ACC hike

One of the things I did this spring — in my quest to get more active —was to join the Alpine Club of Canada. I purchased my membership online through the main ACC website, although I actually belong to the Ottawa chapter, which maintains its own website. I signed up for my first hike partly based on where it was — across the ridge behind a barn I rode at for almost a decade. In all that time, I had never been up the mountain, despite the fact that it rose 200’ behind the house I lived in for more than a year.

The group met in a parking lot at a government complex and we did some quick introductions. Our leader, Darryl, was a long-time member of the ACC as were several other people. I was pleased to find out I was not the only newbie. It was also Deb’s first ACC outing. I had convinced my friend Jim, another avid hiker, to come along — in part so he could learn about the organization, but also for moral support, in case I was the only new person.

We organized carpools and I offered to drive as I was picking up Jim since he lived en-route to our destination. As we geared up at the starting point, a couple of people drove cars to finishing point, which was a few miles down the road.

Our hike started off on a fairly well-defined track but it wasn’t long before we were bushwhacking. Darryl was familiar with the route so he was in the lead, looking for traces of the trail. While we meandered quite a bit as we climbed up the escarpment, we eventually found a marker when we reached to top which declared we were on the right track. Even though this was considered a “beginner” hike, we traveled at a decent pace — no lollygagging here!

After a few hours, we broke for lunch on a clearing looking out over the valley. The view was beautiful and it was nice to take a break. Ironically, our site was literally a few hundred feet above the house I used to live in. As we refueled, some climbers made their way to the top of the cliff where we were sitting. There were also ACC members who were training for rescues.

Our decent was a little more than an hour, which was just enough for me. I really enjoyed the outing and meeting new people. It makes me want to do more! As we said our goodbyes, we exchanged numbers and promised to see each other again.