Yesterday we decided to hike to the summit of Maple Mountain. We wanted to see the bay, where we have paddled a couple times now, from up high.

We knew the trail would be steep – 400 m in just 3 km. And steep it was. It started on a paved, uphill road by some houses, then a wide trail through the forest. Soon it became quite steep, and didn’t really relent.

The first concern was, how will our knees fare on the way down? Answer: They were sore!

The second concern was when we saw bike tire tracks starting about 1/2 way up. At the bottom of a short rock fall off, we looked at each other and said ‘how the !*%)&!#? do bikers do that”? And not 3 minutes later we met a Dad and son coming DOWN this trail. Every time we see this we are more amazed at the skill, confidence and sheer craziness of mountain bikers!

The challenge for hikers is that the steep sections are worn to dirt, between the rocks, so it’s slippery and we had to be very careful.

At the summit (where there was not a great view), we were taking a rest and two more bikers came up and casually started the downhill, seemingly with no fear whatsoever. So again, Hats Off to all mountain bikers.

Even if the view at the top was not great, there was a beautiful view point about 100 m below the summit. It afforded great views of Maple Bay and out past the islands. It was beautiful and fun to look down at the places we paddled. We could also look out toward Mt. Tzouhalem where hiked last weekend. So we are starting to become more familiar with the landscape and places.

Our joints were a bit sore when we finished, but it was worth it. We were treated to a brilliant rainbow shortly after we got home, but sadly, didn’t find a pot of gold at the end of this rainbow.