Recipe: 2 Parts Aussie. 1 Part Canadian. Add a healthy dose of travel, a dash of humour, as much outdoor as you can handle and light sprinkling of trouble. Serve hot.
Northern New South Wales, Byron, Lennox. Its a beautiful part of the world and its no wonder Aussies are beach snobs!
Came across this awesome film of some of the surfers ladies down in Lennox Heads tonight. My aunt lives down there and every day she takes a walk on the beach, and takes pics and send them to our family. She loves the beach.. when you watch this vid you'll understand why - warm water, perfect rolling breaks, white sand and warm orange sun.
I love my family & this makes me miss home!
These ladies surfing in the clip are the type of Australians I think are the heart of all Australians. Enjoying life and respect for others.
Some of my friends are reluctant to come out on trips with me into the outdoors because they think everything I do is 'extreme'. I find it hard to understand, living in my body (as most people do). I figure this is normal - sure I'm really active and always on the go, but its hardly extreme. To me its just fun.
I read an article sent to me by a friend back in Oz by Cedar Wright, a impressive climber that just did a climbing tour of all the 14'000 foot peaks in California by bike, with Alex Honnald, who also has a big name in the climbing world. They called it the Sufferfest.
The bit that had me thinking was his categorisation of fun, and it gave me a bit of a Eureka moment as to why some of my friends get that look on their face when I suggest something 'fun' to do on the weekend!
In the article Cedar says:
"According to popular thinking, Type One Fun is fun in the moment fun, perhaps seeing a movie, having a drink with friends, or seeing some awesome live music would fit into this category. We all need type one fun in our lives.
Type Two Fun is perhaps not that fun in the moment, but is fun when it’s over. Type Two Fun might be an epic ski tour in a blizzard that leaves you feeling tired but satisfied, or it might be running a marathon where the joy really only sets in at the finish line. I would argue that this type of fun is probably the most important for long-term happiness and satisfaction in life, but that’s another story. And then, there is Type Three Fun, which is really not fun at all. In fact it’s so epicly heinous that it’s not even fun when it’s over, it may even leave you with genuine post-traumatic stress. But the reward is that Type Three Fun is the stuff of legends and awesome stories. The only real fun in Type Three Fun comes when you get to share your misery with others later around a campfire, through writing or perhaps in a film. Mountaineering often finds its way into type three fun, where avalanches, frostbite, and a myriad of other near death experiences lend themselves well to enrapturing tales if the “fun” is in fact survived."
I have a categorisation too, in my head. But my categories are City Fun and Outdoor Fun. It doesn't exactly match the above, but the people I think about in that way match the categories Cedar describes. And you know what - I have to agree with him on the Type Two fun being good for the soul. Pushing yourself even lightly, mentally and physically is vital in life. not being scared. Finding the boundaries. Training hard and feeling the satisfaction of finishing your goal. Experiencing something new. Discovering excitement as a result. The rush of blood and endorphins for having overcome something scary. This is the stuff life is made of. I want to share it with all my friends. I don't want them to face something big enough that they freeze and lock up, or become too scared to try again, but getting out there and trying something new and seeing the beauty of the outdoors. The mountains, the snow, the wind in your face, water on your skin, the fresh scents of the forest, the quiet darkness of the night away from the machines and lights of the city. That my friends, is where I currently find my happiness, and I want to share it with you all.
Cedar, you have me thinking now. What is my next Type Three adventure. I want to push myself and redefine my own boundaries.. and get a new story to laugh about around the campfire with my Type Two friends :)
Well its been a while since I felt the daily urge to write and share - coming back from a month back in Australia its been a change to adjust to work and the daily grind. I was getting very used to long days in the sunshine, beers with mates and not knowing what day of the week it was!
I've been doing a little riding and been up to check out the slopes, but the snow is still pretty miserable... we're stuck between seasons!!
