Nicky's Space: Snow Adventures

Finding joy in the everyday has been a quest for me this year.

I often identify strongly with gloomy Eeyore (in Winnie the Pooh) and need to practice prayer and gratitude to search out the JOY that is there is to be found in the every day messiness of life.

I am not always successful.

I need more practice.

But today..... today was a day it was gloriously easy to find, see, hear and feel.

And for a mother who woke up two teens well before sunrise that is it's own special miracle!

We headed out in dense fog but as we cleared Stanley Park downtown we saw the sun rising and catching the tops of the local mountains.

Joy!

We headed for Hollyburn Mountain with a good number of our fellow snow lovers.

Still ahead of most of the crowd we got snow shoes rented and trail tickets in short order, and a parking spot mere feet from the trail (jackpot!) and we were off.

It was all sorts of wonderful.

The kids took off up the trail like puppies bounding in the snow.... leaping into deep snow... running and racing one another.... sibling rivalry about speed and strength and smarts being bantered about all the time.

Chasing each other all the way

They are standing still....fakers

Allan and I smiled at one another. It felt like one of those moments that is granted as a huge reward for not murdering them when they were toddlers or pre-teens.

I trudged along at the back of the pack, stopping frequently to take a photo and catch my breath. I sound like I am dying when hiking uphill and I get very sweaty (sort of like I am about to have a heart attack) but I'm fine, really, I can keep going and going... just more slowly than some. I love watching my peeps on the trail ahead of me and love the odd quiet moment of the hush that you can only get in the middle of a snowy forest.

I had packed many snacks - no weather conditions or unforeseen circumstances would stop my family from surviving on high calorie snack food in the great snowy wilderness. Every back pack was equipped with "food" and water and dry socks.

Would have been great if we had remembered a map.

Anyhoo the trails are well marked and while we like to pretend we were all alone on the mountain we saw plenty of other adventurers along the way who could have helped us if we we would have asked for directions.

But what's an adventure with directions I ask you?

So we sipped our water and ate our fishing cookies on not-a-fishing-trip (nobody tell Fil Vera) and we made it up Snowy gully to the upper warming hut.

We stood outside the warming hut enjoying the fog that had now left the City and settled at the Upper Warming Hut. We could have gone inside the hut but there were many small children from the ski school and we wished not be annoyed.... especially by that one kid in the neon orange toque...with no volume control and an opinion on everything..... you know the one.

So as the icicles formed on my apparently barely existent eyebrows (a fact that causes constant amusement to my teens) we headed down.

Until now I have diligently stayed on the green trails (easiest) and already today I had been up a few blue trails (moderate) but the teens decided a black diamond trail (life threatening) was in order on the descent off their youthful bravado and legs took them before I could protest or contemplate my imminent death.

Allan ready to catch a BIG snowball

As I am now writing this story I obviously survived. I only fell into a snow bank once and that was when trying to vacate the trail for a group on the ascent.

And so a most delightful, joy-filled, morning was had by the Byres4 bounding and stomping and jumping through the 28cm of new snow.

Why take a normal photo?

Ok - see - we can do normal - but it takes effort

"Wait for me"

Allan and I "dabbing" while David prays he's adopted

AND as if this day could honestly give any more.... Lindsay AND I had naps on our return.

For those counting - that is 2 naps for me in 2016.... clearly I am on a streak. All I need in 2017 is my ability to sleep at night to return or finding the joy in anything is going to be harder work. Especially for those who live with me lol.

Now please excuse me - I have some cheesies and swedish fish in my backpack I need to finish as we did not get lost in the snowy wilderness and need a rescue after all but snacks don't keep.

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