Training Log Archive: Bash

'Bent and I ventured to Hamilton for the Dontgetlost Icebreaker adventure run. It was our first time orienteering since the pandemic started and we had so much fun!

It was sunny with a chill in the air. People could start the event at any time over the weekend but we were lucky to see several friends in person for the first time in ages. I'd been wondering how much of a learning curve would be needed for the MapRunF app but with Anvil's clear instructions, it worked perfectly for us both. I used my phone and 'Bent set up his Garmin watch. The only down side was that I somehow lost the $100 compass attached to my wrist in the first 15 minutes of the race. That made for some interesting navigation, particularly in the section of the map where the trails had been removed.

Afterward, we went to a playground for a nice catch-up with Timato and Aubrey. He pushed her swing so that she flew high over everybody's heads.

'Bent and I haven't done an orienteering event since the Scenic Caves ski-O in early March. Sport doesn't count as essential travel and we have a long drive to get to most races. On the other hand, as a board member for Orienteering Ontario, I've been feeling out of touch with the way the sport has changed this year. So we're doing the Icebreaker tomorrow. I'd been thinking that I'd probably bungle my first event with the MapRunF app but Anvil's pre-race information has been very clear and helpful so my fingers are crossed that my phone will do what it's supposed to. Should be interesting!

Fun single track ride around Palgrave Forest with 'Bent to celebrate his birthday. It wasn't the biggest party I've ever thrown him but trail conditions were dry and perfect, and it was lovely in the woods with the sun low in the sky. Wishing you many years of fun adventures, 'Bent. :)

As of today, 'Bent and I are in Lockdown here in Peel Region for at least 28 days. It changes surprisingly little in our lives since we've been avoiding riskier activities anyway with 'Bent being a health care provider. I'll make a point of seeking out local businesses for curbside purchases over the next month.

Unlike other parts of the world, there are no travel restrictions (yet) but obviously, we don't want to share our plague with other regions. We've been very cautious with friends outdoors, and when we go to the chalet, we buy groceries, hardware and gas beforehand so we can limit any shopping up there. During the first Lockdown, we didn't go to our condo for 3 months even though 'Bent was off work but we know more about the disease now, and I think we can keep the risk very low.

The worst thing would be to take up space in their hospital system. We can't do anything about heart attacks or car accidents but I'll be limiting the risks I take consciously with ladders or skiing in rocky terrain or whatever.

Yesterday and overnight, we had our first big snowstorm in Palgrave - 20+ cm before it started to consolidate and melt. The extended biking season has been fun but it's time to ski and snowshoe!

'Bent was so excited that he skied in the dark yesterday and on his commute this morning. These are his tracks heading across our yard and into the forest.



AdventureDog and I went out in Palgrave Forest this morning when the temperature was 3C and rising. Conditions were sticky and there was a wet layer close to the unfrozen ground but still, it was a fantastic winter wonderland. It was a mix of slow trails and bushwhacking - never going at a skiing pace but sometimes working at skiing intensity. Looking forward to lots of winter activities since we can only see our friends outdoors for the foreseeable future.

'Bent and I had some trail work planned at the chalet so we invited two top athletes to join us for "a hike".





Then we immediately put them to work. Bob and Hank did a great job. 5 stars. I'd hire them again.

Dee and Amber joined me for my first trail run in Kolapore. I'm still learning the area and needed to keep looking at the map. This turned out to be a nice loop and we had the whole place to ourselves. It was actually just a hike-run. I taped both feet beforehand and moved very cautiously to avoid twisting an ankle. My foot is a little less happy than it was after my run in Palgrave last week but it's not too bad. We ran on a thin layer of snow most of the time, sometimes on wet leaves. I'm glad 'Bent and I went biking yesterday because it feels like bike season is over here. That's OK - I'm ready to ski.

'Bent and I headed out after 3 p.m. for a "race against sunset" mountain bike ride in Kolapore. Google said the sun would disappear at 4:48.

We decided to ride the trail to the back of our property at Tree Hugger ABC for the first time. It could use some raking but it was fine. Then we had to lift our bikes over a fence with barbed wire on top to get onto Crown Land. (There's a hole in the fence just big enough for a person to squeeze through.)

After that, we expected a fair amount of hike-a-biking on our 600 meter flagged route to the Bruce Trail. We've pruned and cleaned up the biggest obstacles but it's still basically bushwhacking. We weren't really thinking of using it for biking. Turns out it's surprisingly rideable already! It still needs more work to earn the designation of "trail" vs. "route" but we were quite chuffed by this discovery.



We can't ride on the Bruce Trail so the next step was a 2-minute unimproved bushwhack to the Kolapore Church Trail on the bike trail network. Except for the low sections, the trails were dry and the riding was excellent, if rocky. I'm getting braver about all the off-angle rocks. On the Oak Ridges Moraine where we live, we get lots of practice riding over roots but there aren't so many rocks. P.S. I love my Pivot 29er - yes, the same bike I was ambivalent about when I first got it. And I was soooo grateful to be clipped in.







