marathon

this past weekend i completed a marathon of sorts. mark, antri and i set out on a decidedly ambitious (decidedly agonizing?) adventure whereby we were going to hike into the deep heart of the rockies, climb the sixth-highest peak in the canadian section of that great chain, and then retrace our steps back to civilization, all in two days. and, well, we did just that, with the addition of a second summit just for fun. just for photographs, actually, like the one above.

from kananaskis provincial park, we passed through banff national park into british columbia's assiniboine provincial park, some twenty-six kilometres from the trailhead to assiniboine lodge where we rested for an hour with our feet in lake magog. from there, it was another seven kilometres or so to get above the headwall and drop our packs at the climbers' hut at the base of mount assiniboine. the summit of nearby mt strom provided a perfect vantage from which to photograph its more majestic neighbour basking in alpenglow, before the evening cold forced our hasty retreat into the cramped hut. at least three of the thirteen guests were violent snorers, precluding any real sleep, but at least we were safe from the impressive cold outside (and not hiking.) that same cold welcomed our summit bid early the next morning, and travelled with us until eight o'clock, when on the summit ridge we were able to slow down and warm ourselves in the rising sun. a careful descent with four rappels brought us back to the hut to pack and coffee-up before the long thirty-three kilometres out. the long thirty-three kilometres out.

did every inch of my body hate the obstinacy of our resolution? yes; in fact, i'm quite certain that by the end, every muscle fibre wanted nothing more than to sever their neurological servitude to the draconian will that pushed them onward. regardless, we were back at the car before dark and eating manly amounts of real food in calgary before we could finally let the ecstasy of sleep overtake us. would i do such a thing again? of course. actually, how's about next weekend?