Easter Retreat - Calgary, Alberta (2)

The highlight of Day Two was a 3 hr hike from granduncle’s home to the woods on a hill and back. Let me try to explain the terrain in words. The north of Calgary is basically divided into two by the Bow River running through it. This is quite similar to the city of Ithaca which has Lake Cayuga running through it. The difference between the two being that while Ithaca is pretty much built of sloppy terrain, Calgary sits on a ridge (flat land). Granduncle hikes for at least 2 hours everyday, and mind you, it is no easy hike. I may not have physically tested myself ever since NS (maybe since BMT), but the hike involved some slippery slopes, rocky cliffs, and concluded with a rather sharp 400m ascent to the top of the ridge. Starting on one side of the river, we hiked down the hill, crossed the river and hiked up the opposite ridge. I am finding it very difficult to actually describe the hike, but what stood out were the unbelievable surroundings I was in. In ten minutes, I am at the bottom of the ridge, with hills full of berries surrounding me, twenty minutes later, I am at the top of the ridge seeing the skyline of Calgary and the Rocky Mts in the distance, ten minutes later we are crossing the river with baby blue water, another ten minutes we are crossing into the park with the Elbow River (a smaller river) running through, another fifteen minutes and we are in the woods, with many fir trees all around us. Fir trees are beautiful, hiking among fir trees with temperatures of 12 degrees is a luxury which MacRitchie does not really compare to. But what I am really trying to write from the moving picture in my memory is the many refreshing sights a single hike could bring. I think the reason why MacRitchie is nowhere as attractive to hike in is because after 3 hours, all you see is still the same old trees! (Maybe I am not observant, but I doubt most are anyway.)