Hiking With My Wife

[reevesr1]

I just spent a week in Panorama with my wife, daughter and my daughters friend. The weather was fantastic, and the fishing was pretty good. A couple of years ago, my wife and I "discovered" hiking. We both really enjoy it, and have made several hikes together in the last two years. Our issue is one of aggression in that I have a bit too much of it, and she has almost none at all. Combine that with her fear of heights and my need to get the best view can lead us into situations. This is one of them times.

 

We were doing a hike into an old minesite called Thunderbird up the Sultana Creek Trail. The hike goes up a really old mining road, and has a constant pitch basically from the start to finish. In the 7.5km (of which we did 6.5 km, but more on that later), you gain a respectable 900m, but since it is so gradual it really doesn't feel like you've expended that much energy.

 

The hike leads you through the typical meadows with all the typical wildflowers, and through a couple of different valleys. The views are what one would expect, spectacular. At around 6 km we hit the first of three old avalanche fields. It was fascinating to hike across, but not that tough. The second one was similar. The third however was a bit of a different story.

 

Seems that like many places, they got a lot of snow up there last year. A gully that would normally be pretty passable is now probably 10-15 feet deep. Bedrock on the bottom, shale and unconsolidated formation on the sides. You have to kind of shimmy across a cliffy section to get to the gully, so my wife is already a bit on the nervous side. I climb to the bottom of the gully with her watching warily, but I successfully coerce her to trying to come down. As she makes it to the bottom, I start up. It is not long until I slide down my backside back to where I started. Strike 1. I walk down the creek a bit and find a spot that looks better. I start up that, work downslope on the side of the creek, and go down on the backside again. Strike 2. This time I don't slide all the way to the creek, and I continue to work downslope looking for an out. I realize that the creek is now a good ways below me, I'm balanced against a rock, there is no good way up and I can't figure out how to turn around. At this point I make a fatal mistake. I say "I might be in a bit of trouble here!" which my wife interprets as absolute panic. Anyway, I do figure out how to get back to the bottom of the creek, work up the creek past my wife telling her how I'm going to find a way up. I actually do find a way up and convince her to try also. She makes it almost all the way up, but cannot convince herself to do the last 5 feet (which were admittedly really steep). She told me later she had actually given up the minute I said "i'm in a bit of trouble", but was trying to convince herself otherwise. Didn't work.

 

So she tells me she's done, and that even if she could finish, for the rest of the hike all she would think of was the fact she had to face the gully again. I do what any man in my situation would do: "but honey, you are going to have to climb down the whole way anyway. You only have two more steps then you are done. Come on, you can do it!!" She replies with "I SAID I'M FINISHED AND THATS IT!!" She probably called me something mean. Not smart enough to take the hint, I think that if I can find an easier spot, I can still convince her. So she climbs back down to the bottom of the creek as I start to climb down a bit and look for another path. As I'm climbing down, my foot hits a rock about the size of a football, and it starts down the face of the gully. Im not too worried, as my wife is not on my fall line. Oh wait, yes she is. Oh and look, the rock just bounced in the air and is heading right at her head. I feebly shout "look out" as a 2lb rock slams into my wifes back. ((ok, an aside here. I actually thought almost immediately after it hit her back and I knew she wasn't going to die that this would have been a tough thing to explain to the RCMP if the rock had hit her in the head. "Yes officer, I will admit I was a bit pissed off, but I promise I did not hit my wife with that rock. What's that, oh, I mean I did not hit my wife in the head with that rock on purpose. I know how it looks, but do a DNA sample! I swear I didn't touch the rock!" Im sure they would have believed me, right?) Anyway, the rock hits her in the back, and she does not even flinch. She does not turn around. She does not make any sign that she even noticed. I say "honey, are you alright?" To which she replies "that is the least of my @#%$ing problems." At this point I realize that the possibility exists that she may be a bit mad at me. Trying to be helpful I say 'I'll just stand here until you are out of my fall line". "Good idea" is the reply (at this point I've pretty much decided that pointing out that I had found another spot to cross might be a not so great idea).

 

So I stand there lamenting the loss of my hike. I wanted to see the old mine. I'm looking longingly at the trail when I hear "THUMP" directly below me. I look down and the ice shelf that had been on the face of the gully was now at my wife's feet. "Uh, did you just knock down that ice sheet?" (that is about 10 feet long, 3 feet wide and about the same tall. Weighed several hundred pounds I guess). "Yeah, I just touched it to see if I could use it to lean on. Good thing it didn't roll over!" (she tells me later that she was having an English patient moment and I was going to have to leave her on the mountain with some water, a sandwich, and some bear spray as I went for help. I've never seen the English Patient-I promise- so I didn't get the reference!)