I didn't feel like getting out for a ride on the weekend as the massive arctic front swept through North America.. and when some mates sent me this pic of the ride I had bailed out on, I wished I wasn't such a pussy and had braved the cold to see this - serves me right!
Frozen lakes up at Squamish last weekend
anyway I called this post inspiration - so here is a compilation of people doing Epic and Awesome things this year:
It makes me want to get outside and do some sort of flip!
Adventure: I am back. No more being warm and safe indoors.. I am coming to get you...
I too seek the purple sugar drink and giant hornets in the bamboo forest moment. I've had a few of them now. The void and the silencing out of all the noise of the modern world is a wonderful thing.
Running brings me peace..... via exhaustion :)
I think I'll go for a big run tomorrow, before Falls turns into Winter, and running becomes a bitterly cold slippery morning odyssey.
The rain has come and the snow is building. Whistler has had dumps of 20cm in the alpine now, and today and tomorrow are 50mm+ of rain a day which means the snow is building up even more.. I have started watching snowboarding movies at home to get me in the mood for the season ahead, and we just cancelled a day up at the bike park this weekend, due to the wet. But when a movie like this arrives in my inbox, I still get the urge to run outside and get my bike and head for the hills..
..speaking of bikes.. I wonder if my Lefty suspension has been repaired yet? time to call the shop!
..and we are organising our seasonal lift tickets for the local mountains - Cypress this year, and the rain has started to appear, the clouds are in the sky, the days are shorter and the temperature dropping. Actually the days are really short - we went up to ride some trails after work yesterday, and by the time we got up Mt Fromme to hit Expresso, it was well and truly dusk and we were riding by headlamp on a black diamond trail. Actually it was pretty fun, and thank god there are no real big drops on that one and its nice and flowy. I think I'll take a few more lights and do it again soon!
A friend Paula just sent through the invitation to go see the premiere of Into the Mind, a new ski flick from Sherpa Cinema, and it looks awesome.
Tickets: Purchased!
( I'm still not finished with riding, but its hard not to get excited about winter :D )
Ever since I heard our Irish friends talking about it last year I have been fixated upon getting up to Tyax Lodge in the Chilcotins to catch a float plane up into the lakes deep into the range and ride the single tracks back out. I can say now that my eyes have been opened to a new and glorious type of riding, and that Tyax certainly did not disappoint!!
Krissy "Guns" Loading the plane
It was a novel event pulling the wheels off and jamming 5 bikes and bodies into a tiny little single engine Dehaviland float plane. The views over the Chilcotins are spectacular, and I was caught off guard by the dry and dusty rock peaks around us as we flew. I had assumed that everything north of Whistler and Pemberton just continued to be ice-fields and glaciers the further north and closer to Alaska that you went. I had forgotten about the rain shadow that the coastal range caused, and these mountains had an entirely different character to the nearby ones around the city this Aussie now calls home, in Vancouver.
The dry mountaintops of the Chilcotins
I've done a lot of flying in small planes through mountains to mine sites around the world so I wasn't as excited as the others, and I was focussed on the terrain the single tracks would take us. It all looked so smooth and flat from a few hundred metres above, but I knew we'd be down there sweating and pedalling our hearts out soon enough.
it looked so flat from up here...
Plane #2
Plane #3
Plane #4
Spruce Lake
I was on the second plane out of four plane-loads we had hired to bring us up to Spruce Lake, and so after touching down, I took my time getting the demo bike together and ready as I waited for the next two loads of my wife & friends to get to the lake. I had put my XC bike in for a front suspension service prior to the trip, but the shop had had issues with the lefty fork and needed to send it away to the manufacturer for servicing. I was put out that it was going to cost me another few hundred to replace some broken parts, but the shop surprised me with the loan of a demo bike - a top-of-the-line XC bike with 29" wheels and all the options - hydraulic seat post, dual ascend/descend rear suspension with handlebar lockout lever. Bicycle Sports Pacific - you guys made me a happy man with that move, so thank you!
