Op-Ed: Welcoming a new year; it is not a static thing

As with most, Jim and I spent New Year’s Eve at home this year. To kiss off the wonder that was 2020 did demand something special though, so we spent the evening taking a sentimental look back at our journey from the long-ago youthful exuberance we once had:

“Holy smokes! It’s a brand new year!!!! Everything’s so different! Everything’s so fun!!! I am SO EXCITED!”

. . . to our current stifled yawn and dramatically rolled eyes:

“Oh come now, seriously? Didn’t we just do this, like, a year ago?”

In our early 20s, we were hitting the bars on New Year’s Eve (in those days, and perhaps still true until this year, hitting the bars was your basic NYE 101 Intro for Beginner Adults).

Once we matured (‘matured’ may well be an exaggeration), we switched up to a more grown-up and ridiculously overpriced variation of bar-hopping: the lavish New Year’s dinner/dancing event. Such events involved shedding the jeans for something dressy and acting appropriately (okay, semi-appropriately).

Several years later we hit on an even better way: Stay overnight at hotels holding the aforementioned New Year’s events. It was great, because once we were, umm, ‘tired’ we only had to ride the elevator and weave our way along hotel hallways to our room. There were occasional snags such as a) wondering which room was ours, and b) wondering where the key was to said room besides not on either one of us. This celebration was a keeper for several years.

Then came the years when we went out to dinner at a nice restaurant then headed home, turned on the TV, and watched the New York City ball drop while sipping (‘sipping’ may well be an understatement) whatever cheap bubbly we had scored for the night, then staying awake ’til dawn to talk of the good times to come.

Not too many years later we discovered that a dystopian movie while eating take-out worked just fine, the new year still arrived on schedule. We’d barely made it to midnight, but we still always did. The second the clock struck 12, though, we’d do a hasty toast then go to bed.

Then one fateful year we were out like the proverbial light by 11. It made us feel old, but we agreed that the new year could ring its own damn self in. Not making it to midnight was, however, the first big step down a slippery slope, because the very next year we dropped the pretence altogether and were in bed and snoring by 10.

Then inspiration struck and everything changed. We decided to go to bed early (since we were so experienced at doing that anyway) then get up early and greet the new year by watching the sun come up. It seemed a good plan, especially since we couldn’t make it to midnight if our lives depended on it anyway.

So, hours before the sun came up we did a two-hour steep hike in the moonless dark in a foot of snow up the untravelled north side of the Crags in Kelowna. It was tricky going, lots of slick slate rock under the snow that kept us scrambling. It was hard work, but man, it was exciting.

It was still dark when we reached the top. We sat with coffee and watched the sunrise on a brand new year. It was simply perfect. The sun seemed to radiate a promise of everything good for the year ahead, and the view was heartbreakingly beautiful. As we sat in silence looking at the stillness all around and the sleeping town below, we knew we had found what had been missing all those years. This, just this, was the way to bring in a new year.

It was the start of over two decades of pre-dawn New Year’s Day hikes up various mountains and hills in B.C., each one perfect in its own way.

However – sorry, hate to break the good vibe bubble here but – after twenty years of it, the new thing got old (at about the same rate as we got old). We made minor modifications, ie rather than hiking uphill we hiked on the flat, but still in the dark, and still through woods. We’d get to a remote beach and repeat the sun thing. It wasn’t quite the same, but we weren’t quite the same anymore either. We were getting creaky. The flat hike method lasted for a few years.

Then the year came when we gave a hard pass to the hike altogether, and opted for riding our bikes a couple of kilometres to a small ‘hill’ (think bump) with a bench. At this point about the only thing left from that first hike up the Crags was watching the sun come up. We sat there shivering, and it wasn’t a thrilling shiver, it was the kind that your body does when it hates you. That kind of shiver. We were still smiling, but secretly we just wanted to go home to thaw out.