 

So she moves out of my fall line, I climb down, climb back out the other side and she follows shortly thereafter in my footsteps. We get past the cliff and sit down on some deadfall in the avalanche section. Have a sandwich, don't talk much. Shes mad at me cuz I'm an ***hole apparently, I'm mad at her for being a weenie. And I'm mad at me for almost killing her and not being smart enough to recognize when a dangerous situation means time to shut it down (all kidding aside, I hope that's my takeaway in all this, other than the fact my wife is a total bad ass-if you would have seen that rock hit her you would know what I mean. Girls can just shut out pain. I wonder why??).

 

On the way back down when we start talking about it and laughing she says "this is perfect for you. Now you have a story". I said "but I wanted to finish", but deep down I knew she was right. Had we made it, we would just have a hike. It would have been memorable, but not memorable like this. Hell of a day!

 

We did a hike up Brewer Creek two days later. It was awesome. I got her to go on a ridge line and look down a valley (totally safe, I swear. Really). I got to scramble most the way up to the summit before she yelled up "That's far enough!!" I didn't argue, even thought the summit was only 100 yds away. I may be slow, but I'm not stupid.

[trailhead]

Rick that sounds so recognizable to me that I could picture the whole thing. My wife is a tiger when it comes down to the hiking/mountaineering thing, but whenever something unexpected happens its always my fault. But the funny thing is after the fact it becomes an "adventure". Best way to play it with women I think. You get to laugh about it afterward. As far as not making it to the top. it's better to be alive and regretting not acheiving the summit, than dead on the mountain. And I have to give kudos to your wife for not kicking your ass for dislodging a rock down onto her. Anyway I think you will both look back on that with a real sense of amazement.

[bigbowtrout]

Awesome story. Glad you're alive to talk about. One thing thats more scary then a grizz is an angry woman.

[jasonvilly]

You tell a great tale Rick!

 

Sounds lie your wife and my fiancé are cut from a similar cloth. However mine would have used a little more colorful language.

 

 

[reevesr1]

Sounds lie your wife and my fiancé are cut from a similar cloth. However mine would have used a little more colorful language.

I edited her. Significantly.

 

My wife just read it and had a couple of comments:

1.The story should be called "The Adventures of ***hole and Weenie"

2. She did not think I was panicking, she thought I was berserk, and that she was panicking (but remember, she got hit with a rock, so she's delusional)

3. The RCMP part went on too long.

4. It would be way funnier from her viewpoint. Because I was berserk and all.

[ÜberFly]

Oh that Jackie! She's a firecracker!! LoL

 

P

 

I edited her. Significantly.

 

My wife just read it and had a couple of comments:

1.The story should be called "The Adventures of ***hole and Weenie"

2. She did not think I was panicking, she thought I was berserk, and that she was panicking (but remember, she got hit with a rock, so she's delusional)

3. The RCMP part went on too long.

4. It would be way funnier from her viewpoint. Because I was berserk and all.

 

[PeteZahut]

Great story Rick!

[birchy]

Ohhhh man.. my belly hurts and I think I teared up a bit..!

[Muffin]

Great story rick. Made for some nice lunch time reading.

[LynnF]

Knowing Jackie as I do, I couldn't help but laugh. You are a master at literary illustration Mr. Reeves. And your wife has birthed 3 of your children which (a) means she is impervious to falling rock kind of pain and ( went easier on you that she probably should have for all your boneheadedness (self admitted...I'm not judging here).

 

Just curious...and no need to answer because I've drawn my own conclusion, but I'm just wondering if you got any after that hike?

[reevesr1]

Just curious...and no need to answer because I've drawn my own conclusion, but I'm just wondering if you got any after that hike?

 

That pokey thing is pretty appropriate. I almost got some during the hike. And you said "boneheaded". Funny.

 

 

[dryfly]

Fun story Rick....reminded me of something...

 

We spent Feb 2011 in Arizona and many days hiking in the Sedona area. I was inspired to write a caption for one photo of Willie after one of our hikes.

 

 

The arch was well worth the climb.

 

Thanks again for the sun story. Glad not to hear about it on the 6 PM news.

 

Clive

 

[SteveM]

I said "but I wanted to finish"

 

Somebody has to say this: "That's what SHE said..."

 

Seriously, though, Tex...

Great story; I enjoyed it immensely, my friend!

Feel free to share more, anytime.

 

[reevesr1]

Check my FB Stevie. There is a picture just for you!

[SteveM]

Check my FB Stevie. There is a picture just for you!

 

 

 

[ironfly]

No kidding, good thing that ice shelf didn't roll over. Hundreds of pounds? Try 3 metric tonnes.

[reevesr1]

And it fell when she just barely touched it. Wow.

[Castuserraticus]

I've carried my wife's backpack lashed to mine in a few similar situations.