24/07/2022 - Pocaterra Ridge

 Pocaterra (kinda) Ridge

(Grizzly Col Access)

Hiking is unique, in that it is one of the best ways to distract yourself from the stresses of life. As soon as your boots hit the dirt whatever was bothering you melts away and you achieve a hiking bliss. It is only when we are given the gift of a free mind that we can begin to discover ourselves. Hiking gives us that free mind. As is usually the case with Dad and I, the night before we did Pocaterra we sat down around 8pm and looked through our hiking resources to try to find a hike to do. We landed on Pocaterra (quite obvious), because it wasn't anything too crazy but still long enough to be enjoyable. Upon our arrival at the trailhead the following morning, we were greeted by a big red notice that read "Trail Closed". After some deliberation we decided that our best option would be to go up the road a couple minutes to Grizzly Col and attempt to summit the fourth peak of Pocaterra from there. We were on the trail by 7am. The first part of the hike was freezing, and when I say freezing I mean quite literally I think the temperature was hovering around 4°C. Even still the first part of the hike was beautiful and soon after starting we began to warm up. Throughout the hike we were surrounded by breathtaking views and unbelievable scenery. I'm moving to Ontario in three weeks and am currently trying to finish my Chem 30-1 summer school course. As soon as I started hiking any stress I had disappeared and I was better equipped to process my emotions about moving. I think that often life can be so busy we forget to take a step back and appreciate everything we have. Among other things, for me hiking is a form of therapy. It is a way to heal and to increase my happiness. When you're out on the trail surrounded by beautiful wildflowers and cool mountain streams it becomes increasingly harder to feel anything but pure happiness. I never knew I would turn into someone who enjoys hiking this much. My parents exposed me to hiking at a young age and continued to expose me to it until now. I can remember times when I was younger that I didn't always enjoy going out to hike. Now that I have gained a little bit of perspective I will forever be grateful to them for doing this. When I was 11 my parents took the family on a hiking trip along the Oregon Coast Trail. At the time I remember the hike being very hard and a lot of the time I wasn't very happy and I'm sure there were times when my parents asked themselves "Why are we doing this?" After all it would for sure be easier to take us to a resort somewhere like every other family. It is only as I grew older that I learned to cherish their perseverance in trying to expose me to hiking. I now have a tool that most other people don't. I have the ability to use hiking as a way to cope with things in my life instead of using something negative to do that. Whenever I have any sort of difficulty in life I can go hiking and clear my head to try to better understand how I am actually feeling. All in all Pocaterra (kinda) Ridge was a good way to spend a morning and to clear my head. The more I hike the more I realize that to me hiking isn't just a hobby but rather a necessity in my life. 

Dad on summit

Dad and I on summit