The Rockwall Trail Part 2

Read Rockwall Trail Part 1

The next day’s trek to Numa Creek would be the shortest hiking day at just 5 miles. It also happened to be the day that I would set a personal record for photos taken in a single day, so it worked out. We would be losing more total elevation than we gained but there was still a pass to negotiate first, so up we went. The aptly named Tumbling Pass affords a box-seat view of the Tumbling Glacier. Punctuated by bluebird skies and the now omnipresent wildflowers, this was the site of a snack break for the ages. 

On a side note. I had never seen as many wildflowers in my whole life as I did on that trip. Maybe Canadians pick them less? Maybe their meadows come with some limestone-ground Miracle Grow that we are missing out on down south? Perhaps our timing was perfect. I can’t say with certainty, but I was more than happy to have been on the receiving end of such a visual assault. But I wasn’t done being gobsmacked for the day. The initial descent out of the pass and into the valley below it was the closest thing to Elysium that I can imagine my mortal coil will ever encounter.

If you don’t know me personally, I do have a propensity for freaking out when things are just too damned good. I gesticulate wildly, my voice modulates in a way that pushes the thresholds of masculinity. I recognize all of that about myself. I do my best to keep it under wraps when need be, but the best I can do is all I can do. Meanwhile, good ol’ “Joe” from Saskatoon is looking at the same shit that sent me into embarrassingly rounded-off middle-aged cartwheels and his response is, “Oh sure, that sun’s doing her job today then, eh?” “Yeah, Joe. She remembered to clock in alright. Don’t pass out or anything.”