The first things that come to mind when I think of hiking are early mornings, burning thighs and aching ankles.
But more importantly I think of adventure. The sights to be discovered at the top of the mountain.
Being in nature – sharing these moments with others.
My sister and I haven’t hiked together for a couple years. This hike – Ha Ling, near Canmore – has been on her bucket list for a while now.
I’ve completed the hike once before, back in 2016. I remember it being a nice forest hike with a scramble near the peak and beautiful views of the Bow Valley.
On the way up we kept a steady pace and were the only ones on the trail. A few people passed by coming down, they must have reached the summit for sunrise.
Near the top, we saw a group of what I think were female bighorn sheep with their lambs. They were right on the trail in front of us.
After a couple hours we reached the saddle of Ha Ling which overlooks the town of Canmore.
At 10 am we decided to continue on a short way to Miner’s Peak which was a great place to relax and have lunch.
I like stopping for a moment when I reach a peak to realize how massive the mountains are. It puts things into perspective, being surrounded by these formations.
It makes me feel insignificant, but not in a bad way.
It allows me to stop worrying about the little things for a second and just breathe – to focus on being in the moment.
My favourite part was the walk (well, run) down. We took it slow on the way up so we decided to see how fast we could reach the bottom.
We were flying by groups of people and felt like adventurers in a movie or video game.
One person warned of a wolf ahead. “Wait, really?” I asked as I stopped for a second to turn back. “No, just kidding,” they responded with a giggle.
Turns out it was their dog. Classic.
A second person asked if my sister was chasing me. “Looks like it, eh? I can outrun her,” was my response. “I can catch him if I wanted to,” she replied.
In the end we hiked the 8 km trail in a little over two hours.
We gained over 700 m in elevation (with max elevation being 2,376 m) and reached a top speed of 16.4 km/h – on the way down of course.
We were both proud of ourselves and it was a great experience shared together. Not only taking in the beautiful views, but also pushing ourselves even when we were tired.
We got to share stories and hangout for a few hours which is tough with us both being busy.
It was a great hike and I did absolutely nothing the rest of the day as I was gassed. (Still a bit sore today as I’m writing this). But it was well worth it.
10/10, would do again.
But maybe once my legs have recovered.
