Monday, September 5, 2011

Sea to Sky

August was a month of unexpected adventure, of going with the flow, living by and learning from the water: soft yet powerful, ever-changing and unpredictable, capable of renewal without repetition, at once infinitely complicated and simply part of our being.

I am generally not good at dealing with change, and this month was full of it. Complex and expensive logistics to get into the Cirque made it impossible to find a partner for a Lotus Flower Tower mission. And no Bugaboos this year either, first due to weather delays in July, then due to a knee injury in August. Faced with sitting in Squamish for the rest of the season, I resorted to one-legged yoga and tippy kayak trips in the Sound.

A good friend shared a sweet semi-secret spot by Howe Sound, perfect for practicing yoga, and for keeping me in tune to the schedule of the tides and the moon.


Deep dark waters and swift white currents generate fear, yet still blue seas and serene clear streams create calm. Being immersed in water can make me panic; gliding on top, skimming the skin of the sea brings pure peace.


Patience and flexibility can be rewarding. I feel so fortunate to have been invited on an amazing adventure to the Canadian coastal mountain wilderness. Two ferries, a few hours of driving, and a sailboat cruise up pristine waterways to accompany the team at base camp. It was the perfect setting for me recover- surrounded by incredible people and scenery, abundant home cooked food at the loggers camp, slack line practice and machete trail clearing work, gentle yoga by the roaring and silt-filled glacier-fed river, and my first trip in a helicopter!

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Watching ephemeral whirlpools form along the dock with the ebb and flow of the current, breathing in the sounds of the living river… makes me wonder, what surprises are in store next? Patience...