Expedition: The Grouse Grind
When: Saturday, July 10th, 1999
Duration of journey: An eternity, plus a few hours
This week's Sarahland adventure takes us to Grouse Mountain, situated on the picturesque North Shore of the City of Vancouver.
Fueled by an IHOP breakfast, the Sarahland Summiteers drove to the base of the mountain and readied themselves for the journey ahead. I was reassured that I definitely looked like a successful hiker when a passerby dressed in hiking gear stopped to chat for a spell. After looking me up and down, she innocently inquired, " so, you've just finished the Grind?". What a relief to know that I already had the look of a successful hiker. I'm not sure if it was my already red-face, my palpitating heart or the delicate rivers of moisture running down my body. In any event, my motivation level soared as we made our way to the start of the trail.
My sherpa for this hike was sufficiently prepared, or so I thought, with water and supplies stowed neatly away in his rugged bear knapsack. And so the hike began...
An hour into the rigorous hike, after many breaks for water and rests to slow our racing hearts, we were horrified to discover a sign posted on a tree indicating that we were, in fact, only 1/4 of the way to the peak! While my sherpa recommended turning back, as leader of this expedition I felt it necessary that we forge on and complete the mission.
Battling mosquitoes, melting snow and fellow hikers whom had fallen by the wayside, we continued to trek upwards towards our goal. Unfortunately our ill-prepared sherpa had packed only expired banana flavoured Power Bars as our source of nourishment. (Any hiker worth his boot straps knows that banana based products only spur those pesky mosquitoes into attack mode.) So, fighting pangs of hunger, we kept going. Periodic water breaks allowed time for glimpses at the stunning views of our majestic Pacific Northwest. As our altitude increased we were able to see far and wide this beautiful land that we are proud to call home.
Finally, our arduous hike was coming to its conclusion! After two hours and 39 grueling minutes we had reached the summit and were greeted with bright sunny skies and crispy white snow. We had an opportunity then to stroll around the village and take a chair lift ride to the apex, all the while gazing in wonderment at our beautiful surroundings.
Our exhaustive expedition drew to a close as we rode the Grouse Mountain tram down the mountain and pondered our next adventure in weeks to come.
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