THE MOUNTAINS ARE FOR MORE THAN HIKING

THE MOUNTAINS ARE FOR MORE THAN HIKING

Living as we do in the flat lands of South Western Ontario, it was interesting to me to come across people who use the mountains as training grounds for what I would call “over the top extreme fitness”.

Our first encounter occurred at Mount Robson when a group of 3 women came running by us as I puffed and panted. Lightly clad, trim of body and nimble of foot with one of them was using walking sticks, these 3 ran past, almost before we’d realized that they were coming up behind us. The one in front seemed to be the coach, and as we stepped aside and they passed us, she made reference to a training video they’d obviously watched while she demonstrated allowing the hips to loosely drop as she gracefully made her way over rocks and roots. Eric, being an enthusiastic trail runner, was of course full of admiration. Later, when after a 7 hour slog we’d reached Berg Lake and were having lunch, we heard the trio behind us on their downward trip, happily chatting. I was sitting with a view of the lake and not about to move my weary bones, but Eric jumped up to intercept them and came back to report. They were training for a relay event, a so-called extreme race, called the North Face Canadian Death Race, in Grande Cache, Alberta. “It’s a killer” says their website, complete with skull, is 125 km long and passes over 3 mountain summits. It took place on the August long weekend so I hope they survived.

Later, when we climbed up Mt Findlayson not far from Victoria, a group of young women overtook us running up a steep section. They apparently were training for rowing.

And then when we were hiking up towards the Elk Pass in Strathcona, we encountered a woman who caught up to us after we’d been hiking for several hours and had just completed a particularly rugged section of scrambling. She had come up that morning from the trailhead where we’d started the day before. Her plan was to have her lunch and then run all the way down.

It’s quite amazing what some people can do!!