed and gives me time to catch my breath before the next switchback.  Eventually, the path opened up and we were able to enjoy some easy walking.  

I knew that this was only a tease of what was to come but I enjoyed every easy step.  We arrived at the Summit Lake.  Ron finally took his jacket off and I sat to rest and enjoy the scenery.

I took a deep breath in, ready (kind of) to start the next four kilometres to the summit of Mount Carthew.  The trail continued with more elevation, some switch backs and walking on shale or rocks along the side of the mountain.  It was a bit unnerving taking a step and hearing or seeing rocks slide down the slope.  I concentrated on each step using my poles to steady me.  I chose not to look down too much.

The final incline to the top took everything I had to get there.  Each step had to be planted secure before moving forward.  It was steep and shaley.  To be fair, I think we may have taken a “short cut?”  

When we arrived at the top Ron was ready to take pictures and I needed a minute.

I’ve never felt quite like this before.  My ribs were even hurting.

Thankfully after a few minutes, my breathing adjusted and I took in the spectacular views.  This is why I go through the pain.  The feeling of being on top of a mountain is incredible.  We were so blessed to have such a perfect day.  I have heard of horror stories of the wind blowing hard on the ridge.

After a few minutes of enjoying this experience it was time to continue on our way.  It was about 13 km into the townsite.  I was thinking of our daughter-in-law as I was carefully side stepping down the steep slope.  The uncomfortable thought of sliding down a mountain is something that we have in common.  

From our perspective we could see the Carthew Lakes.

Going down hill should be the reward for climbing a mountain but unfortunately this always when my knees start to complain.  I wear knee socks and use the walking poles to help with some of the impact. We came to Upper Carthew Lake and walked around the pristine blue water.  There was a slight breeze that felt refreshing.   Lower Carthew Lake was close by and we stopped by a little waterfall for lunch.  We definitely picked a seat with a view.

As we descended to Alderson Lake, my right knee was very angry with me.  

Each step screamed pain and we were still about 7 km away from the townsite.  Ron had brought his knee support too and I put it on to help me along the rest of the way.

After we passed the lake the trail led us into more tree cover.  The day had gotten warmer and it was a nice treat to finish the final stretch in mostly shade.  We crossed a number of mountain streams along the way.

The last few kilometres were super slow even though it was mostly down hill since I had to be super careful with each step.  Finally the townsite came into view which gave me hope that I would make it.  It was still a couple of kilometres but the end was reachable.

We walked down beside the Cameron Falls and across the road to the truck.  I shed the knee braces, changed to sandals and had a drink.  Ron drove us back to Cameron Lake and we drove our separate vehicles back to Pincher Creek.

It is now two days past the hike and I’m still in pain…knees, thighs, hips and even ribs but I am still glad that we were able to do the hike. The pain will go away and the pictures and memories are ours to look back at.