Training Log Archive: Bash

After responding to a couple of unrelated family situations (everyone is OK), I ran the Metcalfe Rock loop and a little extra.

'Bent and I test-paddled a Swift Keewaydin 17 canoe on the way home from Killarney. This proved to be an expensive decision.

The forecast said we'd have moderate winds, rising in the afternoon and getting stronger in the evening when thunderstorms were expected. Although 'Bent and I had food for 5 days, we decided to head out after 3 days because the wind wasn't looking good for the next 2 days and we were going to be in exposed areas. That meant a long 3rd day of paddling. I'm not a morning person so I don't see a lot of sunrises but I was up early today.







We paddled from the outer islands into Beaverstone Bay, the east side of PEI, which has a channel for motorboats.







Then we paddled west on Collins Inlet to complete our circumnavigation of Philip Edward Island at Chikanishing Creek. It had been years since our last circumnavigation and I remember not enjoying Collins Inlet. At first I couldn't understand why. It seemed scenic and pleasant.





The pier of the old settlement of Collins Inlet



After a while, it all came back to me. Collins Inlet seems really nice for about 5 km. The problem is, it goes on for 20 km - pretty but monotonous with occasional motorboats going by. The last time I paddled there, I had knee pain so that must have affected my mindset too. In any case, it was a great place to escape the wind today and we made it back without dealing with any nasty weather.

I'd been able to get some cell signal so I booked us a campsite at Killarney's George Lake campground before the long drive home.

The wind was forecast to rise quickly after lunch so 'Bent and I planned to paddle non-stop until 1 pm, then set up camp. It was a gorgeous paddle, weaving in and out of rocky islands. There was a little spicy paddling in open water that was exposed to the wind. We opted to take Big Rock Portage for the first time - a half km portage that gets around a point that can have rough water around half-hidden shoals. It's not fun portaging kayaks and it took us three trips but it was a good call for today. We learned later that a group of experienced kayakers went out this afternoon in an exposed area near Philip Edward Island. Four out of five of them capsized on shoals; they were all OK but shaken up.

We made it to our destination, Bear Bay, around 1 pm as planned. Our campsite was gorgeous! We spent the afternoon swimming, taking photos and drinking an extra pot of coffee. Alas, I flung my Katadyn BeFree water filter into the depths of Georgian Bay while trying to scoop a big flask full.

From about 10 minutes after we left our campsite this morning, the only people we saw were two kayakers way out on the horizon in open water. That lasted until 6 pm when three men paddled into our bay. We had a friendly chat because they wanted to know their exact map location, then they headed off to camp two islands over.

Paddling - no photos taken in rougher conditions







The last part of the portage was a drag over grass and mud.



That was followed by a short paddle through shrubbery.



Our campsite on Bear Bay







Evening light







Happy Campers

After a nice visit with Hammer and Etoile enroute, 'Bent and I arrived in Killarney in late afternoon and paddled our sea kayaks down Chikanishing Creek to Georgian Bay. It only took about 1 hour and 5.3 km to get to Le Hayes Island and Solomon Island, where we hoped to camp. Unfortunately, we'd left it late on a Friday so we spent another 40 minutes looking for a campsite. We ended up on a site with a decrepit shelter / houseboat wreck that is probably used for fishing or parties or ??? There was more garbage than usual but it was still a lovely island with a view of sunset and the La Cloche Mountains.

Chikanishing Creek



Georgian Bay









Our campsite

After 3 busy weeks for Wilderness Traverse, 'Bent and I are going to traverse some of our own wilderness! We're taking our old sea kayaks out on Georgian Bay for a few days. It's a different way of packing; I can't remember exactly how I used to divide my stuff up into dry bags so they would fit through the hatch openings. We'll figure it out when we get there if we didn't get it right in the first place. I predict a late start on the water.

The down side of organizing a large adventure race is that it gets in the way of my own adventures for several weeks - not to mention my sleep, nutrition and exercise. There is still plenty to do for Wilderness Traverse but at this point, most tasks are not urgent - whereas until Sunday night, almost every task was urgent! It's time to get outdoors a little more.

I went for a hike on the Caledon Trailway with Janet Trépanier, the wife of my late friend and one-time adventure racing teammate, artist Cory Trépanier. He died of cancer in November as he was nearing the end of a large 10+ year Arctic painting and filming project.

