those who run seem to have all the fun We hiked again today, me and deVaughan. In the mountains. It was a great day for a hike, and a nice challenging trail we chose. At first we were planning just to go to Bragg Creek, which is just west of Calgary and not quite into the mountains yet. But once we got there and purchased a trail map, we opted to drive another half-hour into Kananaskis Country and do a nice 8.8 km hike up to Nihahi Ridge. The hike was a solid 300 metre vertical climb, and my muscles were feeling it by the time we reached the summit. After seeing this dude's pics, we're kinda wishing we had kept going the last little bit along the actual ridge, but my legs just couldn't climb any more, and we still had to do the steep descent.

We did the picnic thing again, packing buns, smoked ham and swiss cheese to make sandwiches on the edge of the Little Elbow River before heading off on our hike. It was sunny and warm, with a temperature around 15 degrees, so we were actually a bit toasty in our jackets. It really is a satifying thing, to complete a challenging hike. All of your senses are stimulated by the spectacular Rocky Mountain beauty surrounding you - the crisp, clean pine smell, the cool alpine breeze, majestic mountain peaks, the overwhelming quiet pierced only by the chirping of birds, the scampering squirrels or rushing river. We even caught a glimpse of some deer on our way out.

I'm digging this hiking thing. Me and deVaughan are going to try and make a habit of it. Might have to get ourselves some snowshoes pretty soon, though.  | ¶ 9:55 p.m.