rickohikes

En Route to Montreal!

So I’m sitting in the Calgary airport waiting to board my 1:10 am flight to Montreal. Why so late?? Turns out that at some point after checking in online for my 4:00 pm West Jet flight this afternoon and cabbing it to the airport, my flight was delayed 2 hours. What did this mean? Well, it meant that I would miss my WJ connecting flight in Toronto, and so the best WJ could do was bump me to the red eye :(. Why a sad face? Well, I’m going to Montreal for an investigator/ analyst meeting for a new pharmacoepidemiology study that I’m starting (… I know, I’m super excited too!) I really wanted to be well rested and bring my A-game, but alas, now I just have to enter the meeting fashionably late… which I believe I can do quite well :). I may be tired tomorrow, but it’ll be fine. NBD. No big deal.

So after cabbing it to the airport, back to my apartment, and then back to the airport 6 hours later, I now sit here at YYC. To pass time, I decided to try writing this blog posting with the new Google Blogger app. So yes, it’s been a tedious task to type this on my iPhone… but I’m quite liking this app!

And my posts wouldn’t be complete without a photo: my English breakfast tea, courtesy of Tim Hortons. 🙂 And here’s a random fact: I bought a neck pillow for the flight for 20 bucks. If I can actually sleep, it’s worth every penny. If not, I’m done with it!

I’m On A Horse

So on Sunday, a few of us gathered to go trail riding. It’s a very Alberta thing to do, right… to be on a horse? Just like cowboys in the Wild West :). I had been horseback riding a couple of times, the last experience being in Costa Rica, but most of the group had never been on a horse before. We knew that fun times were in store!

It was off to Saddle Peak Ranch past Cochrane for a 1.5 hour trail ride. Before we knew it, we were mounting our horses and were on our way. My horse’s name was Anchor. He is a born leader, so I was clearly matched with the correct horse, lol. The weather was beautiful and the trails took us on rolling foothills and through forests. It was gorgeous. Although the experience with the horses and the trails was great for us, I wouldn’t go trail riding with Saddle Peak again. I would have expected more approachable and engaging owners. Well, Jackie was great, but the other guy, not so much. NBD. No big deal.

Pretty horses… but not pretty horse poop (which was everywhere!) :S.

But all in all, it was a great day with no mishaps. Oh wait- there was that one part when Rachna’s horse became a bit animated (ie. went a bit psycho), ran into the trees off the trail, and decided it would be fun to rejoin the trail by walking through the most dense part of trees and bushes… with Rachna still on him. Yeah… she emerged with some scratches and bruises. It’s never a dull moment with this group!

For some reason, Shari’s horse didn’t like to be around others :) — For some reason, Shari’s horse didn’t like to be around others 🙂

Such a good looking bunch! The people riding aren’t too bad either…

Rachna and her horse Homer emerging from the trees

After horseback riding, we went for lunch and then stopped at MacKay’s Ice Cream in Cochrane for homemade ice cream. Apparently it’s like THE place to go for ice cream. As expected, I had the Coconut Delight flavour… YUM! You know it’s good ice cream when there’s a line up out the door. The wait was worth it, and it was a great way to end a great day :).

I can’t believe I’m waiting this long for ice cream…

So many flavours! YUM! Coconut Delight is the best… obviously.

Shenanigans on Wasootch Peak

Just an incredible view… and not even at the summit yet! — Just an incredible view… and not even at the summit of Wasootch Peak yet!

Paul and I decided to conquer another mountain today. But that’s becoming expected- another weekend with fantastic weather means we had to hit the mountains. The victim this time? Wasootch Peak in Kananaskis. It’s 2400 metres high, and there’s an elevation gain of 900 metres. The trailhead is located on the side of the road on Highway 40 close to the Kananaskis Village turn off. After parking in the ditch, we readied ourselves for a day of adventure and classic shenanigans! Continue reading “Shenanigans on Wasootch Peak”

Damn you Tony Horton and your…. P90X2!? WTF?

P90X2-2

Monday, September 5th (Labour Day) marked Day 1 of my 5th Round of P90X. The timing seemed to fit nicely with my pre-Christmas schedule and I was itching to get back into some sort of work-out routine. I’ve just completed a few sessions of physio for my legs, so the “Plyometrics” and “Legs and Back” work-outs shouldn’t be so bad. And with winter around the corner (NOO!), P90X makes a great indoor activity. Continue reading “Damn you Tony Horton and your…. P90X2!? WTF?”

A Sergeant on Heart Mountain

Heart Mountain. It’s kind of shaped like a heart!

The weather this past weekend was just perfect for mountain hikes. On Sunday, my friends Paul and Robin and I decided to attack Heart Mountain. Why is it called Heart Mountain? Because it’s shaped a bit like a heart. Heart Mountain is located in the Canmore/ Bow Valley area close to Yamnuska. According to Alan Kane’s “Scrambles in the Canadian Rockies”, it’s an easy and popular scramble with one moderate step. When we parked, we were greeted with a large bear warning sign! After a little thought (i.e < 1 minute), we decided to proceed. As long as we made lots of noise, we figured we’d be okay. So onward we went… Continue reading “A Sergeant on Heart Mountain”