22/06/2022 - First Week of Summer Update

 Hiking

Due to the surplus of precipitation we have been receiving in the past couple of weeks I haven't been able to get out as much as I would have liked. So far I've only been out for one hike which was Powder Face Ridge, but only to the summit. My mom and I went out last Friday and were pleasantly surprised by the condition of the trail. After receiving a solid week of precipitation we were expecting the trail to be soaking and somewhat not passable. Although there were a few wet sections the trail was in better condition than expected. We decided to stop at the summit and not continue to the ridge as it was my first hike of the season and mom was still somewhat recovering from her trip to Scotland (Found Here). We lucked out with the weather and all in all it was a great way to start the season.  

View of Mount Glasgow from Powderface

In terms of hiking I have several hikes I would like to do before the end of the summer. The one that takes priority over all the others though is Banded Peak. My dad and I have been trying to plan a day to do this hike since last summer. Banded is particularly difficult since it is so high there is a prime time to do it when last winters snow has melted and there is no new snow from this year. I am positive by the end of the summer I'll have checked this one off the list. Other hikes that I want to do by the end of the summer include: Mist Mountain, Mount Cornwall, Mount Lipsett, Windridge Peak and the north approach to Mount Burk. Another thing that's on the list for this summer is a sunrise hike. I have tentative plans with my dad to go up to Moose and camp prior to the false summit then summit early in the morning, we'll see if that happens. Other than that I think I'll just do lots of day hikes with friends and the parents.

Summit of Mt. Burke last summer 

Trail Running

Another thing I have recently taken up is trail running. I got into it after doing Powderface and feeling like I could run up the whole thing. I was quickly humbled. The difficulty that comes with trail running is one that I have not found in anything except hiking. It challenges you on so many different levels. The physical is obvious, but the mental part plays an even bigger role than the physical does. When you're already out of breath and you can look back and still see where you started you have to have mental fortitude. I am very new in the trail running game but have a feeling that it's something I'll do for awhile considering how much I already love it. So far I've done Powderface once and Ranger Summit three times. Not really sure on what the rest of the summer entails for trail running but I'm sure there will be lots. 

Biking

Ever since Ben and Ty have been home I've been doing looooots of biking. We have shredded more moose laps than I can count and Ben and I have shredded West Bragg a multitude of times. We began every bike season as we usually do, lots of laps on 7-27 Descent at Moose however we quickly found a trail that's almost as addicting as drugs - Flight 66. Flight is a jump line at Moose that came into existence last year after being built to accommodate people that were looking for something more gnarly at Moose. The trail is beautifully built and filled with slope style jumps that quickly humble your skills. For the rest of the summer it is safe to say we will hold the record for most laps ripped on Flight in one summer. Although I don't have any other biking plans yet I'm sure that my tires will see lots of dirt by the time the biking season is over.