Another memorable hike! Sa sobrang excited kong chumika sa inyo, I spent almost all day trying to finish this post. Muntik na kong mag-skip ng workout after 25 days of being consistent. Sumakit din yung ulo ko, siguro dahil ang tagal kong nakatingin sa screen pagsusulat.

This hike didn’t turn out exactly how I expected it to be—but in a good way. Legow!

My botany lesson

Last month pa naka-schedule ang hike na ‘to kasi meron kaming isa pang kasama na couple. Syempre pag group, kelangan mag-swak sa schedule ng lahat. Ilang beses ko na naririnig kay Kenneth yung ‘larch hike’ at ang pagkakaintindi ko lang, basta pag maraming yellow na puno, larch hike na yun. Mali pala haha.

Ang larch pala ay type of tree. At ang unique thing about sa kanya, unlike evergreens like pine and fir trees na green lang sya all-year round—thus their collective term ‘evergreen’ na ngayon ko lang din nalaman—yung larch trees, they turn yellow. Kaya palaaa. Kaya pala sya big deal haha. Tapos pag tinatamaan sya ng araw, nagmumukang golden yung kulay nya kaya ang ganda. Kaso, 2-3 weeks lang daw ang larch season (around end of September) tapos after that, manlalagas na yung mga dahon—hindi katulad ng pine trees na kahit winter, intact pa rin yung mga dahon nila. We timed our group hike during larch season kasi hindi pa namin ‘to na-eexperience ni Kenneth. Exciting! (Yung 3:30AM na gising, not exciting. Haha!)

Chilly forecast

The night before the hike, saka pa lang ako nag-check ng forecast. Ang lamig pala! 1-2℃!! Kaya ba namin yun?? Game ako sa fall hikes, pero parang pa-winter na yung 1-2℃ ah. Sabi ni Kenneth laban na raw. Baka naman daw hindi kami lamigin since naglalakad kami. Tapos may forecast pa ng ulan sa umaga! Okay naman ako sa ulan. Pero yung ulan plus 1℃ weather? Pano na? Kaso naka-book na kami ng shuttle pa-Moraine Lake (our only access to the Larch Valley trail) at wala naman kaming nari-receive na messages from our ka-hikers so mukang laban na rin sila. Okay, let’s do diz!?!

5:30AM ang call time at nag-meet kami sa bahay nila para isang sasakyan na lang ang gamit namin papunta. On the way pa lang pa-Banff, ulang-ulan na. Tapos may nabasa pa si Kenneth na posible raw mag-snow sa umaga! Hindi ko alam kung ano bang mas pipiliin ko, ulan o snow? Ulan siguro kasi na-try ko nang mag-hike sa ulan at nakaya ko naman. Yung snow, it’s uncharted territory. Wala akong idea. Ang intimidating pero exciting at the same time kasi hindi pa namin na-eexperience. For good measure, nagdala kami ng ice cleats in case kailanganin namin.

Pagdating namin sa Moraine Lake kung san ang simula ng trail, ang cloudy pa rin. I didn’t bother to take photos of my favourite lake kasi taklob ng clouds yung mountains. But the good thing is, yung ulan, naging ambon na lang. So baka naman gaganda na ang weather. Wala na kaming iisipin na ulan o snow.

Mga alinlangans

Kakasimula pa lang namin sa trail, umulan nanaman! Haha. Sinuot ko na yung rain jacket ko. Wala nang pag-asa ‘to. Ayoko nang makipaglaban sa weather. Tapos maya-maya, nag-slow motion yung ulan tapos naging puti! Nag-s-snow na! Ang galing kasi kitang kita ko yung transition nung ulan to snow. Pero mixed emotions kasi hindi ko alam kung gano ba kami papahirapan ng snow sa pag-akyat at baba namin. Larch Valley is a 9-km hike with 600m elevation gain. Wala akong idea kung anong itsura nung trail. Mangangadulas ba kami dahil sa snow? Safe pa rin ba? Kaya ko ba?? HINDI KO ALAAAAM.

Ang isa pang pag-aalinlangan ko ay ang aking physical capacity. Kasi day before this hike, I had my period. Hindi ko alam kung magkaka-dysmenorrhea ba ko at kung makakaapekto sya sa hike ko. Ang isa pang area of concern, day two of my period is my heaviest. What if mag-leak? HAYY ANG HIRAP MAGING BABAE! Bukod pa dun, biglang nanakit yung left hip ko after mag-walking pad. PANO NA YAAAN??

And so I went into this hike with a lot of discouragement. Ang frustrating. Gusto ko lang naman mag-hike tapos kung ano-anong sakit ang nararamdaman ko. Grr.

Fall meets winter

Tuloy-tuloy lang kami pag-akyat at merong mga moments na hapong-hapo na ko. Tumitigil naman kami pero nakakatamad kasing mag-take a break pag buhos na buhos pa rin yung snow. Parang may element of being in a hurry kasi hindi maganda yung panahon. Plus, pag tumigil kami ng matagal, lalamigin kami. Oo nga pala, yung initial kong concern na 1℃ weather, nawala na. Kasi mga 10 minutes pa lang kaming naglalakad, nawala na yung lamig. My body is producing enough heat to keep me warm. Yay!

