Hiking Around Goldstream

I have a very strange sense of curiosity. In some ways, I am the most incurious person and will accept what I am told, no questions asked.

Them - “Adrienne, the world is round.”

Me – “Cool.”

Chris thought this was a very odd trait to have because he is such an inquisitive person who cannot rest until he has researched every fact and idea that comes his way, whereas I just accept these things and move on.  There are billions and billions of questions in this world and I do not have the longevity to research everything, so I have to pick my battles when it comes to finding answers to my questions.

On the flip side of this, my personality will do a complete 180 and be incredibly curious when it comes to the outdoors. I have written posts about this problem in the past, but when I am outside hiking on an unfamiliar trail, my inquiring mind cannot rest as to where I am going. I have to know what goes where, and what will that trail lead to or if I branch off in that direction, what will I find? As soon as I am ready to turn around and head back, I will see a trail heading off in another direction and my curiosity becomes slightly overwhelmed and I just have to see where it leads to. Today is another perfect example of this.

I live very close to Goldstream Provincial Park which has a lot of hiking trails winding and twisting all throughout the mountain and area. Since the weather finally got beautiful, I decided to head out there this morning and see what it had to offer. Before I ventured up the mountain, I had a plan in mind of which trail(s) I wanted to take and I planned at least a good hour of hiking……

Three hours later I returned to my car.

I couldn’t help it! You should see it up there. The trails just keep meandering in and out of the forest and it’s just so gorgeous and peaceful and majestic! How can one simply just turn around and go home when there are miles and miles of mysterious trails to investigate? At one point I was walking along the old rail bed when I thought, “Ok, if I don’t see anything interesting after this upcoming bend, I will turn around.” But once I got around the bend, I saw a trail heading into the bush which was just the beginning of my plans getting disrupted. Then I heard water falling, which just perked my interest even more. Then about 10 minutes later I found the waterfall and my heart leapt into my throat because it was so stunning that it took my breath away.

The east coast is a gorgeous area to see and I am thankful that I got to experience its beauty. The smell of the ocean, bright green pastures, endless beaches and amazing red sand is definitely something that should be experienced by anyone who has the opportunity. But when I am in the mountains in BC, I am always completely overwhelmed with the beauty around me. The smell of moist earth, moss, cedar trees, fresh water and just the whole alpine wilderness around me, is easily one of my favourite things in the entire world. Yes, even the skunk cabbage brings a smile to my face because it is just another part of the whole experience.

But the absolute best part of the hike was when I was climbing into this one area on the Arbutus Ridge, and I began to hear frogs croaking. As I climbed higher and higher into the area, the sound of them became louder and louder and it soon became all that I could hear. As the trail leveled out, I found a swampy area just packed full of chirping frogs and I wish I could have recorded the noise they produced because it was just remarkable. I crouched down to watch them and as I did this, it was as though someone had hit mute because they all became dead silent when they realized my presence. I laughed and walked away from the area, only to hear them slowly begin again as I got further and further from the area. How can one not smile like a fool in a moment like that?