2014 Trigger 29er with Carbon Lefty - a nice steed indeed!
Once everyone had arrived we took a look at the map, and I had not double checked I had the trails on my GPS, so I would be tracking our route, but not have them pre-loaded for navigation. It looked pretty simple - we would be tracking around the spur of one mountain and following the main drainage out from Spruce Lake along Gun Creek, and then back up to Tyaughton Lake where the lodge and our cars were. We did make one wrong turn early in the ride that sent us all huffing and puffing and then pushing our bike straight up the side of a mountain.. but it didn't take long to figure we hadn't signed up for this and quickly got ourselves back on the right tracks.
Trail map - we rode the Gun Creek Trail
The rest of the trail after that is honestly a blur of fun. There were tracks winding through the trees, with some rocks and roots - the normal sort of XC stuff I was used to around Squamish and the North Shore. But then there were stunning alpine meadows where the trees stopped and grassland opened up and in front of you the track snaked through knee high grass and the craggy and rocky mountains loomed all around. Our group of 7 riders just stopped more than a few times to simply marvel at the sight in front of us (and maybe catch our breath!). The trail never stayed the same - one minute flying through wide open forest, the next rattling down a short downhill section then streaming through a clear flowing creek, pumping to get to the top of a rocky section with no vegetation , then back in closed-in forest and suddenly the open alpine meadows again. It was mostly a fast riding trail, with a few sketchy sections and some quickly closed out corners right up on the side of the mountains that really made you feel alive!
Beautiful alpine meadows
The Crew posing while crossing a bridge
Dan riding up an old rockslide
Pure Enjoyment! ..stopped for a break in the forest
It have to say though, that you really need to make sure you're prepared for this kind of a trip. We had multiple flat tyres, snapped a bunch of plastic tyre levers changing them, broke a rear brake, snapped a chain and exploded a de-railer. Zip ties, wire, duct tape, pliers.. not normally things I carry when riding close to home, but when you're 30km away from your car in the mountains.. the only way out is to push your bike if you cant fix it.. so brush up on your McGyver skills and be prepared :) Walkie talkies at the front and rear of the pack were also a good move to let the group know what was happening. The first thing I did when I came home was to stock up on the repair gear I will take with me for next time. Some heavy gauge wire, light medium and heavy zip ties, a spare chain, chain links, CO2 tubes and metal tyre levers all went into the kit.
An exploded derailler..
...and a snapped rear brake mount
This was definitely one of my highlights of the year.. and I will be doing this trip again every year I have decided... and everyone else in our group said the same!
A new movie coming out from the guys at Sweetgrass... and it looks awesome!
I am starting to feel the same way I did at the end of last winter.. not happy for the current seasons sport to end but super excited about the next lot to start. Cant wait to be getting my winter weapons out for battle!!
I had reconnected with one of my good childhood friends this year though my wife's family. After he left town during high school, he moved down to where my now brother-in-law grew up and became good friends with him. After our wedding last year through facebook the connection was made and Luke and I had been catching up every few weeks since then on Skype or Facebook. Sharing some memories of tearing around on bikes as kids, getting into trouble, and filling in the gaps on the years in between and what we were currently up to.
I was quite wrapt with some of Luke's stories, as he was currently in Brasil doing a lot of BASE jumping, and having a) been there last year - I felt like I could identify with a lot of the places and b) BASE jumping is exactly the adrenaline fuelled kind of thing I am naturally drawn to.
He showed me this movie shortly after we had reconnected, a place in Greece called Zakynthos.. WOW - the natural beauty of the place, the colour of the water, the completely isolated beach, the perfectly positioned wreck. You just couldn't imagine a more perfect backdrop for something like this!
Luke, above, he's 2nd- in the yellow shirt and purple pack.
I was enraptured by the balls he had as I have an irrational fear of heights. We chatted every couple of weeks - he left Brasil and was in Moab down in Arizona doing a lot more jumping. It was an area I wanted to go riding in. Such a Mecca for outdoor people like us.
