Every once in a while, I’m reminded of something that I used to do in my youth. Specifically, things I used to do in my home Province of New Brunswick. I’m originally from a small town called Dalhousie (not to be associated with Dalhousie University, which is in Nova Scotia) but I would frequently travel to a neighbouring town called Campbellton, which is about 25 kilometres away.
Given that Dalhousie was lacking most amenities throughout the late 80’s and early 90’s with the drop in the paper industry as the digital age started to kick in, my friends and I would often lean on Campbellton as it was designated as a city (despite only having about 5,000 people) and had plenty of commerce, restaurants and stores. It also had the only Tim Horton’s in the area at the time, if you can believe it.
So we used to travel up there a lot, and when I hit my teens I started using my bike to cycle from Dalhousie to Campbellton. It’s ironic to think that just at the beginning of this year, I considered 20 kilometres to be a milestone, when I used to bike 25 kilometres to reach Campbellton, THEN bike around town and make my way back to Dalhousie. Oh, how youth provides a certain little something…
In the late 90’s, I got into the habit of cycling to Campbellton quite frequently. Although once I got my driver’s licence and purchased a vehicle, my dynamic switched up and I started travelling up by car. I needed to find something to replace the exercise I was getting from cycling, so I chose to climb our local mountain, named Sugarloaf. Now, if you Google Sugarloaf you’ll find a number of different locations from around the world. But MY Sugarloaf is located on the southern side of Campbellton.
Just to keep things interesting, I’ll give you some basic stats on this tree-filled lump. Sugarloaf Mountain is an extinct volcano. It was formed some 420 million years ago when thinning of the Earth’s crust allowed it to peak its nosy face out of the ground. It’s about 922 feet from base to tip, and has a walking trail around its base as well as a ski resort and multiple downhill skiing trails on the west side of the mountain.
I started climbing the mountain by its designated hiking trail for the first couple of years. But as I got bolder, I started wearing protective gloves and solid shoes and scaling the vertical sides, as well. I got a few friends to join me on some of those climbs, but they usually ended up quitting within the first 30 minutes claiming that I was out of my mind. And probably with good reason.
I miss climbing. I obviously don’t get to do much of it (none) considering I live in the Prairies now. There aren’t a great number of mountains out here. But I definitely plan on trying to make an effort to reconquer the mountain on the next occasion that I visit my folks. It’ll be interesting to see how different in may be, considering the mountain likely hasn’t changed, but I definitely have!
I haven’t seen or spoken to Christopher or Kevin in over fifteen years. We didn’t have a falling out or anything; we simply got on with our respective lives. And sometimes, that’s the way of it. Friendships sometimes come and go. But the good and happy memories you make along the way are yours forever. ☯
The Blogging Buddhist 