Training Log Archive: Funderstormin

Day 2: Cox Lake to Serpentine Lake

We had a relatively leisurely morning but also had a goal of leaving camp by 10:00 as we knew we had a long day ahead of us and wanted to get to our site by happy hour (a very important institution for any Funderstorm trip!). We had a long route with 7 portages, all of which required two trips because of the heavy ass kayak I rented and the amount of gear we had (beer takes up a lot of space!). Our first portage of 900m set the tone for the day with regard to the challenge of carrying all that gear in the heat amidst the bugs! It was a long tough day delightfully broken up around 2:00 with an impromptu stop at the Anstruther Marina for a cold drink and a few more supplies. By the last few portages we were all real ready to be done, but that just made the first view of our spectacular site (223 on Serpentine Lake, if anyone is curious) all the more welcome! We arrived at camp about 6:00, which is a little later than ideal for happy hour, but we rolled with it and made it work!

Kawartha Highlands paddle trip Day 1: Long Lake Access Point to Cox Lake

Browner and I had booked this trip at the exact 5-month window that you are allowed to. I relied on her knowledge of the park from previous trips and was thrilled she knew exactly which sites we should book, as I'd never been! Our plan was a relatively short paddle Friday, long paddle Saturday then two nights at the same site, and a moderate paddle out on Monday. We also planned a partial rather than full loop by leaving cars at two access points so that we could explore more of the park.

Beautiful afternoon and only two portages meant we were all in great spirits when we arrived at our site for happy hour. Beer and swimming were first on the agenda, followed by one of Browner's gourmet dinners! We had a beautiful site for watching the sunset and the bugs weren't too bad. We all started with our flys off of the tents but were roused to put them on during an unanticipated thunderstorm in the middle of the night!

The aftermath of WS100. Hopefully I can kick it before the next adventure!

I was on pacing duty for Timato from Pointed Rocks (93.9) to the finish. Even though I knew he already had 90+ miles under his belt, I was still a bit nervous about running with Timato as we've never run together before and I wasn't sure I could keep up. 'Bent reassured me I'd be fine and by the time he arrived, I was super excited and couldn't wait to run. I can't believe I got to run on the WS100 course! Timato was in excellent spirits, and we joked and laughed and told stories the whole way. No Hands Bridge was super cool even in the daylight, and the climb up Robie Point gave me a smidge of a taste of what Timato had been going through the past 24 hours. Mrs. Tiny was waiting for us at the top of Robie Point (98.9) and we ran down the hill together, picking up the rest of the crew including a very excited Aubrey at the entrance to the track.

It was so incredibly impressive to see Timato complete this goal, and to be able to be a part of it. When most of the other runners were dropping off like flies and slowing down, he seemed to get stronger and stronger, picking off 120 runners from the middle of the race onwards. It was very clear to me after this experience why the race has such a cult following and people return year after year.

I had planned to do the 6K Uphill Challenge this morning but was awake before 6 and sitting on the deck with 'Bent having coffee when I watched another person go by who was clearly going up the mountain and I was suddenly very envious and didn't want to wait four hours to do so myself. So I packed up quickly and went up when it was quiet and cool. I was craving a bit of solitude but on the way up met Wayne, a runner from New York who was out there just for kicks to see the race. We meandered our way up to the top and I said I was going to hang out for a bit so he ran back down the hill. As I was debating my route down, I met two PCT thru-hikers and geeked out asking them all sorts of questions. I had planned to run down but was so enthralled by them I ended up hiking all of the way down with them. Later that afternoon I got to do a beer mile with some friends, so my day felt very satisfying and complete!

Hiking with Bash at Squaw Valley up to Squaw Peak and Emigrant Pass. Beautiful warm and clear day for exploring the area! I was definitely in awe that the FIRST thing the WS runners had to do was run from the ski resort to Emigrant Pass, and that was just the first four miles of the course!

Really lovely morning run from my house with a loop on the Grand River Trail.

Up and Running moved along at a good clip this evening so I felt it was logworthy!

Down in Michigan this weekend and have always wanted to run the full Poto loop as I'd never done it before. Forecast was not stellar but we got about 1/3 of it done before it started pouring, which was fun for the first hour or so as it cooled us off, but we had had enough of it by the end!

Super fun evening of hill repeats and a parking lot picnic with Browner and Mrs. Tiny at Kelso. There were several groups of riders drinking beer in the parking lot as the sun went down, but we had the best beer and the best picnic spread by far!

Was up and at 'em earlier than expected to hit the trails just after 8:00 for another fun round of "find the blazes." It was another beautiful morning and I got nearer to the car I was feeling very satisfied from a well-executed adventure! I also came up with a pile of other adventure ideas for the area, including a traverse across the park on the Ganaraska, perhaps in the fall sometime!

All gear tests went well and the only unfortunate thing that happened was that the tiny Dove chocolate I had to go with my morning coffee tragically melted in the hot Saturday afternoon sun. RIP Peanut Butter Chocolate Dove. You would have been delicious...

While I sure do love a good Earlventure, I've felt my adventures have been a bit tame lately so wanted to jazz it up a bit. I am hoping to do a longer backpacking trip later in the summer (I got a permit for the High Sierra Trail but really wanted to do the Wonderland) and wanted a little shakeout to test out some new gear I got (a cool new MSR stove and a Sawyer Squeeze filter). Only having one night available due to other weekend commitments, I chose an area of Queen Elizabeth Wildlands I hadn't been to before. I had a hard time finding recon on my planned route as it didn't sound like it was a popular one, which only added to the excitement!

I had read that the road down to the parking lot at Victoria Falls got a bit dicey, and it didn't disappoint in that regard but my little Subie managed it just fine. Found the parking lot with one other car there, but had a bit of difficulty finding the trail I'd hoped to start on! Got all my gear sorted and started following the white blazes of the Ganaraska trail, hoping that it was the one that I wanted!

Thank goodness for the white blazes! They were plentiful but the trail was not very well used and very overgrown during this time of year. There was frequent backtracking as I'd find myself scratching my head (sometimes because of the bugs!) wondering where the trail was. It was a fun combination of being high up on rocky ridges and then descending into swampy forests. There were a few water crossings including one swift water that had me choose my route carefully.

After about 90 minutes I finally saw a sign that told me I'd been on my planned route. The map was adding up to what I'd been seeing but I'm never fully confident! My next mission was to find a campsite that was marked as a black triangle on the map, meaning, not as easy to find. I ended up stumbling on the trail to the lake almost by accident and was giddy when I saw a lovely clearing with a fire pit right on the lake. This was going to be a perfect home for the night!

Enjoyed a lovely afternoon of setting up camp, collecting firewood, drinking a couple of beers which were well worth the weight of carrying out there, and reading. In retrospect, I could have gone much further afield in the time I had available to me, but when I'm on my own in an unfamiliar area, I like to take some safety precautions! I have a SPOT tracker that I bought from Bash a couple of years ago, and the friends and family that are on it know my system: press OK where my car is parked, at my campsite, and when I'm back to the car. It's been well-established that Simpy will be the one to lead the rescue mission if anything ever goes awry as he's the only one that checks them consistently (thanks brother and sister!).

C • Great adventure! 3