Event: Wilderness Traverse 2022
 

On birthdays, I try to do something I haven't done before. This year I stepped barefooted on a bee that was lying in wait on our kitchen floor for some unknown nefarious reason. Hoo boy, that hurt!

Another trip around the sun and another birthday spent working on Wilderness Traverse. Hammer will do the same later this week.

Today I went through three large, randomly sorted Pelican cases and read tiny serial numbers on 81 satellite trackers to figure out their assigned team numbers - after taking 15 seconds to extract each tracker from its tight new pouch. Then I made labels for each tracker and its case, checked the battery level to see if a boost was required and sorted the Pelican cases in order of team number. Yahoo, I sure know how to celebrate!



'Bent and I got out for a nice patio dinner tonight before I went back to working on trackers so on balance, it was a very good day.

Wilderness Traverse madness is in full swing now. It’s going to be a super busy week.

‘Bent and I signed our new wills today so I can now ride my bike over bigger rocks. :)

Happy 11th Dog-iversary to our sweet, strong-willed, food-loving, powerful, snuggly boy Brody, aka BazingaDog. These photos were taken today and on the day we adopted him. Since then he’s grown into his ears, become a star dental office employee and earned off-leash privileges (although only 6 months ago!)





He and 'Bent have a special bond. :)

'Bent and I went for a tour around Kolapore. It's so much more rideable when the rocks are dry. We didn't see anyone else on the trails. Beautiful morning!

In the afternoon, we caught up with friends.

The Tarnos rode up for a chat.



Then we went to Orillia to visit Pete, Leanne and family. So nice to spend some time together.

Hike with 'Bent and the pooches - Kolapore Bruce Trail loop with the new trails. We were really happy that BazingaDog felt energetic enough in the cool weather to lead much of the way. He had no obvious sore muscles later on either. :)

'Bent and I are considering a sea kayak trip later this month - something we used to do all the time but haven't done for a while. We figured we should dig out our 25-year-old kayaks, dust them off, look for the accessory gear and test it all out.





It was a nice day in Collingwood Harbour although busy at times.



The boats feel different but it went pretty well. 'Bent had some issues to deal with. He'd forgotten how heavy and tippy his sea kayak is. In 1997, I chose a nice Kevlar boat and said that some day I'd be grateful for a stable, fast kayak that weighs 40-something pounds. It took a while but 'Bent is coming around to my point of view. :)





We paddled over to see one of the visiting tall ships.



Teenagers sail the ship - like a summer camp for sail training. Only the Captain and Mate are over 18.



A band was rehearsing and doing sound checks by the water so we attended a paddle-in, bike-in concert for a little while.



For the first time, we exited the water using the public kayak dock that is designed to accommodate disabled paddlers although it can be used by anyone. It worked amazingly well.

Nice run around Palgrave West except for the Achilles insertion pain. I also feel it when I don't run so I figured I might as well get some exercise.

It's been a really long week. Every day I planned a bike ride or run but every day the laptop dragged me back.

Cooldown hike.

It was a little cooler so I took BazingaDog for a hike in Palgrave West. He had a good pace on the outbound leg but he hates turning around so he faffed about on the return trip. It's such a treat to be able to walk him off-leash after all these years but our mighty boy is slowing down.

Lower body.

Fun Kolapore ride with ‘Bent, Goose and Coach LD on a steaming hot day. The rocks and roots were wet so it was a test of balance but no one went down. My chain came off early on and it took me a while to figure out that the subsequent gear problems were caused by a loose thru-axle - again! We went up Mount Dhaulagiri, rode the new trail under construction and used gravel road to connect trail sections. Then we came back to the chalet for lunch on the deck. The Doughtys brought fresh corn on the cob - yum!

I was so fatigued today that I wondered about Covid but I think my body was just reacting to a bunch of very heavy portages and a few poor sleeps.

SUP paddle around Collingwood Harbour and beyond on a calm-as-glass morning while 'Bent and Tarno practised paddling our H2O Slingshot for Storm The Trent. After its rudder hit bottom a few times, I had to walk my SUP across the shallow, washed-out section of the old Hens and Chickens trail.

Test paddling the spiffy new Grant/Harrison canoe.

Sunbeam Lake to Canoe Lake on a *very* windy day. Need to split out portage times.
Elapsed time 6:09.

'Bent and I checked out the creek south of Vanishing Pond to see if our group could save some portaging tomorrow. Nope - the water level was much too low. Then we paddled around Sunbeam Lake on our way back.

Need to split out portage time.
Elapsed 8:21.