I went for a hike last Sunday with a friend of mine, Cary. I hadn’t been hiking for a few years, so it was great to get out there and climb around a bit. We were at Goldstream Provincial Park, just outside of Victoria. A light drizzle of rain started just as we arrived, but we decided it wouldn’t bother us under the forest canopy.

We had an old map of the park and marked off a few areas we wanted to see. Cary’s really into photography, so the main focus of the trip was to get some good shots. We started with a waterfall they call Niagara Falls. Not as spectacular as the real thing, but still impressive. We then hiked over the waterfall and onwards up the mountain until we reached a railroad tressel. The walk up was maybe 150 to 200 metres, but it was quite steep, and I was a wobbly-kneed, sweaty mess by the time we reached the top. With the rain coming down, and the heat of the day, it felt like we were lost in a sauna. A gentle fog had rolled in and settled on the tips of the surrounding trees, and even with my clothing sticking to me like cling wrap, the view was worth the climb.

Hiking always makes me feel like a kid again. As soon as I’m pushing through overgrown brush on a narrow path, away from the sounds of the city, my mind seems to jump backwards a couple decades. Suddenly I’m a silent explorer discovering an exotic rain forest and tracking a legendary treasure, a young kung-fu apprentice on a journey to find his inner power, a lost boy learning to fend for himself after being left behind on an expedition. I’m once again an eight year old boy, walking through the forest with his father, letting his imagination stretch and grow.

The tressel was the highlight of the hike for me. Cary has a thing with heights, so he stayed off it. I decided the heights didn’t bother me too much and set out to stroll across the bridge. The gaps between each wet board were just enough to poke a foot through, so each step had to be placed with care. The longer you stare down through those gaps, the less substantial that bridge seems to be. When I finally made it to the mid-point, it was like walking on cardboard. With Stand By Me running through my mind, I brought my camera out to take a photo and found my hands trembling. After snapping a rushed shot, I calmly walked back to solid ground while having a minor internal panic attack. I guess heights do bother me a bit.

We then carried on deeper into the forest to find an abandoned mine shaft, which wasn’t as impressive as I thought it would be. The walk to get there was nice, however. It was getting fairly late by the time we found the shaft, so we made our way back to civilization. On the way back down I only managed to fall on my ass twice. I will be investing in a pair of hiking boots very soon.

The humidity seemed to murder my cheap camera. and all of my photos were corrupt. The tressel photo above is one of Cary’s.