We'd just finished running the Tough Mudder up here in Whistler and on the way home my wife gets a message from her sister asking me if Luke had died - there were a bunch of RIP messages on his facebook wall. All the elation from the Tough Mudder slipped out of me, and I thought, well I knew it was probably coming. I had seen a couple of sketchy jumps of his recently from low mesa's in tight canyons, where he narrowly avoided the walls. I knew he was jumping a lot, and its a dangerous sport. I got on my phone right away and check his page. Yep, plenty of messages but no real details. I sent a couple of messages off to friends of his that had sent the RIP's asking them if they knew what had happened.
We got home, I showered up and everyone was debriefing with the crew we were staying with about the Tough Mudder. The obstacles, the mud, the runs up the mountain and the electric shocks. A lot of laughs and fun stories. But I had to go outside and get some air. Somewhere between getting out of the the car and the shower I had remembered Lukes laugh, and the reality of his death sunk in. It was only last week I was talking to him. I was sort of dreading him coming up through Canada and asking me for a place to stay as I thought it might be hard to get rid of him if we said yes - he had a reputation for being cheap and milking his friends for their generosity. I felt like an asshole for thinking like that. I got on my phone again and there were a few messages waiting.
It was a BASE jumping accident. His chute hadn't opened. The small first bridal chute had deployed, but it had gotten tangled on his GoPro of all things and hadn't opened the main chute. What a stupid bloody reason to die. He was doing a double gainer (like a double forward moving backflip) and so in spinning the smaller chute had hit and stuck on the camera mounted on his helmet. Its a weird moment adjusting to the fact that something that permanent has happened. I felt older all of a sudden. I thought about all the risky sports I do. I wondered what it was like to continue spinning when you knew you should have snapped upright. To be disoriented and to know you were in real trouble. Was he panicked for the last few seconds before he impacted, did he always think this was coming one day and just accept it? He had no fear of jumping. I felt sad and a strange sense of loss given we had only just reconnected a few months ago.
My wife came outside to check on me. I love her for noticing my absence.
For the next few days I couldn't help but keep going back to his facebook page. Everyone was sharing stories of their time with him. A lovable larrikin, a trouble maker with a great smile, lust for life and contagious crazy laugh.
BSBD means Blue Sky Black Death. Its a reference to a band, and the way BASE jumpers say goodbye when when of their friends dies jumping. I'm not a BASE jumper, but it seems fitting.
Farewell Luke, its a shame we couldn't meet up in person again.
If you haven't seen Danny Macaskill before, you should check him out. freaking awesome.
He released his newest riding clip this week.. Imaginate:
I'd love to pick up even a few of his skills in terms of balance and being able to drop of and across gaps. The guys is amazing. I think I am going to work on my legs more at gym and skip next season of beach volleyball and hit the bike skills park instead!
On the bus back home after two days and 250km on the bike. A healthy glow of the sun on my face and arms, burger and a beer in my tummy... and I feel tired, warm and happy :)
I was looking forward to actually riding it at my own pace this year after being the sweep crew last year. Funny thing though- I felt the same this time last year as I do now... Tired, warm and happy to have completed the ride.. Although last year I was warm a because I was in dry clothes after having ridden 10 hours in the rain! Met my friends from the sweep crew again at the finish line both days and met a bunch of people from the crew as well as riders from last year as well. Its a total sense of community.
leaving Canada
This ride is such a great weekend and pretty unique in the 'event' world because its actually about the cause- more so than any other event I know. There were so many yellow flags flying on bikes this weekend, indicating people that have had or still have cancer. 2600 riders raising minimum of $2500 each. this year the 2600 people raised ten point something million dollars. And yes, for your fundraising, you get to go on an adventure. Satisfies the desire to prove you are not dead after spending the week at work behind a computer and a bonus for the fact you can post some awesome pictures of yourself to Facebook in spandex.
