A closeup on the beautiful clear water.

To start off an amazing day at Blackrapids lodge, we began with a nice and light breakfast of pancakes, seasoned potatoes, orange juice, and some fruits.  After we packed a small lunch, we hiked up the trail to see the waterfall.  There was some treacherous trails, loose rocks, muddy soil, and thin sheets of glaciers that were a challenge to climb.  We then had a quick lunch break.  I had a Cliff’s Protein bar and seven slices of ham.  We resumed our hike to the top of the waterfall.  At the summit, we had a couple of group photos before we hiked back down.  On the way back, I slipped four times.  Each time, water filled my boots.

This is one of place where I slipped on the rock and water filled my boots.

This is the summit of the waterfall.

This is Annie’s cabin, a couple miles down the road from the lodge itself.

In the afternoon, I was supposed to go on the optional hike, but since my boots were soaking wet, I decided to cancel on the trip.  Thanks to Annie, our host, she invited me to go on a hike to her cabin, a few miles down the road and a half hour hike up the hills.  However, we did not anticipate that the snow would be knee-high since Annie presumed that most of the snow has already melted.  About a third of the way to the cabin, she has some doubts on whether all this effort to tread through the snow is worth it just to see the cabin.  However, I told her it is worth the climb up the hill.  Soon enough after more snow treading, we made it up to the cabin!  My first thought was about the cabin being not completed.  It seems like it was still under construction.  My next observation was that the knobs on both doors are chopped off.  We went inside the cabin, and Annie described her peace and her memories of the cabin and shared it with me.  We went upstairs to experience the stillness.  After fifteen minutes of silence, I felt relaxed and I understood what Annie was telling me.  Sometimes, after a long day, peaceful silence is needed to recharge.

This is the view from the second floor inside Annie’s cabin.

We headed back to her standard transmission Toyota pickup truck.  Since I told her that I wanted to learn how to drive stick, she offered to teach me after we headed back to the BlackRapid lodge.  Before she gave me any lessons or tips, I had already understood some basics because I will get a standard transmission as my first car after I graduate.  After she gave me some basic instructions, I had my first experience with a standard transmission.  I thought I was supposed to feel the sweet spot of the clutch pedal.  However, without fully engaging on the clutch, I was not able to get the car moving.  I then shoved my foot all the way onto the clutch pedal, shifted into first gear from neutral, and slowly released the clutch while putting pressure onto the gas pedal.  Before I knew it, I got the car to move!  I was a little bit confused because I was not able to tell the difference whether I shifted the gear into the third gear or the fifth gear.  After several trials, I was able to differentiate between them by listening the sound the engine puts out after shifting gears.  Though I did not stall the engine my first time, I did eventually stall the engine after moving from a stop.  I disengaged the clutch pedal too suddenly.  After a few rounds of driving stick, we headed back to BlackRapid lodge.

I had gotten a room upgraded from a broken uncomfortable couch to my own room, my own bed, and my own bathroom.  I was really touched by Annie’s effort to make my experience as best as possible.  Right before dinner was served, I was award the Golden Egg Award, an award acknowledges me for not giving up and trying something completely new.  I was very honored to receive the award.  After dinner, Annie and I went for my second stick shift lesson outside the BlackRaipd lodge.  Though I stalled a bit more than the first lesson, my gear shifting was much smoother, and I had acquired more knowledge about shifting.  We took a turn down the road towards the river.  We both mistaken a bunch of pipes as bison.  I drove back to the lodge, where I had multiple stalls from parking into the spot.  After Annie left the parking to me as she went inside the lodge, I tried two more times and finally succeeded  in parking the truck.  I felt so relieved and accomplished in learning to drive stick.  I was and am very thankful to Annie, who gave me the first two lessons in standard transmission.

This is the standard transmission Toyota pickup truck I drove. The picture was taken from my upgraded room.