Breaking All of the Rules

    I wanted to show our visitors what it was like up on McBride Peak, the mountain behind our house.  The old road up to sub-alpine is very steep and bumpy and I didn’t want to jerk and shake my car all the way up there, so I told my guests that they could sit in the back of my pickup truck all the way up, which madd the young people excited.

    After I said it, I started to have second thoughts about driving all the way up, but knew I couldn’t really back out of letting them ride in the back, so on the day of the trip I told them I had changed the venue a bit and we’d only be going up to the halfway point, where they could look way down at McBride and the Robson Valley,  which is a spectacular view.  That would still satisfy their desire to be bumped and shaken up in the back of the truck, which is, of course, against the law.

    My guests helped me take the canopy off of the back of the pickup and I lined the back with cushions from an old couch and pillows to make the space more comfortable.  Since we were only going to the halfway point and not doing any hiking, I didn’t take a hat, water, coat, or food; things one should take every time they go up in the alpine.  

    We started up the steep rocky road, and I enjoyed hearing the squeals and giggles as the teens were bounced off their seats and shifted around by the bumps on the road.  They were having such a good time that I caved in and decided to drive all the way to the sub-alpine after we did the sightseeing at the halfway point.

    Above the halfway the road gets steeper and the rocks in the road get bigger.  At one point the road clings between a rock face and a sheer drop-off--exciting stuff !

    We got up to the parking area without incident, and then proceeded to hike up the steep slope to the old forestry lookout.  It was cooler, of course, up in the alpine and there was a wind that made it worse.  Luckily all of my guest did have jackets and water.  I, the local who is usually well prepared, was without either and I felt foolish.  Being without in the mountains is how hypothermia happens.

    I did keep watch over everyone to make sure no one was getting over exerted or cold.  I felt a bit chilled, but not overly.

    We did make it to the alpine meadows that I wanted to show them.  They got to walk through some of the snow patches.  I was disappointed to discover that the flowers must have already bloomed, but there was a impressive panorama of the surrounding mountains.

    Despite breaking all the rules, we all survived, but I was sure glad we didn’t get caught in a cold rain up there.

    

See my paintings at:  davidmarchant2.ca