MOUNTAIN LIFE - Coast Mountains | Summer 2018

50 MLCM SUMMER 2018 the thick of it. When your fancy GPS watch breaks, will you know which berm of rocks you need to parallel to make it safely back to the car? For me, developing a sense of autonomy has been confidence building and rewarding. Rather than becoming paralyzed by all the “what ifs” floating around in my skull, I can smugly respond to my worried brother-in-law, “A rattlesnake bite actually isn’t a deadly threat to adults. I just need to hike out slowly and immediately call a hospital if bitten.” Mic drop. After two years of diligent training to become a better alpinist I returned to the first peak I ever summited to climb it again, only this time I was alone and in the snow. Merrily digging my crampons into the consolidated slabs, I soon reached the top with buckets of reserve energy left to scramble up the summit block, snap photos, and laugh at overly-friendly marmots darting beneath my feet. I had cut my hiking time in half and enjoyed myself fives times as much as I had the first time around, barely arriving at camp in the late gloaming. The point is: training works. It provides a margin of safety that allows you to relax and enjoy the mountains, rather than huffing and puffing your way through the forest, only to collapse in your tent before sunset. Yes, I’ve encountered bears (without getting eaten), been a little bit lost for a bit, and survived a host of other “dangers” everyone always warns us about. I’ve also put my first aid training to work helping another hiker suddenly struck with an epileptic seizure (check airway, breathing and pulse!) Allowing ourselves to take the illicit and delicious plunge into solo hiking, travelling, or backpacking gives us the gift of absolute freedom. Of standing on our own two feet with nothing but our wits, skills and instincts to get us out there and back again. The places your mind will take you on a solo journey are invaluable, and the imprints these wild spaces make inside your heart will be unmatched. When you venture out alone, you’ll find it is not the trail that changes, but yourself. Tough to beat those summer nights out there alone with the fly off the tent. JUSTA JESKOVA "The point is: training works. It provides a margin of safety that allows you to relax and enjoy the mountains."