2025: The Morning Breaks

Unfortunately the road up doesn't open until 7:00 AM now.

Today I got up early and went to Seymour mountain with the intent of snowshoeing up in the dark with a headlamp and catching the sunrise from the mountain peak. 

That is my favorite New Years tradition. For me New Years doesn't start when the clock strikes midnight. It starts when the sun breaks the horizon on New Years Day. 

Sadly in Vancouver it's always hit and miss as it often rains and you can't always see the sunrise. It makes it worse when they don't open the road up the mountain until 7:00 AM. That means catching the sunrise from the peak is very difficult. 

So I bundled up my gear and made it to the base of the mountain at 6:55 AM. A short wait in the line of cars before I launched on the mountain in quest of the sunrise. 

Only half way up traffic comes to a stand still once again waiting in another line for a checkpoint. They asked to see my day pass. I was like what day pass? This isn't summer. There doesn't say anything on the website about requiring a day pass. 

The young millennial claims day passes are required for winter too. I again objected in that the website says nothing about that. They said I could pull over and get one for free. Then I realize they're expecting me to log in on my phone. That's when I lost it. I got out and said. Covid it over. This is Communism. The cocky kid said this has nothing to do with Covid. I know it has nothing to do with Covid I respond. This is all about Communism. 

I don't have internet on my phone. I said before I leave, I just want to object and say this is straight up Communism. One of the older guys says there's free wifi at the top of the mountain. I don't have my laptop with me I exclaim. Then it dawns on me. There's nobody blocking me. I said free wifi on top of the mountain? Right, I'll do it there then proceeded on my way. 

I know it may seem silly but there is nothing on the website that says I need a day pass. Cypress doesn't require one and I'm not saying they should. I'm saying these day passes are a violation of the mobility rights in the Canadian Charter of Rights. The freedom to move without government intervention. 

Public parks are supposed to be publicly available. I don't need to ask the government permission to visit a specific park on a specific day. I realize when it's busy they want to restrict the parking lot for skiers and snowboarders who but lift tickets. They made us park way down by the inner tube run and hike in. 

I do all that and hike up to the starting point and put my crampons on. Lots of people have the same idea. One large group splits in two. Half of them are going to jog up to make the sunrise the rest are going to hike up. I was hoping to at least make to Brockton Point for the sunrise. 

Then I realize I left my phone for taking pictures in the car. I start anyways and realize I forgot the string to tie the shoulder straps on my back pack together so they don't slide down my shoulders. The mid strap is broken so I use a home made one that I left in the car. By this time I'm pissed. No picture of the sunrise and the whole time my backpack is going to be sliding down my shoulders. Then I look up at the overcast sky and realize there's not going to be a visible sunrise. 

So I threw in the towel and went back to my car. I've posted the top two videos so people can see what it used to be like before all the new rules and restrictions. It's a beautiful thing to see. There has been a steady light snow in the mountains since Christmas day. The conditions are ideal. 

Yet all the bullsh*t has left me angry. Cypress if you get there early you can park right by the beginning of the trail in the Nordic area. Yet Seymour has some of the best snowshoeing in North America and they are f*cking it up. That makes me angry. 

A while ago I was talking about anger with someone and they said maybe you should talk to someone about that. I said I don't want to talk to anyone about that. I have nothing to say. 

More recently a HR guy came to my workplace from Regional because moral was so low. We had splinter meetings with him and I let him have it. I told him straight up the management in this building is not the problem. The problem is the management at Regional. They have taken all of the Company's founding principles and thrown them out the window. They're turning the Company into another Walmart and it breaks my heart. 

After the meeting he came up to me on the work floor and asked if I had anything more to add. No I said. Women like to talk about their problems so they can vent. Men don't like to talk about their problems because when they talk about their problems it reminds them of their problems and makes them angry. Men don't want to vent. Men want solutions.  

I told him what the problem was. I don't want to talk about it to make me feel better. I want him to fix the f*cking problem. Everyone's talking about joining a Union because a workplace in Washington just joined one. I don't want to join a Union. I've been there done that and I don't want to do that again.

Joining a union is like having two bosses that are as*holes instead of one. It's bad enough having one boss. Having two bosses that ride your a*s is even worse. Although the union they want is probably the best of the lot, that union has a reputation for stealing your pension. That's a stress I don't need. 

I'm 59 years old. I can't afford to have anyone steal my pension. If my workplace unionizes I'll transfer to a different location. I just want to be left alone. That's all I want. 

My point was catching the sunrise from the top of the mountain on New Years Day is awesome but too many idiots are f*cking it up for the rest of us. That's my point. Vancouver is getting too busy. It's time for me to move on and find some new peaks and some wide open spaces with less crowds.