When four of my colleagues wanted to go for a hike, they looked to me for guidance. I suggested we start on the Talapus trail. That way we could head up to Pratt Lake, or maybe over to Malakwa and then Denny Creek, or perhaps up to Mason Lake.... My friends quickly nixed my my ambitious plans and we chose the much less strenuous destination of Olallie Lake.

I'm afraid this particular hike wasn't terribly eventful. I was overpacked, as usual, to ward off the any sudden rain or snow storms (in the middle of July). I was also carrying my full camera gear, of course, but my hiking buddies weren't too keen on waiting for me to set up my tripod every few hundred feet.

Still, it was a good day. The trail is easy and the misty weather really brought out the colors of the surrounding forest. We made it up to Olallie in short order and sat down to have lunch amid the biting flies.

Olallie is at the end of an extension to the Talapus Lake trail, which I'd already hiked at the beginning of the spring. On the way up, I was amazed at how different the forest looked. In the winter (well first day of Spring) when I'd been there everything had lay under a thick blanket of snow. The forest was much less green, of course, but it was also much more open. As a hiker in the snow, you pretty much had the run of the place, and could have gone, unimpeded, in any direction. But then the snow melts and bushes, ferns and all manner of flora crowd into its place. The same trail, in the summer, gave a very different impression from the snow-covered one.

Well, back to the story. Where were we? Oh yeah, lunch. Lunch was NOT the usual. This time around, I had veggie-salami sandwiches. We weren't at a loss for hummus, however. I converted Chadd to that oh-so-delicious hiking staple when we did trail maintenance together. Some most excellent chocolate was passed around and then we hit the trail.

The hike back was more of the same and went quickly. The scenery was still gorgeous and the weather remained misty (but not rainy). Occasionally we got spread out along the trail as paces got mismatched or I stopped for photo ops. I can see that hiking in large groups can be a problem -- especially on more strenous trails. Some people need to go slower; other people want to go slower. I've got to admit: the meditative aspects of hiking is something I've got to learn to appreciate. Too often I'm destination-focussed, and don't take the time to just sit and be. Anyway, being in a larger group doesn't help the one-with-nature stuff at all. Perhaps I've gotten too used to hiking by myself?

The forest definitely changes with the seasons. In my short hiking career I've developed a habit of marking hikes as "done", and then moving on. But if I were to return 6 months later to any of the places I've hiked, I'm sure I'd find a very different place to experience. And besides, some places are worth a return visit no matter what time of year it is.