Training Log Archive: Bash

Another ski in Kolapore, this time starting from 10th Line near the Jackrabbit Trail, which had a number of wet spots near the start. But it got better - much better! (I should probably give a trigger warning to cross country skiing friends who are still waiting for snow.)





The trails were all broken today - sometimes a bit soft and slow but absolutely beautiful. We turned north on John's Portage and came south on The Kingsway, named after our old friend Bruce King, who is the founder of the Kolapore Wilderness Trails. When we reached the junction to turn back north, there was Bruce with his wife Val! They were the first skiers I'd seen in four days on the trails.





We'd chosen our starting point to fit with our special assignment for the day. Our CSA farm sells trout from the Kolapore Springs hatchery and we'd offered to deliver some to them. We got a tour of the facility from Bruce Greene and André. They have trout of all ages from eggs to 5+ years. In order of tastiness, they say it's: (1) Brown, (2) Speckled, (3) Rainbow.

Once we had all the trout in our coolers, 'Bent needed to deliver them to Mount Wolfe Farm by 5 pm. They had a chef waiting to filet them, then the fish would be frozen.





Dee had texted me on the trail to tell me that her boys had so much fun playing in the snow at our place yesterday that they wanted to come back with their sleds, their older brother and a friend. There was a hot chocolate party on our driveway when we got back.



Then I slowly got through some work around the house in preparation for two weeks of renovations that start tomorrow. The procrastination gave me time for a few sunset photos.

'Bent and I went for another back yard ski in Kolapore. I wore skinny skis instead of my backcountry gear and ended up floundering more than yesterday in soft snow. There were some places where I got up to a regular ski pace in 'Bent's tracks, which rarely happens with my big bushwhacking skis. In 3.5 hours of skiing over two days in perfect conditions, we've seen no other skiers. Today we chatted briefly with a family hiking on the Bruce Trail. We're loving this early blast of winter while it lasts!

We had guests! I've hired the Gallys' teenaged daughter Emma to shovel our deck. Who knew the service would also include her Mom, Dee and Dee's kids? It took 2.5 hours and the Gallys worked non-stop. The rest of us did a bunch of shovelling, then took a break for some tobogganing. The deck looks pretty darned good now. :) My shoulder isn't as sore as it was a couple of days ago so I guess it was only a little mad at me.

'Bent and I took the dogs for another deep snow snowshoe hike in our forest. BazingaDog went on strike a few times, stopping to roll around on his back in the snow.

Dee, Mrs. Gally and I met at Scenic Caves on the morning of their opening day. One of the last normal things I did in the Old World in March was buy our season pass for this year.

We had a great catch-up chat. Mrs. Gally thinks her teenaged daughter would love to shovel off our deck regularly since she needs strength workouts for competitive volleyball - and money, of course. I'm sure there will still be plenty of opportunities for us to get some shovelling exercise but I'm happy to share the joy.







P.S. Here's some of the snow that still needs to be shovelled from our deck.

'Bent and BazingaDog arrived at the chalet - yay! We celebrated with a deep snow, off-trail snowshoe around our property. (OK, there may have been a little trespassing on our neighbours' properties.)

Near the road, the previous owners took part in a tree planting program so there are rows and rows of Christmas trees. In summer, there are thick weeds between the trees so we hadn't been in there much. Today it was relatively easy going, other than the deep snow.





Even AdventureDog was embarrassed that BazingaDog kept stalling by taking extended snow baths.





Then we went through the woods to our back fence to check out the deciduous forest.



At the 45-minute mark - the minimum time for the Winter Scavenger Hunt Chocolate badge - I pulled a Lindt bar out of my pocket. Mmm. Some challenges are too easy.





When we got back, we successfully snowshoed up and down the front steps. Still no idea if the steps are still there but this could be useful for hill repeats.