There were some decision points where we looked at our watches, the map and the setting sun. This may be our last ride here this year so I was keen to get as far as we could, even if it meant bailing out to a road later. We detoured around some technical trails by taking 10th Line and climbing a very impressive hill then we headed back into the trail network.





The sun disappeared but we decided to take a chance and ride into the middle of the forest so we could return home by our new forest route.



Our gamble paid off. All went well and we arrived home in the warm glow of twilight.

Ontario's Conservation Authorities Act was legislated 74 years ago by a Progressive Conservative majority government. It responded to concerns of a wide range of forward thinking citizens - naturalists, hunters, farmers, politicians and more. They were way ahead of their time.

"Leading conservation organizations and many practitioners within the provincial government believed that we could not protect Ontario’s important natural resources from contamination, degradation or depletion unless a more integrated watershed management approach was adopted using natural watershed boundaries."

In its early decades, the conservation authorities program became internationally renowned and was considered so innovative that people came from around the world to study it.

I've volunteered on several initiatives with our local Conservation Authorities and I appreciate how important it is to have an organization that takes a watershed perspective rather than a municipal or provincial view. My Dad's longtime business partner, Art Latornell, was influential in the early years of the conservation authority movement so I also feel a personal connection.

The original reasons for the CA Act haven't gone away. The concerns have become more pressing over the years as the population has grown. However, the ability of Conservation Authorities to fulfill their role in watershed planning and management is severely curtailed in the government's planned omnibus Budget Bill 229.

The Canadian Environmental Law Association has done a preliminary analysis of the impact of the proposed legislation at this link. If you agree with their concerns, there is also a tool to help you send a quick email to the appropriate representatives.
https://ontarionature.good.do/conservationauthorit...

My gimpy right foot doesn't feel any worse after yesterday's super-cautious-tree-root-avoidance trail run. Rare good news in 2020. :)

I've been missing trail running sooooo much. My foot pain hasn't been cured by taking long breaks from running and it hasn't been exacerbated by 5-8K runs on smooth surfaces. I should have tried to get some diagnostic imaging between Covid waves but I wasn't watching my crystal ball closely enough to get the timing right. As we hurtle toward another lockdown and a Christmas season in my tiny bubble with 'Bent, who doesn't celebrate it, I'm looking for ways to cheer myself up.

So today I barged ahead with a trail run - damn the torpedoes. I ran gravel road to Palgrave Forest to warm up on a smooth surface, then I ran mostly on double track that was reasonably bare so I could see the roots and rocks. In places where leaves and pine needles obscured the ground, I slowed down to a fast hiking pace. I kept my eyes on the ground - no swivelling my head to see the dramatic snow squall skies. It wasn't a relaxed forest run but at least it was a forest run. And now I'll see how much I'll have to pay for it.

It's clear why, after 25 years of living by a forest, we don't use the trails on windy days.

Caron Shepley video: Injury prevention for endurance athletes. The only word in the title that applies to me these days is "injury" but that's a minor detail in 2020. The workout was a mix of core, stabilizing muscles, balance and therapy balls.

Then 'Bent and I "attended" the C3 25th anniversary virtual banquet where Sean Bechtel was inducted into the C3 Hall of Fame. I was surprised by the feeling of community, even just staring at a screen yet again.

'Bent and I spent half a day working on the trail that will link Tree Hugger ABC to the Bruce Trail. Major progress today - lots of pruning, moving and chopping logs, snipping tiny saplings, choosing micro-routes and improving the flagging. It will probably snow before it starts to look like a trail on the ground but it's now a well-marked forest route with most obstacles removed.

We will also need to get from the Bruce Trail to the Kolapore Wilderness Trails, which were not connected to the Bruce on purpose. They are about 60 m apart at one point but it's fairly steep with lots of young trees and some large, mossy logs on the slope. For our first season here, we'll probably just take off our skis and hike between the trails.

I missed being at the Stars O-Cup double header today. Not only was it a rare chance to do Night-O but this year's events were held at Pinehurst Lake Conservation Area, where I used to attend day camp as a kid. But 'Bent's ankle injury made Night-O a bad idea for him, and we didn't have dog care options to let us do both races, which made a 90-minute drive each way seem like a lot. Also, we're from a Red-hot COVID-19 region so nobody wants to see us anyway! :(

If anyone thought the Coast Mountain Trail Running Summer Scavenger Hunt looked like fun, you may want to consider the upcoming Winter Scavenger Hunt.

"You can make this challenge as wild, interesting, social, and difficult as you’d like, OR you can keep it super low key and just use it to approach your winter fitness goals with some daily variety." The Summer version attracted participants from 20+ countries.

