2019 On The Road Again #12

My next ride was a driver who was from Ontario, but who had flown into Calgary - rented a car and was off to Canmore to do some rock climbing. We both agreed that he had picked a really poor day to start his holidays especially as he was planning to camp that night.

Calgary to Canmore is not very far but we managed to squeeze a fair amount of information into that short distance. My driver was a high school teacher, was married with, I think, one young child and took off a week every year to go west for some "me" time to recharge his emotional batteries. He was an experienced climber who had grown up with the sport as his father had been a professional climber.

I am constantly struck by the passion for life so many of my drivers have. Like this driver, so many of my drivers seem far more together than I was at their age. I am always surprised that so many are able to articulate what their life could be and should be. They all seem prepared to work towards those dreams. I think this particular driver would be a great teacher. In our brief conversation, it felt as if he was just not empathetic around his students and the complexities of their lives but that he truly enjoyed teaching them.

When I initially opened the door to get into his car, I suggested that as my pack was a bit damp (which was a blatant lie - it was soaked) he said his trunk was full of ropes and climbing gear. He did not mind me putting my wet stuff on the back seat or me getting his front seat wet - the car was a rental. I have wondered since if he would have picked me up if it had been his own car - I like to think so.

I was let out at the last exit to Canmore - under the underpass. I thought it would be a better spot to stand given that it was raining as hard as ever.

Underpasses are noises places - the sounds of the vehicles bounce off of the hard cement walls. The sound of motors racing and tires hissing in the rain is much more obvious when in an underpass than just being out on the open road. It was drier inside - while l I still was getting splashed by both the big trucks and smaller cars I was not getting rained on. Unfortunately, it felt colder perhaps because of the wind the roared through the underpass. I was cold. I was starting to shiver almost none stop. I was starting to get a bit worried about developing hyperthermia. Fortunately, after being there for about an hour a small SUV stopped and I was more than happy to get it.

The driver and his passenger were from the San Francisco area. The driver had, in the past year or so, started to develop a passion for nature. His desire to be in nature, to observe it, to learn from it seemed almost mystical when he talked about it. It was a new sensation for this city dweller and he had some difficulty finding the words to explain it. He was also. I think, a little bit concerned as to whether it was normal to want to experience nature. I assured him that he was
completely normal. The distance from Canmore to Banff is not very far and soon I was out on the road again. It is relevant to note that this car too, was a rental. So for this day, I had gotten rides from either a rancher driving his farm vehicle or two seperate people driving a rental vehicle. Clearly looking like a drowned rat was limiting my options.