Mount Borgeau

So I started the sickness on Tuesday and we had planned to be in Banff on the Friday and to climb Mount Borgeau.

Mt Borgeau is a good hike but quite a long'un of 22k. I was feeling so, so, so bad on the Friday when we arrived that I could not do it. I had a sob fest and wanted to go to hospital. Then I felt guilty at ruining Bug's planned weekend and being such a weak girl about not coping with morning sickness. Plus I had not eaten a thing since Tuesday!

We decided instead to do an easier walk of 12k through Johnston Canyon (beautiful but touristy) and continue up to Ink Pots (still touristy but pretty empty and spectacular). I fell asleep at ink pots and managed my first food since Tuesday - 6 pieces of penne pasta woohoo! I don't care, it stays down! I sip water the entire walk and that stays down too. I find that the walking actually helps as long as I do not move my head and continue in a straight line. I do have to close my eyes if I need to turn. I hope no hungry animals are watching, I would make easy bait.

(us in our steamy tent ooer!)

We are camping in tunnel mountain campground next to Banff. I get up a lot in the night to be sick and hack it through the darkness to the washrooms. I consider sleeping in there. I am in there in the morning being sick and exit the cubicle to get stared at by a bunch of cow women who probably think that I am a drunk!

I cannot eat breakfast. I sit there a stare at the food, I am really hungry but I just cannot eat it. I know by now that if I put it into my mouth and try to eat it I will be very sick. That sounds to me like a mental illness....maybe I am mentally ill. I put some into my mouth and I puke it up about 3 minutes later. I stick to apple juice instead.

Bug is determined to hike Borgeau without me! I just cannot let him do that he never makes any noise or bear calls on the trails and I am still under the illusion that there is a bear behind every tree. I insist on going with him and protecting him with my bear spray.

The hike starts off boring. Up for 90 mins in thick tree cover with no view. The forest we are in feels ancient and damp with moss and lichens growing over knarly old tree fall. I am very, very slow and some absolute Mr Knobhead passes us and says to Bug that he may need to push me up at this rate. #$%)*&^% whoever he is I hope he gets diarrihia in public!

I am intending to stop at the Borgeau Lake which is 7.5k into the trail and is in a beautiful flowery cirque beneath the summit of Borgeau. I get up there and Mr Knob is there. He laughs at my bear spray "ah hahah bear spray snort". What is his problem!!! I hope he gets eaten by a bear, face first. I decide to hike up to the next lake to escape him...only at the next lake there are horseflies filling the air so I continue with Bug to the Harvey Pass.

The view from Harvey Pass is stunning. I can see Sunshine ski village below us in the next valley as well as other valleys that look like no human would even enter them. The lichens on the rocks up here are soft lilacs, purple, oranges, and reds. In the distance in Mount Assiniboine the 'Matterhorn of the Rockies'.

(pic of upper lake on route to Harvey Pass)

I suddenly felt a lot better and end up continuing my walk...the thing is with mountains that trails do not look very far when in fact they are. Also, once you can see the summit it is too tantilising not to summit.

Paula Radcliffe was still running for hours a day at 6 months pregs. I tell myself not to be such a hypochondriac and just do it!

I bonk in the last 90 mins of the descent. In the section through the trees back to the car park I lie down in the path and throw my toys out the pram. Bug makes me eat half a banana and feel the energy pretty quickly from that. We drive straight to Melissa's Steak house in Banff and order two steak dinners.

Only once it comes I nearly puke on the steak and Bug takes it away. I do have some bread and chips tho so that's ok.

The next day I sleep all day and stay in bed pretty ill for the next few days. The hikes were too much and I know I burnt my wick too much. I am still learning some boundaries here. I just need to be able to manage this, harness it and get on with it.