As I write this just after the Labour Day long weekend, you can practically hear the collective moan echoing throughout Squamish.
Yup, summer is just about finished.
Passing by the students going back to school with their heads hung, Tuesday felt kind of like a funeral service.
But there are bright spots!
The end of summer is also the end of stress.
How, might you ask? Summer is all about leisure time. What’s so stressful about having spare time when it’s sunny?
Plenty, I’d say.
I imagine I’m not the only one who finds himself frantically creating to-do lists or scrambling to our awesome parks in a frenzy whenever the sun is out.
It’s stressful!
There’s tons of pressure to always be outdoors, climbing boulders, mountains, and crags. Speeding down trails at breakneck speed on a bike. Adventuring to remote — or not so remote — hiking locations surrounding Howe Sound.
There are some days when I’d just rather be a human slug, vegetating on a steady diet of Netflix. But does our outdoor-oriented culture, which constantly expects everyone to be trekking up Black Tusk before having a morning coffee, permit this?
During the summer, that answer is a ‘Heck no!’ I’ve tried it — staying indoors on a beautiful summer afternoon.
The social penalty for not constantly being active during summer is high.
People’s looks of judgment when I openly admit this are piercing and soul-destroying.
So it’s a nice relief when I can look at the forecast and see more than just one rain cloud.
At last — an opportunity to be a human slug. Free of judgment.
And while we’re counting the ways in which summer’s demise can have a sunny side, here’s something that I think a lot of people in town will be happy to note — it’s the end of tourism season.
One memory of this is distinctly etched in my mind.
I was at Caffe Garibaldi enjoying a nice cup of joe and admiring the scene afforded by the building’s impressive panoramic windows.
It was picturesque. The Stawaumus Chief was to my left — the open road was to my right. Water from the fountains of the Squamish Adventure Centre cascaded down like a constantly refracting mirror.
But then a massive tour bus pulled up.
Out piled a small army of tourists brandishing cameras like hunters.
Point. Shoot. Point. Shoot. Oh, look at that! Look at that!
Point. Shoot.
Whatever was nice and picturesque about that scene was immediately diminished.
Fortunately, I know these people have a weakness — the end of summer.
