As I've mentioned before on this blog I lived in a small town about a hour driving time north of Vancouver, BC for about a year when I was 16. This past summer I was able to return to Squamish to see how it had changed in the past three years. There is more retail...and more tourists but just about everything else is the same. It made me think of a quote by Nelson Mandela. "There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered." My year there was an important part of my adolescence but visiting it after only a few years felt a lot different than when I lived there. After moving I missed it and to me it was my teenage years in a nutshell...but after visiting I don't feel the same. I feel like I've changed more than it has...and that things aren't the same and that's a good thing. Kind of like going back to the old playground and realizing that the tall slide isn't as big as you thought it was when you were five.
That aside, it was still pretty awesome to climb the Chief...although much harder than I remember it. Here's some pictures:
You can't go to Squamish without stopping by McDonalds...the essence of a pit stop. Above is the sign by the highway.
From 3rd peak