It's open to runners and walkers. Challenges are based on time with most in the 30-45 minute range. No GPS needed - just a watch. There will be 20 challenges to complete in December and January. Part of the proceeds will go to a food bank and the CMTR Scholarship program, which aims to grow the participation of under-represented groups in our sport.

Finnerty Sideroad gravel road run at sunset. Running 5K on a smooth surface doesn't seem to make my gimpy right foot worse. Hiking on a trail is harder on it.

Upper body weights and 1 km of rowing.

In 2007, landscape artist Cory Trépanier was planning an Arctic trekking expedition where he and his brother would need to carry 40+ kg backpacks with his canvases, painting supplies and filming equipment in addition to their camping gear. He commented to me, "This would be easier if I did what you do", meaning adventure racing. Of course I said, "But you *can* do what I do."

So after months of planning and training, the three of us raced ESAR together at Talisman in 2008. We won the Civilian Coed division, which shocked my teammates' families, who thought they were joking when they came home wearing medals. Cory made this video of our race back in the days when a waterproof video camera was large and clunky by today's standards.



Earlier this fall, Cory announced another expedition - a cancer journey with a good prognosis. He decided to ride 500 km as a fundraiser for our local hospital, doing much of the distance after he'd started chemo. He told me it would help if I rode with him some time. Fortunately, he's doing very well and he pushed the pace. It was great to catch up. It was definitely one of those times when it really sucked that I couldn't hug a friend.

We rode 41 km together on the rail trail and I rode another 15-ish kms to and from our meeting place. It was another weirdly beautiful November summer day but I think our regularly scheduled weather is about to resume.





I finished with 'Bent's Covid Crusher single track in our back yard. It's getting much more rideable.

Here in the Region of Peel, COVID-19 case numbers are soaring. The issue is most severe in Brampton but Caledon would qualify for the provincial government's new "Red-Control" level all on its own. Because Ontario's new COVID-19 response framework is designed to keep businesses open rather than controlling the pandemic, restrictions were relaxed when Peel Region moved to the Red-Control level. After failing to convince the provincial government this was a bad idea, our Medical Officer of Health imposed additional restrictions starting this week. Some are mandated while others are strong recommendations.

Amongst other things:

- Restaurants must restrict seating to people from the same household. (This was obvious all along but the government didn't want to say it.)

- No wedding receptions until at least January.

- "Residents of Peel must restrict their contact to members of their household and essential supports only. Those that live alone may join one designated household."

- "Residents of Peel should not visit any other household or allow visitors to their homes or yards, except for emergency reasons, including medical and repairs, renovations or construction, deliveries and one-on-one tutoring."
https://peelregion.ca/news/archiveitem.asp?year=20...

There's a huge outcry from people who believe Caledon should be excluded from all this. Covid fatigue is real. But so is exponential growth. :(

Ride around Palgrave East on another weird November summer morning. I met our neighbour, Kathy W, who was hiking with a friend. Great way to start the day.

Foothab and some calf strength.

And... that's a wrap. This is the final evening of the 9-day Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival, which was virtual this year. Although it's not the same as going to Banff, it wasn't all bad. It was great to have full control over which films I watched and when. It's the first year I've seen all the award winning films. I've neglected other tasks over the past week but it's been like a nice mini-vacation. :)

In lieu of the traditional multisport Fall 50 and potluck dinner, a small group of us celebrated Coach LD's birthday with a distanced hike around Glen Haffy Conservation Area. It was another perfect summer day in November, enhanced by homemade treats and good conversation. Fun!

Here's the birthday girl and her boy.



Our snack break (and first attempt at our album cover).

Who would have thought two guys in their 70s could maintain an election that long?

Congratulations to our friends across the border.

It's another beautiful - albeit weird - summer day in November, 20C and sunny. 'Bent and I met Coach LD and Goose for a fun, chatty single track ride around the northern half of Albion Hills. My legs were tired after yesterday so the hills felt like work but it was great to be out.

We had to steer clear of a movie shoot. They probably didn't expect crowds of people to be hiking and biking in the park at this time of year.

'Bent's phone rang. His Mom was calling to tell him Biden had just won. Although we've been expecting this news at some point, I felt like I could finally exhale after 4 years. YaHOOOO!!!!

We rode home the long way via the Caledon Trailway, Palgrave village and Palgrave Forest after stopping for a catch-up with Kendra on Duffy's Lane. We're looking forward to ski season but it was pretty darned nice to have one more day of biking in perfect conditions.

It was a gorgeous, summery day after a big snowstorm a few days ago. If you don't like Canadian weather, just wait a day or two. Same with U.S. elections.

I rode single track in Palgrave East and the trails are in perfect condition. People have been out tidying them up with leaf blowers and rakes - seriously! I met hikers, dog walkers, bikers and equestrians and everyone was in a great mood in the sunshine. The forecast for the next two days looks similar so the trails will probably be packed this weekend. Enjoy, everybody!

While watching a film in this week's Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival.

Went through lots of popcorn tonight. Good thing I have more because it's not over yet.