Hail To The Stawamus Chief

I conquered a mountain today.

Me, my German roommate, and a French neighbor from downstairs were supposed to meet up with the Scottish girls from the party at a campsite near Squamish. But the only girl who has a phone left it at home, so we couldn't find them. At the time we discussed joining them, they haven't decided on a campsite, and it was uncertain which campsite they would go to since it all depended on whether or not it was already full for the long weekend. So we searched a few campsites in the immediate area of Squamish. One particular campsite, Cat Lake, was very brutal to drive to because the road to there was hidden, unpaved, and full of rocks lying around, and I could've sworn I lost a lot of air pressure in my tires. No luck.

Once again, I get to deal with unreliable chicks.

We finally gave up, but rather than head home, we decided to make a day out of it. My German roommate suggested we climb the Stawamus Chief, this huge famous landmark that that is pretty high up in the list of the World's Largest Rocks, and we went for that.

You know it's going to be a tough trail when the entrance is a rock climb. I suppose it serves as a warning that if you can't even manage this, you shouldn't be on the trail at all. Even though there were stairs that are either man-made wood or naturally-occurring rock formations, the gradient was extremely steep. Wearing jeans, I was ill-dressed for the hike, but this hike was a last minute decision.

It's probably not a surprise that I'm pretty dense and heavy for someone with my proportions, so it was very difficult hauling myself up the steep rock. I was whining all the way up, but that's how I deal with hardship - I whine on the outside, but inside, I'm constantly pushing myself to find my physical limit and linger in the realm of extreme that lies beyond. All my friends know me well enough not to take my whining seriously.

Near the top, the terrain went from dense forest to bare rock. Therefore, climbing to the top involved negotiatin a series of chains and ladders built into the rock as part of the trail. After hours of climbing with only a few stops, we finally made it to the peak. It was cool and breezy up there, and we took off our shirts to dry off our sweat. There were some girls up there to impress with our manly physiques, so that last sentence didn't sound completely gay.

The valley that houses the town of Squamish snaked around us, ending in a fjord bordered by a legion of mountain peaks, an awe-inebriating reminder of how great it is to live in BC. Surprisingly, there were chipmunks way up there, and they weren't very shy because they were probably given food often by the hikers who made it up all the way. Fortunately, I brought my camera with me and took a lot of photos. I even took out my phone and took a picture so I could use as a wallpaper and a testimony of my victory over the rock.

After a couple of hours of chilling, we finally headed down. Althrough it is expected to be easier to go down than up, it was still difficult because the trail was so steep, and so we had to descend carefully lest we become part of an avalanche. It only took us forty minutes to make it all the way down. After that trip, we stopped at Shannon Falls on the way, another beautiful view.

We concluded the day back in Downtown Vancouver at Kintaro Ramen, the same place I went with my friend after snowboarding. The boys were very hungry, and were not happy that we had to line up to get in as usual. But once they saw the Japanese waitresses and finally tasted the noodles with the deliciously seasoned pork, I was vindicated.

Coming home, we realized that the two guys have moved in - old guys. They came from a theological college nearby and were only staying for a week or two. So it appeared that my quad is being used as a hotel. At least it meant they will probably hermit themselves in their rooms rather than hang around the place and "olding up" the atmosphere. Well, if they ever complain about me walking around the quad in nothing but my underwear, I can knowledgeably counter that back in their day, the great Joe DiMaggio would not hesitate to greet the media completely nude in the locker room showers. But then again, the primary form of media back in that era was radio.

So even though we were stood up by Scottish chicks, and we found out that our place is becoming a nursing home, we still had a pretty good and constructive day. Now I have a new wallpaper for my phone, too. Even though the picture of sushi that came with the phone was kinda nice, I needed something more personal and uniquely mine.

At least until I get a photo of myself being hounded by hot girls (as if).

The beautiful town of Squamish down below.
Now if only I brought a golf ball, a tee, and a 1-driver...