The problem with hiking in BC is it’s hard to choose where to go.
I subscribe to All Trails and there are hundreds of possibilities in driving distance from where I live, and hundreds more if I’m willing to take a ferry. As much as owning a vehicle living in Vancouver seems like a waste, it would be convenient for these trips, since with car share for a decent hike I’m looking at at least $70. In reality that’s how much I’d spend going for food and drinks one evening, but when the activity itself (hiking) is free, it becomes easy to talk myself out of going, especially with all the options I’d have to decide between.
I landed on Golden Ears this day before I was looking for something to the east of the city – I hadn’t gone in that direction yet – which didn’t have a preponderance of bears. To get there, we drove through Burnaby, Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows and finally Maple Ridge. It felt about the further you could go to still be considered Metro Vancouver, and continuing east looked mostly like forest aside from the towns along the highway.
Turning onto where it becomes small roads leading into the forest, there was some kind of outdoor adventure/climbing place that looked like a lot of fun. It’s the sort of place I make a note to go back to but then never do.
For the park itself, it became apparently that there were certain activities most common in that area, none of which we we were doing: hanging out at the beach and taking wedding photos. We passed a handful of other hikers too, but the total number probably wasn’t more than the wedding party we encountered, and certainly they paled in comparison to the glut of families at the beach.
It’s clearly a great view, almost like a mini Lake Louise, but there were so many loud people that I don’t know that I’d bother to drive all the way out there instead of just walking down to a beach in the city, aside from a change of pace. Maybe in a post-car world. I wish I had a group of three other people to play that game where they hit the ball on the trampoline thing.
The trails themselves felt like pretty typical BC forest without having anything particularly unique for the region, at least to these untrained eyes. That said, there doesn’t need to be anything particularly unique for it to be beautiful. Big trees, moss, streams, hills, all the main things.
I wish I spent more time walking slow or stopping to think as I’m there. Most the time when I’m stagnant it’s to take a quick photo without reflecting. I’d like to do a better job at staying present, especially when I’m somewhere I like. All the time I’m always about what’s next, even if I like what’s now.
I have gotten better at least at breathing, both when I want to be somewhere and when I don’t. When I breathe deep in a forest I can take the rich oxygen and it wake me up, it gives me clarity and energy in each breath. Even if it only rejuvenates me 5% more than I was before, it’s noticeable. It makes me think if I lived in a treehouse in one of these forests how much better I’d feel physically just from all the oxygen.
I’ve had more than one person comment to me about the ethics of hiking in general, so it would go threefold for remaining in those places permanently. Every footprint adds a little bit of destruction and upset the ecosystem a fraction more. Is my desire to be in a forest and snap some photos really worth it?
As the forests recede around the world, the desire to escape to them will likely only increase, which ironically will also serve to acceleration their destruction. In some of the worldwide sites like Machu Picchu, although not a forest like this, they’ve taken steps in recent years to limit the number of people going there and restricting what can be done there in an effort to slow the degradation. But notice I say slow, not stop – these places continue to recede, and there’s really no way around it. Even leaving them alone won’t work completely because they’re effected by all the chemicals and pollutes around the earth that inevitably slip into their ecosystems.
Of course these reflections aren’t specific to Golden Ears or any other park, it’s just the nature of caring about the environment enough to want to experience it. And maybe targeted restoration efforts are enough, I don’t really know. I’m unlikely to alter my behaviour much more than I have already except when laws change, like the recent municipal banning of plastic bags here.
Although I don’t want to limit the ability of people to go hiking, I am a little extra excited to go when it’s raining or muddy, because I know that means there will be fewer people out. It’ll be calmer so I can selfishly have more of the oxygen and views just for me.
If I went back, I think I’d like to take a kayak on the water and make my way a sliver towards the crack between the mountains. But there are so many other places to go, it’s more likely I’ll land on another park until I’ve exhausted all the spots for my weekend day trips, which more than likely will never happen.
describing space 