Mt Baker looming in the distance for hours on saturday
It's a different crowd here though. For most everyone it's a personal thing. They want to remember someone they loved. They want to support Cancer research and sufferers....they want to stop this happening to someone else they love.
You can tell by how much people talk to each other, support each other, smile, share their story with you, encourage everybody. This isn't about themselves. This isn't about Facebook. This is about the people they love, and they recognize it is the same for everyone else involved. I got to share so many sad and uplifting stories with people as we huffed and puffed up hills, or sat on the grass at rest stops and devoured our food and hydrated.
Tragically there was a riding death of a young 16 year old on the course today. He was in one of the front packs and there was an accident with a car. Most of the riders had to dismount and leave the course to walk around the accident site. He was there to support his father who had pancreatic cancer... and today is Father's Day. Tragedy is the only word I know to describe it. It affected the whole atmosphere of the ride for many hours after. We walked past and saw him lying on the road surrounded by medics trying to revive him, and I saw many people shaken and crying. This event was supposed to be about prolonging life.
Last night there was a marriage proposal on stage. The guy had ridden to support cancer for years after losing his wife to it. Her dying wish was for him to find a good woman to love him. Pushed along with the help of friends, he found a lady who had been through breast cancer, and proposed to her in front of everyone at last nights dinner. The introduction of their story was enough for the crowd.. They screamed and cheered for many minutes before he had to tell everyone to calm down and let him actually ask the question!
A joyous note to counter the loss of the young rider in the crash.
The two freshest stories of love and loss in the battle against cancer.
I'm so glad we still have my wife's mother after her recent radiation treatment. And that my aunt is doing well after they removed her cancer just last month. And I miss my beautiful, funny, razor sharp and wise grandmother who fought cancer for years but lost the battle.
I am really proud of all the people who commit to raising such a large amount of money each, who put themselves well out of their comfort zone, and who open their hearts fully to everyone around them for the weekend. And I was very happy to be a part of it again.
Thanks to Jimmy and the Riders for Ryder team. Thanks to Christina from my work who has ridden for her brother 4 years running and ride with us today. Thanks to Jeremy from my work, who we fundraised and trained with this year who rode for his recently departed sister. He was well out of his comfort zone and kept a great pace with us today.
I must confess to being a Frank Sinatra fan. The guy had style and presence.
It was working in an Italian restaurant during my University days that I got to know Frank. The owner of the shop, Vito, was a little control freak, and I was only allowed to put on one of three cd's in the morning, and another 4 for the evenings. I'll never know what sort of vibe Vito intended with the choice of Moby, Frank Sinatra, and a random CD of Italian Opera, but Frank and Moby got a great workout in the mornings.
I've never really had a big urge to head to New York City, but thats where we are heading tonight! The wife has a trip there for work and suggested I come across, because she think's I will love it. I need a holiday, there's no work trips happening at the moment, so this is a good enough reason for me to take some time out. Its the end of the work day and just before I head out the door I thought I'd drop drop a few thoughts from today down. Thinking of the trip I am humming Frank Sinatra to myself... I think I have Broadway shows and food on my mind..
Speaking of Frank, that also happens to be the name of one of the owners of Meat and Bread. if you live in Vancouver and havent been there, you need to get out more. Its got the best sandwich in town. I dropped in there for lunch today and mentioned I am off to New York - he suggested I get to his favourite restaurant called Frankies 457. Might be worth a shot if i get time, as this Porchetta sandwich is the bees knees. Maybe Frankie has similar goodies for me over there.
I took my Porchetta sandwich outside to sit in the sun and ran into a friend, Don, who also gave me the rundown on places he suggested I visit while we're in the Big Apple: Smorgasburg Markets for an awesome outdoor foodie market in DUMBO; Momofuku Noodle Bar- one of the talks of the town right now in ramen. Roberta's - top NY Pizza. Parm (or Torrisi Italian Specialties next door for a more fancy option Mission Chinese Food- for real Chinese.. not this western version you get everywhere outside of China .and just check out Eater for a bunch of other good ideas.
