This recent Canada Day weekend was an absolute blur. It came and went so fast, I was grateful and sad at the same time. Weekend started early as I got off work early to help out at the Ronald McDonald House, making and serving food to the families living there. It was a true blessing to be able to do so. That was quickly followed by a rehearsal for the wedding that same weekend. Finally getting home around 9 pm I had a quick dinner before heading to bed. Canada Day was about to start early courtesy of Chasing Sunrise.
When I woke at around 1:40 am, I almost didn't want to get up. I thought that oh what the heck, why not just skip the hike and enjoy my sleep? The adventurer won out and I got up and raced out the door. I literally flew to the mountain, arriving at 2:20 am. There was already a crowd by this time. You read that right! I volunteered for waiver duty and before anyone knew it, it was 3:15. The official start time to the hike. Now see if you can imagine 800+ hikers up on a mountain. Now picture that before light out. Can you imagine what that's like? It's amazing. There were stragglers so we didn't start our hike till 3:45. We managed to catch up with the crowd and make it up the mountain for the sunrise. Something we didn't think was possible given the amount of people on the mountain. That moment when you watch the sun break through the mountains and everyone on the mountain joins in for O Canada is surreal. I've never been part of a better Canada Day celebration. I'm so glad to be part of such an amazing community. People that strive to do more in life than just pay bills. People who go for what they want in life. I encourage those in the city to try a Chasing Sunrise hike at least once. You won't regret it.
My day had just started and I went from being on top of a mountain to picking cherries in Kelowna in a matter of hours. While the weather wasn't with us we certainly had lots of fun.
To end the day, I was fortunate enough to see the sunset on our way home. How many can say they watched the sun rise and set in the same day?
Peace <3