This was my first ski with 'Bent from the chalet. After skiing the trail we built on Crown Land, we skied the little bushwhack connector from the Bruce Trail to the Kolapore Wilderness Trails. At first we were breaking trail in deep snow while clearing away branches and releasing trees that were bent over and frozen to the ground. We finally found ski tracks near the parking lot. Conditions were perfect after that. Kolapore is a rocky area so it's unusual to have a good ski there on Dec. 4, let alone mid-winter conditions.

As is my habit, when we reached a decision point between "Safe return before sunset" and "Commitment to a loop that will bring us home after dark without headlamps", I chose the latter. We finished in very dim light but we had just enough time. Fantastic. What a wonderful winter day. :)

First ski from our new chalet! I felt a little guilty going without 'Bent. I'm up north letting contractors in while he's fixing teeth back home. But how could I miss a chance like this?





The base was at least 40 cm of heavy snow with areas of drifting. It was more like snowshoeing than skiing but that was totally OK today.



I broke trail to the back of our property where I learned that we won't be crawling through the hole in the fence in winter. We can just step right over!



Then I kicked in the trail that 'Bent and I made to join the Bruce Trail. There were some issues - like trees bent over and frozen to the ground, twigs in my face because we hadn't pruned that high and fallen branches that I had to haul off to one side. It was a strength workout.







That was the first 1.2 km, then I figured that I'd have a real ski on the Bruce Trail since hikers would have packed it down. I was wrong.





AdventureDog had a great time although I started to worry that it was wearing him out. After a short ski on the Bruce Trail, I turned around to get back to my contractors. A-Dog seemed relieved.



So beautiful and so fun to have different trails in our back yard!



The only down side was some right shoulder pain from yesterday's snow shovelling. I guess I'm not ready to be ambidextrous.

But I did claim my Cross-Training Badge. That's my specialty! It's running that I'm not good at.

More snow shovelling and I've barely made a dent! In summer, it will be really nice to have decks that almost totally surround the house. In winter, our deck is a bunch of avalanche zones beneath a steel roof. In one place, it's up to my waist. We'll figure this out.

My stupid right shoulder got all creaky today. I felt it a bit while skiing but didn't put two and two together. As soon as I tried to shovel snow on my non-preferred side, I realized the problem. It feels like the swimmer's shoulder I got when I swam (remember that day?) and when I carried too much luggage enroute to UTMB 2014. Both those times, the inflammation became disabling for a couple of days. So I only shovelled on my stronger side and not for very long.

One of today's highlights - other than skiing - was my first electrical work. I took down an exterior light fixture and removed the wire back to a junction box, which involved crawling a fair distance under the deck and in a basement crawlspace. This needed to be done so we could install a propane tank - not that the installers actually came. Electrical work can only be done by a licensed electrician or the home owner, and we couldn't get an electrician in time so yay, Google and Youtube. Also, the contractors cheerfully coached me from a distance.

Snow shovelling after a major winter storm at Tree Hugger ABC. Contractors arrived mid-afternoon and needed access to the areas I'd cleared. I have plenty of work left. I don't think I've ever shovelled such heavy snow for so long. I learned it's important to become ambidextrous. Elapsed time was around 90 minutes.





Our conversation area for outdoor drinks with friends looks *really* appealing. Who wants a beer?

Shortly after sunset, AdventureDog and I had a nice visit from the Millers, whom I'd promised a Christmas tree from our property. The snow was thigh-deep on me so we had to remind 3-year-old Hank to follow the tracks of an adult so we wouldn't lose him! :) They chose an excellent tree. I hope it will make them smile in their first holiday season in their new home. Hank very kindly gave me some homemade cookies in return.

Winter is here - yayyy! And so is the Coast Mountain Trail Running Winter Scavenger Hunt with 20 new challenges to complete between now and the end of January.

It was just another typical day in Canada: bushwhacking on snowshoes through the forest behind our place during a winter storm, singing out loud with Michael Bublé (that was the challenge), having some organic maple syrup instead of energy gels, and exercising my pet reindeer.
(One of these things may not be entirely true. )