.. is New York all about food? because on the weekend while we were cycling, my friend wife suggested we head to:
Miss Lily's- some of the tastiest food she has eaten in a long time. The Standard- and head up to the 18th floor for a view of the city right at your feet, and awesome decor. Cafe Minerva- for a nice cheap glass of wine to while away the hours, and The Spotted Pig; for great bar food and cocktails.
So far the only thing I really want to do is take a long run around Central Park, and a walk along the Highline.. looks like I'll need the exercise with all that food ahead of me!
Just caught this movie in my feed at lunch today made by a couple of Brits riding through the Whistler / Squamish / Sunshine Coast and Islands area..
Its bike time of the year and I am excited about the ride this weekend out on Vancouver Island. I havent planned for any single track riding on the Canondale however the only thing I am hoping for is a little less rain than these guys had for their trip!
Sitting at work today and have just heard about the Galloping Goose and Lochside Regional Trail system that you can take from Sidney all the way down to Sooke at the bottom of Vancouver Island.Its about 75km riding from the ferry at Swartz Bay through to the old ghost town of Leechtown.
I did a quick google to see what the trail was like and as soon as I read this: "The whimsically-named Galloping Goose Trail is anything but whimsical. Dramatic, wonderful, even awe-inspiring at times – but never whimsical. This is a world-class trail with world-class views." I was hooked. Sound like a great weekend away from the city!
The trails look beautiful..
Adventure awaits.... I'll report back on the trails soon!
Well its the day after my second marathon, and I feel a lot better than this time last year. I recall walking around like someone had swapped out my knees for an arthritic 90year old overnight while I was sleeping.. ouch!
This year I think proper shoes, compression tights and more awareness of my body and when to back off all played a part, and as a result.. just a lot of stiffness in the muscles, and a need for a good stretch and a hot bath in Epsom salts tonight!
It was an awesome event, and it was hot this year. Apparently the hottest marathon since 1970 or something, but it felt like any other day in Australia, so the heat didn't affect me too much. I usually run my longer runs with water and gels, but don't usually take gatorade or anything with me. I made the call to drink gatorade at stops from around the 15km mark, and by the 28km mark I was cramping really badly. My stomach didn't like the salts at all. It shortened my gait while I tensed up my abdominals to deal with the cramps. I was still on track for a four hour run at the half way mark, but with the cramps by the 30 km mark I was passed by the 4:15 pace bunnies, and I couldn't keep up the 10:1 run:walk pace they were setting.. I was running more like 5:1. At the 35km mark I was passed by the 4:30 bunnies and I had hit the bottom of my tank. Missing a bunch of my long runs with work and a cough I didn't think would matter too much, but I was really struggling with my endurance by the 35km mark and around the back of Stanley Park on the beautiful stretch of seawall I wasn't even looking at the scenery, and was just focussing on finishing. I was 1:1 walking:running for the last 3-4 kms and had slowed right down, but digging for any more just wasn't happening! I ran the last 500m though.. couldn't handle a walk over the line in front of the crowd, but I had my eyes shut for most of it just focussing on making my body work and drive to the line. Finished in 4:45 - 15 minutes better than last year, and about 45 minutes from my goal. Still.. its a good effort just to finish these.. so no regrets here, I gave it everything in the tank on the day!
Thoughts from the last few hundred metres: "damn my phone has gone flat and I wont have my run recorded.. better get an extra battery pack for the long runs".. "Am I seriously going to put myself through this again?? am I crazy?" .. "how is that gorgeous girl running beside me not sweating.. is she in full make-up !?" .. "I wonder what was going through the minds of people crossing the Boston finish line a few weeks back?" .. "Open your eyes and smile more.. stop grimacing!" .. "what was I thinking about this time last year?"
