June 15, 2016

Light hikes, Light leaks, and Lighthouses


How is it June already? Time flies when I'm on summer break (and unfortunately drags on and on during school semesters). At the end of April, after a grueling fourth year of university, a few friends and I went on a much deserved little adventure to Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver.

Pretty much anyone who knows me by name knows that though I love the thrill of going outdoors, I am the least athletic human being you will come across. After mandatory gym was over in high school, I said goodbye to prolonged physical activity and have not set foot in any sort of gym ever since. With that being said, I am lucky enough to live in a place where there is an abundance of trails that vary in length, and even more lucky that the lighthouse was at the foot of one of the easier trails.
After being so stressed and cooped up indoors for an entire semester, it was so unbelievably freeing to be outdoors with some pals (blessed with decent weather, I might add). The drive took around two hours, so there was plenty of time to catch up, and jam out to some guilty pleasure tunes.

We only had a few hours to roam the place since the drive took so long and we would be heading back during rush hour. So, we didn't have much of a choice than to get on the quickest hiking trail. Honestly, I was pretty thrilled about that, considering that I pathetically get winded just running up the stairs in skytrain stations.

The hike itself was not bad. There was some incline towards the beginning, but none that I couldn't handle. Though admittedly, there were a couple complaints muttered under my panting breaths. Towards the end, closer to the lighthouse, there was steeper terrain. Me being me, I had to bum scooch my way through it. Though, that's probably not the case for most people who have decent balance. I just did it as a precaution, considering my history of falling/tripping/slipping etc.

At the end of the trail, we were greeted with the most stellar coastal view. There were plenty of massive rocks to climb on to reach higher heights and despite my clumsy history, I am thrilled to say that I retained no injuries at all, not even any bumps or bruises.


We stayed by the coast for quite some time. We snapped pictures of practically every angle of the sky above us, the rocks next to us, the water below us, and the distant skyline ahead. We talked a little, laughed a lot, and listened to the soothing crashes of the waves.

Heading back, we were greeted by the most spectacular light seeping through every inch of the forest. Though we were running on restricted time, we couldn't help ourselves and had to stop every so often to bask in and capture the light. It really was as if we were plans, recharging in the sunlight after a long semester.

That about sums up our quick adventure to West Vancouver. Though my DSLR died not even halfway through the hike (didn't check the battery, rookie mistake), I was lucky enough to have still had my phone with me. More than that though, I was lucky enough to be in the presence of talented humans that I get to call my friends. Check out some of the shots of me they took!

Photos by: Colleen Umali

Stay gold,

Kimberly

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