Boom Lake: 4 of 60
The night before this hike, I remember thinking to myself, this isn’t a good idea. It was bear country after all and I was attempting to hike alone, on a trail that was quiet, with no phone service. BUt still I made plans. I stopped at a local adventure store to pick up bear spray. The woman at the counter asked me, how many did I want, one or two cans? I choose two. Because after all, if I encountered a bear on day one and used up my spray, I still had a hike planned for day two. Back at the hotel, I packed my day pack.
Morning came, and I felt myself moving slow. This is normal speed when a time commitment doesn’t press on me in the mornings. Part of me thought I would throw in the towel. But I went. Two and a half hours later, I added a couple of other stops to my itinerary. I meant to do them after my hike but didn’t place them correctly on the GPS. The GPS wouldn’t stop swirling — no service. Alright, hike and then I’ll figure it out.
Feeling nervous, I used the outhouse, put on my bear spray and pack, locked the doors, and set off on the trail. I walked alone, the beginning of the trail with a slight incline, my breath heavy. Even surrounded my trees, I could feel my skin heat up. I stopped to take off my jacket. As I continued on the path, I scoured the ground for sticks. I remember watching a movie where the mom, hits the sticks to ward off bears. Maybe it would work. What would I do if a bear did come? I scrunched up my nose, biting the inside of my lip, knowing I would forget everything ChatGPT had told me to do.
As I moved through the forest, my eyes took everything in — the dew on the leaves, the rocks jutting out of the mud, the poop on the ground. For all the time it had taken me to get myself onto the trail, the rest of the walk up was uneventful. When I reached the lake, I wasn’t all that impressed. There were too many boulders to find a comfortable place to sit, and after a few minutes, several groups arrived.
But walking back, I felt energized. I had spent the night before questioning whether I should go, dragged my feet that morning, and worried about bears along the trail. And now I was walking back from the hike I’d almost talked myself out of doing. Later, I went into Banff to walk around. By then, I was tired. Too tired to enjoy it much, and disappointed in myself for not trying to find the other places I’d wanted to see.
Really, Iceland should have taught me this already. I make plans as though the version of me finishing a long hike will have the same energy as the version of me planning it.