So many great things happen on race day though. The supporters are just amazing. I cant describe the appreciation you feel towards thousands of people who come out just to cheer and wave signs and encourage you to do these events. the signs are so funny. and cheeky some of them.. humour takes your mind of the running for a minute and gives you a grin and boosts your spirits. I came across my wife sitting at the 20km mark with a blanket spread out and three different water-bottles sitting on the blanket and "Go Justin!" signs propped up. Damn I love that woman. I appreciate her support so much. and I would have loved to take a photo it was picture perfect.. but I wasn't quite thinking with my photographic eye at that point with the cramps happening. Apparently she had quite a few people comment on the water-bottles and wish they could make use of them! Our friend Janna came out and rode around with Jo waving signs, and my buddy Nate had come out as well and was snapping photos as I came across the finish line. Its the little things that count - thank you guys.
Got me thinking - with all these thousands of people out to cheer and support the runners on.. its so obvious why the first reaction of people in Boston was to run towards the smoke and see what they could do to help. After I crossed the line I sat down on the steps to the side of the finish line and watched people come across. Some happy, some in pain, all relieved.. and despite my lack of faith, said a little prayer for those people and families whose lives were changed by that idiocy in Boston a few weeks back.
So off to gym at lunch for a bit of a stretch, and already I am thinking about running again. Not 100% convinced a second marathon this year is a good idea.. but lets see how I pull up in the next few days and if I am enjoying the longer runs again soon. For now though, the feeling in my legs tells me I have earned a good couple of evenings on the couch with the PS3!
I have to say am am very excited about the biggest adventure I have planned this year. A 6 night fully self supported hike along the rugged coastline of Vancouver Island on the West Coast Trail. I have heard from friends that have done it that it was one of the best, if not THE best hike or experience of their lives. That's a big call, so of course I decided I have to find out. Originally I was looking to use up some of my excess holidays that are building up (yes - thats right excess!) and to plan a trip that I could get away without involving my wife and having her feel left out. She always accuses me of having FOMO - Fear Of Missing Out... but I guess some of my planning and enthusiasm had rubbed off on her, because she has decided I cant leave her behind on this one- after giving me her blessing to head off by myself a few months ago.
The rugged coastline of Vancouver Island..
Raw coastline..
.. waterfalls..
..blazing sunsets over the ocean..
.. terrain so steep it needs ladders..
.. and even cable cars for river crossings!
....
Yeah I guess you can say its probably my enthusiasm that rubbed off on Jo to come along! :)
I have been doing some research and planning about the trip, as it is not one for amateur hikers, and also the trail is restricted to only a certain number of hikers each year to preserve the rugged beauty of the trail. I knew that bookings were opening up for the year ahead and was determined to book on the first morning, after missing out on tickets for the Sasquatch festival earlier this year. I talked to a few friends I knew were interested and got dates and then on the morning the booking opened.. Our dates were already taken WITHIN THE FIRST HOUR?!
Grrrrrr.... WTF!
Deep breath, a few hurried calls, and we shifted by a couple of days, and still managed to accommodate us all. But seriously - the way that bookings are handled these days - I cant believe things book out within the first hour or two of them opening.. months in advance. I think the world must be getting seriously more organised, or at least adapting to the fact that things sell out in the blink of an eye..
So, the first hurdle of this little journey has been cleared. Now on to planning the days and sites each night, wrangling the most lightweight but prepared kit I can manage (and of course the SLR), and calculating the food.
Excitement is building... hi ho, hi ho, adventuring we go!
I was shocked, outraged, angry and sad all at once. Getting ready for the Vancouver BMO marathon in a few weeks, and I could identify with the months of discipline and focus everybody who participated would have put in. With the effort and pain they go through after running 42km, and then moments from the finish line, some of them lose both legs at the knees. Never to finish, never to run again. I am so sad for those people that were hurt.
