Today, we were carpooled to a big mountain called Grouse Grind. As we were going to Grouse Grind we went along Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge. There was nothing special about it, just a normal bridge, a little more than normal but nothing very surprising. It was a long ride before we arrived at Grouse Grind. When I looked up, the mountain reached up to the skies and I was scared because we had to climb up it. Many of us had hiking boots and I was the only one wearing running shoes. So we had a fresh start going up the mountain and there were many other participants other than us that were going to climb it up in less than a few hours. We had to stretch before our hike, which had never happened in our Vision Youth gold practice hike. Although both programs were very similar, the rules, structure and culture of the Vancouver kids were so different from the Toronto’s. They were more on the strict and traditional side of ways while Toronto was more of a modern method of teaching.
During our hike up this mountain, one of our hiker’s can of coke had exploded in his backpack. The bag was drenched in coke and of course the hiker was pretty mad. He complained about how unlucky he was because a similar incident had happened before. While we were claiming our luggage, the same guy’s hiking bag had an exploded insect repellent can. This insect repellent was the really good kind and the smell had stayed in his bag for a few weeks before it had evaporated. So we decided to continue walking up the mountains before another fellow hiker had some kind of fatigue problem. We walked slowly and took quite a few breaks before we arrived at the top of the mountain. At the top of the mountain, there were many stores to relieve our hungry stomachs and parched throats. However all the food and drinks was very expensive which was disappointing. This mountain is a ski slope but since it was summer, many hikers decide to hike up this treacherous and long journey. This hike was not as hard as our qualifying but it was a heads-up on how hard our expedition will be. Although we hiked up this mountain without our packs and this mountain had actual steps to place your foot on, many people found it difficult though. They kind of deserved this because before the Vancouver trip, people were told to go work out because it will be really hard. I guess they did not listen and decided to learn it the hard way.
There were some pretty nice stuff at Grouse Grind such as a big 2-person parachute experience. Guess how much it cost!? Only $100, I believe but it would have given you one hell of a bragging right, I mean who gets the chance to do these kind of things in Toronto. In addition, there was a pretty nice view as you flew down the mountain. Our method of going down Grouse Grind was by the tram which was a very slow process. However there was some sudden feeling of falling since we had to go down different slopes. Every time we fell (not actual falling), I would hear people screaming which got pretty annoying after awhile. After a long hike, we had to go to SUCCESS again for our second Training. It was long and boring.
As my expedition loomed closer and closer, it was hard to find time to buy a pair and I was forced to take my last plan, to ask for help. So finally, I got my pair of hiking boots and it was all thanks to our counselor’s parents. They had taken time off their lives to go shopping at Walmart to buy me a $30 pair of hiking boots. I was terribly in debt to them because without the hiking boots, I was not allowed on my expedition.
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