I Think I Can. I Think I Can.

We were headed to 12.6kms of snow covered trail that meandered through forested areas, open meadows and along the shorelines of Shirley and Oster Lakes.  I hoped that I wouldn't  regret the decision.

There was a blue-bird Alberta sky with lots of sunshine overhead.  It was calling us.  I could not have asked for a better way to spend the day.  It was so beautiful that we could not spend the day inside the house.  Neither of us knew what to expect as it was a new trail that we were trying out.

The warm temperature was making the snow very sticky.  It formed clumps under my snowshoes, making them weigh twice as much as they really do.  It also made it difficult to maneuver the narrow trail.  Thank goodness for the trekking poles.

In the open areas, the wind whipped up little snow devils and filled up the tracks with drifting snow.  The wind was not kind to us when we stopped for lunch.  The picnic tables and benches were out in the open at the group camping site.  When we tried lighting the campstove, the wind kept snuffing the flame out.  We were so hungry by that time that cold soup was starting to sound really tasty.


There was some wildlife on the trail.  We saw a porcupine having a nap in a willow tree, a squirrel snacking on a dried out mushroom, a pair of coyotes making their way across the lake and numerous bison.  The chickadees and the woodpeckers were letting us know that they were nearby but were out of sight.

The trail ended at a parking area located south of where we started out.  We had to hike along the road for a short distance to get to a short cut that would take us back to our trail head.  By the time we got to that point, we were so tired that we opted to stay on the road and hike another 3.8kms, uphill I might add, rather than breaking trail along the short cut.

My knees ached.  My ankles ached.  My shoulders ached.  I had to encourage myself to finish the final 100m.  "I think I can.  I think I can."

We started out at 11:40am and got back to the trail head at 5:30pm.  As the sun was going down, we got to the truck and were exhausted, sore, sun/wind burnt and in agreement that it was a great day.  Elk Island National Park was the place to be today.

My decision to hike that trail has prompted me to take some preventative measures this evening; a hot soak in a eucalyptus Epsom salt bath and 3 extra strength Tylenol.  Hopefully I will be able to move tomorrow.  If not, I'll just park myself in front of the window with my camera so I can photograph the action at my bird feeders.