I have read a lot of chatter on the net about the fact that people ran towards the smoke right away to help, and I totally agree that is an uplifting thing, and to focus on the positive in a negative situation is the best thing for the human spirit.
I read about people directing attention to attacks in the middle east recently where innocents and children were killed, and of course, that is unforgivable, and yes our media perspective is distorted. Things closer to home often feel more real, but it doesn't mean it is any less of a tragedy.
The thing I feel the most about, is the thing I identify with the most. For me that's the runners. I don't think I will have much else on my mind for most of those 4 or so hours I am running on the 5th May.
I hope those that lost limbs and the families of those who died, find the strength they had to push through the challenges of training and push through the challenges of life after this.
So with a Marathon in 5 weeks time, I did the grown up thing and did my training long run before the fun of partying and snowboarding for the long weekend. Good move, and felt great.
...what wasn't so smart was to get carried away in the bluebird sky and warm slushy spring skiing conditions and bomb down the runs with reckless abandon like it was a deep powder day.
I ploughed into a heavy hump of wet snow on the lower slopes of Peak to Creek and it flipped me end over end. It happened so quick I dont remember being able to see the slopes beneath me, but I clearly recall bouncing off my back, my front and my side. As I was trying to jam the edge of my board into the slopes to stop me sliding down backwards, I caught the edge so hard it wrenched both my ankles viciously, & I thought to myself "I'm still going so fast, if I do that again I might snap an ankle". So I just used my knees and hands to slide into the snow and gradually slow me down.
End result - strained ankle, cant support my body weight in the right ankle. Damn it. Training is going to suffer this week. Lets hope recovery is quick!
So living in a snowy region, something that we have had on our list of things to do has been to build an igloo or a snow cave. Definitely out of my normal comfort zone - there are a lot of warnings of the dangers or suffocation and collapse, and it was actually a little intimidating to think of doing it.. but over a few drinks with our awesome neighbour K one week - we decided to set a date, throw out the invite to all our friends, and see who was up for the challenge!
Snow cave gear for two, with a few safety spares for friends.
Last week was the perfect opportunity for it - a late cold wet snap had dropped a metre of fresh snow, and we headed up into the local mountains, to a clearing just off the snowshoe trails of Mt Seymour, near Hidden Lake. I had been up and scoped out the area a week earlier, and there was well over 2.4 meters of snow then. I don't know how deep it was, but Nate backflipped out of a tree and stopped in a soft explosion of powder as he met the ground! Another good thing about keeping it to the local mountains was that after two weeks of sun, and then a huge dump of powder, the avalanche danger was extreme, so we wanted to keep things in an area that wasn't at risk.
Avalanches: Extremely uncool way to end a Snow Cave Rave.
After hiking up for about 45 minutes and then off the path a few hundred metres, we arrived at the clearing:
Site selection
I'd done quite a bit of research on constructing and digging the caves. There were two main options - either piling up the snow into a mound, and then letting it set for a few hours, before hollowing it out, or you could just dig into the side of a drift if the snow was deep enough. The snow was certainly deep enough, so we decided to go for the digging option.
Constructing the entry
Halo around the afternoon sun
Even after the reading and the planning.. the cave just sort of seemed to have an evolution of its own, depending on how easy the snow was to dig and how it fell out as I was digging. I ended up digging down a little deeper than I intended, but after cutting in a nice comfortable entry doorway, I tunnelled upwards back towards the surface, and ended up making quite a large cave, with a couple of steps up onto the main platform that Jo and I slept on. This design turned out to be great, as the entryway was very shielded from the wind, and worked well as a cold sink to drain the cold air out of the cave overnight.
Hollowing out the interior
Entry to the finished cave
Overall it took about 4 hours of digging to dig out and finish up a very spacious cave for 2, plus plenty of room for our gear and an entryway for cooking and putting on boots.
lighting fit out, with some cheap glow sticks from the dollar shop
night lights in the 'Starship Enterprise' snow cave
