SPILLING THE BEANS

me spill the beans on how my love affair with hiking kicked off—it's a total heartwarmer and transformative story.Three years into a relationship, I found myself at a crossroads when my partner expressed a reluctance to have children. Determined to pave the way for a future with a husband who shared my aspirations, I made the difficult decision to part ways.

Now, here's where the good stuff begins. I made a pact with myself to level up my self-care game by taking my exercising and eating more clean seriously. By taking walks to the beach and walking barefoot on the sand to reground myself. Biking to wreck beach and doing stairs exercises. and those kno knows Wreck beach stairs, they know how many stairs, and how hard it is just to walk up! 

Diving into the world of hiking wasn't something I was interested in doing right away because I was in the middle of a very busy summer semester. I was taking 7 classes and this was during covid, so it was a very intense period where the wolrd was shut down and we werent allowed to go too far from home and we had to wear a mask at all cost. But after tying off those loose ends in my academic life, I starteddoing the grind at Grouse Mountain with my best friend. From there, it was a hop, skip, and a jump to dragging her on shorter hikes nearby.

Garibaldi Lake was the real kicker and how it all clicked for me. All these small hike were giving me a sense of accomplishment and created a holistic and healing experience for me. It gave me wings where i needed them, but i wanted more. 

My girlfriend was a trooper, even though she was moving at a slow pace because of an ankle injury, she insisted I go on without her to the lake. So, off I went, zooming up to the lake like a caffeinated mountain goat. Energized like never before, I chatted up fellow hikers at the lake about my next conquest: Panorama Ridge. 

Let me tell you! That Panorama Ridge hike in Squamish BC, which was a whopping 32km, it was a game changer. It was my first solo and winter hike, all at once. I did the hike in November when sunset was around 5pm and of course lots of snow!, but the energy it gave me, and Oh my God! the views—it was like Heaven on Earth. I had promised myself I'd conquer Panorama Ridge and I did it proudly. That hike was everything for me. Facing the prospect of going solo and not wanting to halt my plans, I made the resolute choice to forge ahead on my own. Thats how my love affair with hiking, sparked by that unforgettable feeling and energy, began with the breathtaking journey up Panorama Ridge.