Bidding the Summer Farewell

Today, on the last day before school, we repeated a routine that we have followed too many times to count over the past eight months.  We ate a healthy breakfast, packed a hearty lunch, filled our water bottles, pulled on our socks and tied up our hiking boots.  Today, on our final weekday hike of the summer, we headed off to Gatineau Park to explore Pink Lake.

Maybe it is just because I am feeling nostalgic, but our 5.5 hour (approximately 13 km) hike seemed to be the perfect culmination of our summer together.  Liam, Seamus and Alistair have been my constant companions - sometimes perfect, often exasperating and always exhausting.  We three have been inseparable for the last 18 months.  I hope this time together is one they will look back on fondly and cherish for being one long and epic adventure that we shared.

During today's hike, we saw a little bit of everything that we have seen so many times on our other hikes of Ottawa and the surrounding area.

We found mushrooms.

Felt dwarfed by absolutely huge trees.

Can you spot Ali?
He's so very tiny.

Marvelled at hidden mica mines.  We found eight today!

They were deep!

Seamus found a mine cart.

Stumbled upon mossy ruins.

Were captivated by ecological phenomena.

We hiked hand-in-hand.

Alistair snored during his hike nap.

We snapped so many photos.

And we finished it all off with ice cream, of course.  Today was the best way to bid farewell to our year of building strength through solidarity as we all prepare to move forward, still together, but also separately, to continue to grow and develop into the amazing people we are meant to be.

It is finally the most wonderful time of the year!