Next year we cycled less than a 1/4 kilometre to the beach and stayed maybe 15 minutes tops. Year after that, it occurred to us that there was a reason we owned a car. It was born for a job like this, so we allowed it to drive us to the beach. We sat on a log, shivered, watched the sun come up, went home.

Next year we repeated that formula but stayed in the car, looked in the general direction of east, and wondered what on earth we ever saw in sunrises.

The following year we woke early but accidentally forgot to get out of bed. We felt strongly that the new year could go stuff itself, so we rolled over and went back to sleep. It may not sound like much, but it was actually pretty great, it was skipping-school level great.

That brings us to this year, when, aside from the reminiscing, we fell all the way down to the purest minimalist level: Early to bed, late to rise, coffee.

The celebration (‘celebration’ is a possible stretch) lacked flair, but by god it was efficient.

Here is a small sample of some local places where we’ve welcomed the sun on New Year’s Day.

Pro Tip: Take coffee and croissants, you’ll be glad you did. You can get frozen croissants from Patisserie Daniel in Victoria, they are really good, just bake them while you get ready and you’re set. Also, take a flashlight.

For hiking up a hill, any old mountain or hill where you can hike to the top and face east is good. The possibilities are endless, both in Greater Victoria and on any of the Gulf Islands. For flat hikes or beaches, same thing. If it faces east, you’re good to go.

Uphill hike: Bear Hill in Central Saanich
Enter from the south end of Central Saanich Road.
There is another access to Bear Hill but this access is the most fun, it is short but steep and can be a bit tricky when hiking in the dark. The view from the top will take your breath away. Not up for an uphill hike? Go flat hiking. . . .

Flat hike: Salt Spring Island
Yeo Point at Ruckle Park, enter from Meyer Road.
This reasonably long hike is flat and there aren’t any paths to speak of. Best to take an advanced hike in daylight so you know your way around, also because there’s one part where you’re walking on a narrow single-track path along the edge of a significant drop down to the water. The key to survival for that part involves a flashlight, taking it slow, and finding a sudden belief in a supreme being you can bargain with to keep you safe. For that hike, we stayed at our favourite getaway, Seido En Forest House, just down the road from the access point. Seido En is nothing sort of magical, with a lovely meditation path that could substitute for the hike if the weather was lousy. Also has a hot tub for thawing out. What, you prefer a bit of sand? So, hit the beach. . . .

Beach: Island View in Central Saanich
Turn east from Hwy 97 at Michell Market, then keep going until you get to the beach. This one has become popular for greeting the new year, so get there well before dawn. Park at the boat launch, walk down the ramp. then go right and keep walking for a ways then find a log. Most everybody else goes left, so go left if you feel sociable, go right if you don’t. What? Your bike is begging for a night ride or you want a short stroll? Man, you’re hard to please, but okay. . . .

Bike or walk: Sidney/North Saanich
The Sidney/North Saanich area is full of beaches and seaside walkways for more leisurely starts to the new year. The area has a ridiculous number of west-facing beach accesses and east-facing beach accesses, so you could even watch the sunset on the old year then the next day watch it come up on the new year.

Sunset/sunrise option: For the sunset, go to Coles Bay in North Saanich off Ardmore Road. Walk the short path to the beach. For the sunrise, head out to Saanichton Bay Park at the end of Ferguson off Lochside Road. Going south follow the short trail to the end, then step down from the path onto the rocky beach below. Be careful, the rocks can be slippery. Very private.

Sunrise and optional bike ride in the dark: Go to Hospital Hill, aka ‘the bump’, on the 10 km multi-use Flight Path that runs around the airport. The hill is at the crest of Mill Road, east of West Saanich Road. While waiting for the sun to come up you can enjoy the airport lights which are pretty and Christmasy. There are benches facing east, so you’re good to go. If feeling friskier, you can cycle or walk the 10 km path before dawn breaks. It is a wonderful bike ride to take in the dark. On the other hand, if you’re feeling crotchety, you can just drive your car and park practically in front of the bump and grumble the new year in.

Happy New Year!

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