Short Escape

Allen Bill (previously known as Allen Bill Pond until a flood in 2005 made it part of the Elbow River) was the starting point of our hike! It is named after a guy from my home province of Nova Scotia! Was I in need of an escape and couldn't get away quick enough this morning! This work week was trying! We had a meeting to brainstorm on a business plan for 2009. We had a compliance meeting with regards to enforcing the rules on privacy, emails, trading, etc. I completed nine on-line courses we have to take at this time each year covering code of conduct, anti-money laundering, risk and liability, harassment in the work place, workplace violence and others. One course I had to take four times before I passed! On top of all this, two days I had some kind of stomach flu, my year-end performance review, plus all our regular work! UGH!

My escape was to the west of the city with a group of folks. Fullerton Loop is a short hike, with not much elevation. It's only 55 minutes west but far enough away that I felt like I escaped! I don't need the long distance and high elevation to get that, lost far from the city feeling, I felt it today and I loved it! It was cool and overcast and parts of the trail still had snow even after the nice weather-wise week we had! These are some of my fellow hikers checking out the map to make sure we were headed in the right direction.

Three quarters of the way through the hike, we came out to an opening and followed the ridge which had beautiful views looking off to the west and down into the Elbow Valley. We stopped here for snacks, to chat and take photos.

This was a pretty easy hike, we took lots of time, probably more time than anyone else ever took on this trail. None of us were in a hurry! I was able to clear my head and rejuvinate and didn't mind at all when it was time to come back to the city. I'm looking forward to tomorrow! This time it will be a very close-by, short, escape! Stay tuned!