monkeycrap's Diaryland Diary
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Canada trip - Day 13
Day 13 - Grouse Grind
Carrie told me it would be easy, that it wouldn't be a problem. "The fastest time taken to complete the grind, about 30 minutes, so I'd guess, if you'd go at a normal walking pace, about 45 minutes."
So I went to the information counter to enquire about, or rather validify Carrie's claims of the elementariness of walking up Grouse. Which could very well be true, considering that she's done it before via a less popular and more grueling hiking trail.
"Well, about an hour and a half, if you're quite fit", said the guy at the counter. Okay. A little setback, considering that I've never scaled a mountain before, my highest base to peak ascend being Bukit Timah Hill, Taf Club Camp 98. I'm pretty sure that didn't involve 2800 feet, snow and progressively colder inhalations of air, which might pose a tiny problem for my 95% humidity level acclimatized lungs.
At the entrance of the trail, saw this sign which stated something about rules on the trail, and some sort of a hiker's code. Took a quick glance at the code. One point said that you should always hike with a friend, at least. Oops. Another said that you should always carry the 10 basic items while hiking. I had about 3 items in my backpack, one of which was a bag of Safeway Salted Pretzels. Oops. I didn't bother to read the rest of the code.
So people have died while doing the grind. But people have also died sitting on their asses and drinking Tiger in some Choa Chu Kang coffeeshop. Add to that the fact that for Grouse to be one of Vancouver's top tourist attractions, the probability of one coming out alive should hopefully be greater than that of one coming out unalive. And so I saw myself grinding the grind. I wish I could say something like I took the grind to challenge myself, to test my limits, to push myself up via a surge of unadulterated adrenalinistic bravado. But the real reason for taking the grind was that I didn't want to spend 40 Canadian bucks taking the skytrain up.
I took my time, but it really wasn't an easy trek. Perhaps I'm just not used to uphill climbs, to having to exert additional force on every step to overcome the mysterious invisible magnetic force coming from the base of the mountain. Oh yeah, now I remember, it's called gravity. Furthermore, I'd only brought half a bottle of water with me, hence I'd to ration it in such a way that the Singapore government would be really proud of. Every sip of water felt as though I was drinking from the fountain of youth; the fluid was sweet and cold, bringing much needed appeasement to my accumulated oesophagic dryness.
If people really have gotten lost on the trail and died as a result, I think I'd found the spot where it happened. I was at somewhere in between the 1/2 to 3/4 mark of Grouse, along a very narrow part of the trail which overflowed into a deep valley, when there was a little congestion amongst the hikers. A lady claimed that her water bottle kinda 'exploded' and was somehow myseteriously knocked out of her knapsack and into the abyss below. We were waiting for her to reshuffle her belongings when another hiker, a fellow Singaporean, took out his own water bottle to take a quick gulp. It was also knocked out of his hand and over the edge, down the trail. After the congestion was cleared, I walked to the spot where the hiker stood and gazed over the edge, and felt some sort of a push that aimed at directing me off the edge. Mind playing tricks, perhaps, but it just didn't feel like the 'pull' of vertigo. It was a push. Coincidence, maybe. But I was a little creeped, and carried on walking, albeit at a slightly faster tempo.
The best way to conquer the fatigue that settles in halfway through the grind?
Just grin and bear it.
Reached the top of the grind, met dad, climbed further in the snow, up the ski slopes. Being summer, the only skiing that could be done was ass-skiing. Which was pretty fun, I guess. And very cold, as well. We had snowball fights, snow rolls, chalked up frequent faller miles, basically revelled in mirth. Really a moment to be cherished. Far cry from what I felt the previous time up Grouse.
Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand � and melting like a snowflake. - Marie Beyon Ray
10:31 a.m. - 2006-06-29
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
other diaries: |