At the last staff meeting of the school year for Cardston High School, Jason Janisko said he would take everyone who wanted to go on a hike to the top of Chief Mountain. Paul Sloan is an avid hiker and also led the way, and he carried his big camera all the way up the mountain and told us lots of cool facts. (Science 10 Nature Walk - as Marin Williams put it).
Hiking Chief Mountain has been on my bucket list since we moved to Canada. Chief Mountain is significant if you live in Northern Montana or Southern Alberta. It is a landmark that you can see from anywhere, and it resembles a Native Chief laying down. You have to go with someone that knows the way because there are no signs and hardly any marked trails.
Lucy didn't want to come, so we let her hang out with the Hardy's for the day. So what did she come home with, a little project she had sewed. Then they went swimming at Wally's Beach.
Austin, Jill, Hanna, Carly and I joined a group of 28 hikers to climb the mountain. Madison Leishman and Madison Barfuss also came with Hanna.
It was a warm start to the hike, but the weather was actually perfect. There was a light breeze and when we got to the top, it was calm for a while. Then the wind starting gusting harder and blew at our backs on our hike down. It was a beautiful, clear day - and we were especially charmed because the last few days there has been lots of smoke from the fires burning in B.C. But we woke up to a much clearer sky today.
There were two sections of hikers - the faster group (the kids and Coralee Williams) and then the slower group of the rest of the adults. After a couple hours of hiking, we reached the shale leading up to the top of the mountain. Climbing the shale was one of the hardest things I have ever done physically and mentally. You are pretty much crawling up the mountain, pausing at each step to make sure that your foot will stay steady. Carly was in a tears a couple times and wasn't sure she could finish. Austin was her coach all the way up the mountain - and she did it. Everyone in our group made it to the top.
During the climb up, Carly told Austin that she prayed last night about hiking Chief Mountain, and she had the feeling that if she trusted, she would make it.
We ate our lunch at 9,050 feet on top of the mountain. We had climbed 7 kilometers and ascended 3,050 feet. It took us 4 hours to get everyone to the top. We stayed up there for almost an hour, and then it took about 2 hours to slide/hike back down.
Everyone had cell phone service on top of the mountain, so Steve Gibbings called his wife in Cardston and she stood on her back porch and flashed a big mirror, and we could see the sun flashes of it. It was pretty cool.
There were a few injuries on the way - mostly minor. Maddie Barfuss and Hanna got cuts on their legs. Coralee Williams tumbled and Cheryl McMurray fell on the way down the shale with some good scrapes, blood and bruises. Carly tore her shoes and I tore my shorts.
It is an awesome experience, and I would do it again after I forget how hard it was.
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