Ang worry na namin ngayon ay yung tuloy-tuloy na pagbuhos ng snow. Kasi ang ipinunta namin dito ay yung yellow larch trees diba. Eh kung snow ng snow, baka puti na lang yung makita namin. True enough, kung hindi pa minention ni Faye, hindi ko mamamalayan na may mga larch trees na pala sa paligid namin. The trees are being slowly covered in snow kaya hindi ko na napansin.

But upon looking closer, nakita ko na yung mga yellow needle-like leaves. Hindi nga lang striking yung pagka-yellow nung paligid dahil sa snow. Nonetheless, it was a unique sight. Well, hindi ko pala alam kasi nga first time ko naman maka-witness ng ganito. I’m not sure kung gano ba ka-common ang combination ng snow and larch in their peak yellow colour. Either way, I felt lucky! I didn’t expect na magkakaron ng crossover between warm autumn colours and white wintery snow today. It was a nice thing to witness.

Full-on winter vibes

Nung papalapit na kami sa dulo ng trail, wala nang masyadong puno. Meron na lang maliit na lake and we are now surrounded by big, snow-covered mountains—they replaced the larch trees as the star of the show. Yung tinatapakan namin, snow na talaga. Natawa ako sa joke ni Faye, “Ganito pala ang feeling mag-hike sa Mt. Everest.” Haha. Finally, we reached the end of the trail at makakain na namin ang aming baon na corned beef pandesal. Kahit malamig at masebo na yung corned beef pandesal ko, pag ganito ka kapagod at kagutom, lahat sobrang sarap.

At 600m elevation, bukod sa non-stop snow, magkakaron ng sudden, violent winds! Sobrang lakas talaga! Tipong bine-bend ko yung tuhod ko para maka-balance ako at hindi ako liparin. Experiencing those wind gusts while struggling to make myself stable was another whole new experience. Nakakatakot pero ang saya.

Time to descent

Unfortunately, dahil sa harsh weather, hindi kami masyadong nakatambay sa taas. Sina Faye and Josh din ang kasama namin nung nag-Little Beehive kami at sa hike na yun, nakapag-nap pa kami habang nakahiga sa malalaking bato. Pero this time, it’s not suitable to chill and relax. Kaya after taking pictures (badtrip kasi nasira pa yung tripod ko dahil sa hangin), nag-start na rin kaming bumaba. Medyo scared akong bumaba kasi dito nagsisimulang manakit ang tuhod at balakang ko. But miraculously, I was okay! Meron lang very very mild discomfort, but the majority of it was painless and easy! Sobrang saya ko! Naaaliw sakin si Kenneth kasi sa sobrang saya ko, ang laki ng ngiti ko tapos bigla akong mapapasayaw.

Nung nasa part na kami ng mga larch trees, medyo nalusaw na yung snow sa mga puno kaya mas nakita yung pagka-dilaw nila. Yay! We took advantage and took more photos. The rest of the hike felt quick and almost effortless. Huhu ang saya ko! Ganito pala ang feeling ng malakas. Ang dami kong worries nung gabi pero wala pala kong dapat ipag-alala! Haha eh malay ko ba.

After a few more kilometres, finally, nasa Moraine Lake na kami ulit! Pababa pa lang, na-iimagine ko na ang pag-higop ng mainit at masarap na ramen. Excited na kong kumain ng masarap!

The only letdown

Unfortunately, hindi ako nag-enjoy sa ramen. We ate at Ramen Arashi in Banff and I was pretty disappointed. I am baffled by the hundreds of five-star reviews. Hindi naman sya five-star material. Si Kenneth ang sobrang disappointed kasi nalimutan yung order nya. After following it up, dumating yung ramen nya nung patapos na kaming kumain. Pansin na pansin ko yung effort nya na i-withhold yung temper nya haha. Pero dahil may kasama kaming ibang tao, kailangan nyang pigilan. Haha buti na lang. Ayaw na ayaw ko pa naman pag nawawala sya sa mood kasi kahit tahimik lang sya, para kaming napapalibutan ng dark negative energy.

Because of the disappointing ramen experience, binawi ko na lang sa sweets. While still in Banff, we passed by a Lindt store at nag-shopping ako ng chocolates. I picked up a ‘pick & mix’ plastic bag and selected six flavours of mini Lindt truffles (mostly dark). I was so happy and felt like I kid while holding my bag of sweeties. Out of the six, apat na yung nakain ko at lahat sila masarap!

Thanks hike mates!

Akala ko makakatulog ako on the way pauwi dahil sa pagod at busog, pero nagkwentuhan lang kami buong byahe. Our topics went from puzzles, to dreams and bangungot, to investments, to outdoor cats.

After namin makarating sa bahay nila where we parked our car, we still had about a 35-minute drive home. Past 10PM na kami nakauwi ng bahay! It was a loooong day! 3:30AM to 10:30PM?? 19 hours?! Woah. I’m not complaining, I’m just quite amazed at how we had all that energy to get through that non-stop day. We’re pushing 40 and we’re just happy na kaya pa pala namin yung ganun hihi.

Sabi ni Kenneth, ito na raw ang favourite hike nya. I get why, pero I don’t think I can pick a favourite. I’d like to think that every hike has its own charm and story. Feeling ko yung kay Kenneth recency bias lang hehe. Kasi tanda ko kung gano rin sya kasaya nung nag-Little Beehive kami, or nung nag-Bear’s Hump kami, or nung nag-Zion kami. Iba-ibang hikes = different views, different milestones, and different company. Each trail is unique and filled with its own memories. For sure meron akong clear favourites, pero hindi ako makakapili ng #1.