Dreaming of Spring

This morning, 8h30, it is snowing and cold. I want WARMTH and SUNSHINE! So only one thing to do: bite the bullet.

Destination: Dieppe. The snow is not deep enough to protect from the ice underneath so the going is rather slow. If I cover my nose with my neck warmer, my glasses fog completely and I can’t see shit. If I don’t, my cheeks are freezing in the wind. Decisions, decisions.

I haven’t been to Dieppe in ages and don’t know the way by heart, like the Pain de sucre. Especially in the snow. This early, only one pair of footsteps, which I follow. He passes me on his way back. Of course, he’s running. Heh. I’m breathing like… what? A seal? No, a novice diver who sights his first ever shark, only two feet from him. That gives me an idea for a drawing… to come later. Climbing is like meditation. At one point, you find your thoughts have drifted way away. I leave the blue waters of the Bahamas to come back to the cold, snowy woods. Another young man passes me, we exchange greetings. He adds: “Ça va bien?” I entertain myself for the next 200 meters by thinking of possible replies.

“Oh yes, this is my natural way of breathing!”

“Peachy! Pleasant little breeze isn’t it?”

“You come here often?” or even

“Vous ne trouvez pas que le fond de l’air est ambient?” (Vincent, nos classiques??)

Some parts are quite steep and I can’t help wondering what percentage of the descent will be done on my ass. But leave the worries of the descent to the descent and concentrate on the present: climbing.

Am I enjoying myself? I’m not sure. But the call of the summit is so very real. Once I start, my mind becomes single-mindedly focused: Get to the top. 

Even on a little hill like Dieppe. Imagine on the Everest!! The ones who turn around during a summit push are truly superior beings.

Eventually, here it is.

Up here, the wind is merciless and I head back down immediately. I only slip once and laying down in the snow is much pleasanter than in the mud, I must say. My nose is an open faucet, I’ve given up on my glasses which are now in my pocket so my vision is clear, albeit not sharp. There is a much longer joggable portion of the return with Dieppe than Pain de sucre, and now that my heart has reintegrated my chest, the shuffle in the snow in the empty woods becomes almost pleasant.

1h40 from start to finish, it is now 10 am. I don’t always love les Québécois, but I’ve got to give it to them: it’s easy enough to swarm the mountain at the first sign of sunshine and a beautiful day. But on this Saturday morning, at 10 am, in the middle of a snowstorm and -12C, the left parking is full and the right starting to fill up. At least we are the real deal.

The state of things:

Well, mission accomplished! Now home and cooking. My life is so thrilling. The shaved cat has missed me! Will you look at those eyebrows!