Hikes Fo(u)r Days
It has been a busy week for the POLARIS group. In addition to building leadership skills and learning about leadership styles, the past four days have consisted of difficult hiking, intense heat, threatening thunderstorms and an abundance of bothersome bugs. Despite these challenges, the group has endured. And although they are tired and sore, it has been an incredible week that has built resilience and fostered fun.
Feeling strong after the 16km Barrier Lake hike
On Tuesday, the group hiked Grotto canyon and it served as a warm up for the week to come. This simple and beautiful trail gave them some experience in the mountains and allowed them get their hiking muscles warmed up for the epic on Wednesday. The group then traveled to beautiful Kananaskis Country to hike the Barrier Lake loop the next day. This hike consists of 16km of travel with 864m of elevation to reach the Barrier Lake Fire Lookout. Many members of the group had never hiked a trail this long or this steep, and it is fair to say that there was some nervousness and hesitation at the beginning. Especially since we also brought along some extra weight in the form of stoves, cooking equipment and food to have celebratory tacos and butter chicken at the end of the day. The group showed their grit through these challenges and quickly got into a rhythm. The hike started flat as we moved around Barrier Lake, then gradually steepened as we approached the lookout. Just before the high point the trail steepened even further, daring the group to turn around. Though even with boxes of tomatoes, bags of ground beef and cans of butter chicken sauce weighing them down, they rose to the challenge and reached the lookout. The hard work was rewarded with incredible views of the surrounding mountains and a birds-eye-view of the lake.
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The next objective was the campsite at the bottom of the mountain. There, we would have our dinner and make smores around the campfire. Walking down the gently declining path provided some time for campers to chat and celebrate making it to the summit. At the campsite, campers split into their meal groups and went to work. The taco crew worked together to cut veggies and warm up the ground beef, while the butter chicken team made rice and warmed up the chicken. Afterwards the group built a campfire and made smores. This was unfortunately cut short by a rainstorm that was rolling in, but the group had fun regardless.
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With the tough parts of the hike behind us, all that was left was the flat walk back to the parking lot. The rain held off and allowed for a relatively dry and relaxing jaunt. The group was sore by the end, but feeling incredibly accomplished. On to the next one.
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On Thursday the group headed back to Kananaskis to hike up Powder Face Ridge. This short and steep hike that is 6km long and climbs 400m. The group was tired from Barrier Lake, but pressed on and worked hard. We did not make it to the ridge, but instead ended the hike and ate our lunch at a beautiful alpine meadow.
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After hiking back to the road, the POLARIS group cooled off and relaxed at a nearby lake. Campers swam, learned about the local wildlife from Parks Canada, and relaxed by the water. It was an incredible way to end a great day.
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The final challenge of the week was 70 Buck Loop in Kananaskis. The sun was out in full force and lots of water was needed. The plan was to hike a relatively flat 4km to a viewpoint, but when the trail was too overgrown to find, we changed things up. Had we tried to continue, it would have been difficult bushwhacking to the top, so we decided to hike a bit further down the forest road to a flat spot in the shade and have lunch. After some lunch and some laughs, we headed back to wait for the bus. With some time to kill, campers spent time poking counsellors with grass, chatting about anime and relaxing in the sun.
It was an amazing week at POLARIS. The group hiked a total of 32km and climbed 1594 vertical meters. But more important than the numbers, is the time spent with friends, the lessons learned and the fun that was had. Campers can look back on this experience and know that they are capable of so much more than they may think and that they CAN do hard things. The next adventure for the POLARIS group will be the week of volunteering and community involvement coming up. We know they will bring their resilience and teamwork to this next challenge.