Summits AND 35/365

I continue to learn from my mistakes. The photo I really-really-really wanted for today's photo-of-the-day was a group shot of my friends and I at the first summit of the Balding Hills trail at Maligne Lake. Unfortunately, in changing lenses, I failed to remember that the last time I had used the lens, I had used manual focus instead of auto focus. Suffice it to say, every single take of the group shot is unrepairably out of focus. SIGH.

But let us pause and talk of summits. Balding Hills had three. The guidebook, which described the hike--as a whole--as "trifling", said that the first summit appeared after 35-50 minutes. After 65 minutes, we agreed that it was "the longest 35 minutes ever." And while I have hiked much harder and longer trails, I'm not sure I would refer to this hike as "trifling". I would refer to it as a decent day hike. The trail to the first summit was a shallow-ish grade, but completely up. No downhill breaks, and few flat spots (granted, those few were much appreciated and taken advantage of). Every now and then, a break in the trees afforded a good view. It was not awful, by any means. Nevertheless, we arrived at the first summit happy to take a break in the sun, drink water, eat, and take in the view.

Sometimes, even with glimpses of beauty and loveliness along the way, we just need a break from the uphill trek.

As we downed our trail mix, we discussed with the idea of turning around at that point, or continuing onto the second summit "to see what we could see." The guidebook promised even better views from the higher vantage point at the next stop. We chose to go for it.

This leg of the hike was much shorter, but also much steeper. The side of the hill was mostly shale, rendering our steps slow, short, and very purposefully placed. Mostly because I stopped to take pictures, my friends all reached the top before me.

Sometimes, it's okay to just stop briefly to take in the whole of what is before you.

The view at the top WAS better. The first summit still had us surrounded by a lot of trees. Not so much on the second summit. As a result, we were greeted at the top by full sun and a much more panoramic view. It was great.

Admittedly, we didn't stay long. Dropping temperatures, wind, and other pressing activities rendered us back down the trail. We were able to take a different trail for part of the way down, offering still more diversity, even as we were descending back to where we had started.

We cannot stay the top indefinitely.

But it was a good view while we were there. None of us regretted not having time to check out the third and final summit. Knowing the potential of the path not chosen did not diminish the goodness of the path we were on.

It was enough just to be where we were.