Mount Work
Today has been a wonderful day spent in peaceful solitude. I don’t always enjoy being alone, this winter the dark and coldness of van-living has made a bit of a mess of my head. For a long time I spent hours alone without actaully enjoying it. I still don’t enjoy it all the time, but I’m getting more and more used to it and over the last couple weeks especially I have really looked forward to that time spend by myself, particularly in nature.
This morning I woke up late at my mum’s house, threw Maggie May into the van and headed to Tsartlip Health Centre to teach Chair Yoga to my dedicated group of chair-yogis. Then: free time. And I mean free in all senses of the word: mind, body, spirit. Free like I haven’t felt for a while.
I stopped at Red Barn Marketwhere I picked up the best kind of dog treats: locally farmed and smoked sausage. Lately I have been trying to change my mindset to be more concious of where I spend my money and what I (or my dog) consumes, so places that support our local farmers, lean towards organic and free range like Red Barn Market are the perfect choice. After I got Maggie’s treats we headed to Mount Work.
Mount Work is one of the Capital Regional District’s (CRD) largest parks, covering 690 plus hectares. The park encompase three beautiful freshwater lakes: Durrance, Fork and Pease. In the summer time each one of these lakes are the ideal watering hole on hot days, with Durrance being the most popular, turning into a city of floatation devices and tanning enthusiasts. All other times of the year these lakes are stunning for fishing or canoeing and are closed off to any kind of motorized boats.
Today Maggie and I did the summit trail, a 2.5km hike up-hill to the stunning views over the Saanich inlet and hills beyond. The CRD rates the trails in this park as moderate to challengeing, and yes, if you’re not a seasoned hiker I would recomend hikking poles for the steeper areas of the summit trail though I frequently see trail runners sprinting up and down at high vitess. I was in no hurry today and took a solid 50 minutes to get to the top.
At this time of year the trail is wet and muddy and requires good footwear. The peak, at 449m of elevation, is open to the elements and displays stunning rock formations that provide excellent picnic spots or as in todays case: nooks to practice yoga. The weather can turn quickly at this time of the year and with such an open summit if you intend to spend any time up there its important to bring layers and a rain jacket. Today I went from practicing yoga in a halter top to been snuggled into a thick hoody with a rain jacket over top.
Hikking has always been an activity that feeds my soul. My body craves movement in general. Of course yoga is my body’s medicine. To have a day to myself and Maggie where I can combine my three passions: movement, the outdoors, and writing – that right there is one perfect day.
May the light of sun shine on every one of your adventures, and if the sun’s rays don’t reach your skin, may the liquid sunshine be energizing.
Happy hiking!
Maggie May & Molly xox
