Breathtaking. But not in the way you'd hope.

By the time I get to the viewpoint, my lungs are aching. Not because this is a particularly challenging hike (in fact, by BC's standards it's a pretty easy one), but because of the lingering byproduct of wildfires from the South and to the East, steadily making its way over to us.

Like many people living in Vancouver, my girlfriend and I had decided to take a post-work trip up one of the many hiking trails we have on our doorstep. Out of the city and up above the tree line, we chose Tunnel Bluffs after hearing about how good the view of the sunset was from the clearing at the end. It's moderate enough to do in an afternoon, so we decided that it would be the perfect way to clear some of the fuzz from our eyeballs (the result of unrelenting Zoom calls throughout the day).

We set off and made good time on the gravel path, climbing steadily through the forest, overtaking some of our less pressed fellow hikers and arriving at just the right moment to get ourselves a prime spot where we can watch the sky shift colours.

Finding the least painful bit of rock to sit on, we gaze out at the Howe Sound in all it's smoky glory.

I won't lie, the haze engulfing the various islands adds a kind of ethereal quality to everything; like dry ice drifting across a stage and around the ankles of rock behemoths. But, as much as I feel this new atmospheric filter is making my photos more Instagram-worthy, I can't help but notice there's a bad taste in my mouth. Maybe it's the gritty film of particulate matter that's quietly settled in on my teeth and tongue, or maybe it's the sight of humanity's continued negative impact on the planet.

Over the next few days, the smoke starts to feel more and more present and inescapable. On another hike (this time, Garibaldi Lake which is further North and higher up), I take a break from looking out over pristine, blue waters and scroll through the smog-filled shots sent from the balconies of my friends back in the city. Then I smugly congratulate myself for having the foresight to escape for the day.

My haughtiness is short lived, though, as I begin to notice a creeping sense that the air feels less fresh than it did an hour earlier. Even all the way up here, it's followed us. Yes, it's less thick than it is downtown but it's still present enough to cause a problem.

On our journey back to our overpriced one-bedroom apartment, we can't help but talk about the smoke, and question how it could get this far and whether it'll ever go away. It does, but not without the stark promise that it'll return (and even more frequently) in years to come.

Later, when I consider what's happening right now – the news that Qantas Airlines in Australia is offering flights for the sheer hell of it (and, worse, that they sold out in ten minutes), the bafflingly unnecessary practice of peeling and taking apart fruit, only to re-skin it in plastic so that it stays fresh, or even how I've been driving a car powered by fossil fuels to reach these very hikes I’ve just been writing about (I'm not letting myself off the hook, here); it becomes more and more clear that we truly don’t deserve this planet.

It would appear that we're doomed to see the most beautiful places on Earth suffer thanks to our choices.

So, what can we do? By no means do I think I have the answers. But, I do believe that if we all commit to making some changes in our lifestyle, we can help reduce our impact.

For my girlfriend and I, that means not buying plastic whenever we can and chastising ourselves if we have to take the trash out more than once every two weeks. And, it also means being as economical as possible with how much energy we use. I'm also setting myself a goal of buying an electric car as soon as I can afford to – until then I'll be aiming to swap any trips that I can with walking and cycling or public transport. Oh, and I won't be taking any stupid fucking seven-hour, $2,765 flights with a bunch of other morons that miss the feeling of burning fuel so much that they're happy to sit in an uncomfortable metal box full of recirculated air that takes off and lands in the same, stupid place.

That last one should be easy enough.

If you want to look into more ways to reduce your own carbon footprint, this website has some great information: https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2018/12/27/35-ways-reduce-carbon-footprint/