panniversary

It’s a packed week here what with the Daylight Savings Time change on Pi Day, Nova Scotia’s Panniversary, Saint Patrick’s Day, and the Spring Equinox.

One week ago today after a group hike, we went for coffee and sat outside at a picnic table.  It was 14C (57F).  A day like that, with the sun warming my face and my ankles (I wasn’t wearing long underwear for the first time since October) filled me with hope. Never mind that today, on this last day of winter, it’s snowing. I’ve had a brief taste of spring.  

One spring when I was living out west, I never got around to pulling the manual out of the glove box to read how to reset the car clock after the time change so, after waiting four months, I decided I’d just wait another two until the problem solved itself. This year, it took me less than 5 seconds to update.  One of life’s little victories.  

March 15 was Nova Scotia’s one-year anniversary since the first cases of COVID-19 here were announced.  One of the opinions in the news recently on why the Maritimes has done so well during the pandemic is that “we’re all fundamentally casserole people” (Halifax Examiner). As of today’s update, Nova Scotia (population shy of one million) has 17 known active cases. 

As planned, my main mental health strategy during this pan-winter has been hiking and I typically got out 3-4 mornings a week with a small group (of the same people) for a short hike or snowshoe (~2 hours).  If I hadn’t got back into hiking again, my pandemic experience over the past year would have been very very different.  Living solo, I have remained in good spirits during the past four darker, colder months mainly, I believe, because of those group hikes.

During a hike two weeks ago, my microspikes used for traction broke.  They were over 10 years old so didn’t owe me anything. I started wondering what other gear I might need to replace soon now that I’m hiking again.  Around the same time, the library app on my iPad offered Backpacker magazine.  New gear recommendations, new brands, new technology.  Within minutes I was consumed by WANT!

I hiked frequently in the PNW but got disconnected from it by 2013.  I brought most of my gear east with me anyway but there were a few things I was looking for this week (including a sports watch and boot insoles) that I didn’t find.  As has happened many times since I moved home in 2017, I asked myself WHY I had donated or thrown out such small things that would not have taken up much space to move. 

For one recent hike that required a longer drive, I washed out my little REI thermos so I could enjoy hot coffee on the trail.  A regular pleasure out west, I remembered sitting with good friends for lunch at the half-way point of some adventure, pouring steaming coffee into the little cap, and sipping.  Well, after a long break, that’s exactly what happened again.

References and related links:

• PNW: Pacific Northwest.
• REI: Recreational Equipment, Inc.
• “We’re all fundamentally casserole people”: Why Nova Scotia has fared so well through the pandemic (article on the Halifax Examiner)
• See customs (post #151) for a picture of the same waterfalls in October.
• spring equinox at least (post #134 on 03/18/2020)
• pan-autumn (post #129)
• goal post (post #9)