Training Log Archive: Bash

Very wet hike on part of the Arowhon Pines Orange Trail. It reminded us of the puddles at Storm The Trent! The different kinds of mushrooms were particularly wonderful.

'Bent went for a swim before lunch.

'Bent and I paddled over to the canoe campsite on Joe Lake where we were married. Someone was camping there, which is usually the case because it's a lovely site. We said a quick hello and continued around the island before heading back.

Bike ride with 'Bent on the Old Railway Bike Trail in Algonquin Park. It was wetter than we've ever seen it! A fair number of other people were out enjoying the trail before the rain arrived but it didn't feel ridiculously crowded.





Photo at our turnaround point by Whitefish Lake, where we got engaged on skis more than 25 years ago.

'Bent turned his ankle last week so he brought poles and we hiked in pouring rain on some of the rugged trails near Arowhon Pines in the Medicine Tree area. We found some huge, beautiful white pines that survived the logging era.

This week Dontgetlost announced that all participants, volunteers, coaches and staff attending any DGL event or in-person meeting must be fully vaccinated unless they have a medical exemption. I'm not aware of any other club with that requirement. Outdoor events could include unvaxed people with little risk but good for DGL for choosing to encourage social responsibility, even if it means losing a few participants.

Their announcement triggered a couple of lengthy Facebook diatribes from a longtime club member and hard core anti-vaxxer who wants freedom without consequences. He rants, "My body, my choice" then makes anti-abortion posts without noticing the contradiction. Le sigh.

Breezy pre-dinner paddle with 'Bent on Little Joe Lake starting at Arowhon Pines in Algonquin Park. Autumn leaves are just past their peak but it's still beautiful up here.

A bat was flying around our living room tonight, probably a Big Brown Bat. I may have shrieked really loudly - over and over and over. 'Bent captured it with a fishing net and cardboard and released it outside, where it flew away. I got to clean up the floor where 'Bent had scared it sh*tless. Public health policy has changed so that rabies shots aren't recommended in cases where there is no known contact with a bat - even if it's possible that the bat was in a bedroom while people were asleep. We're guessing that our bat came indoors when 'Bent opened the inside garage door about 90 minutes before we saw it but we can't be sure. The odds are really, really low but every time I feel a tingle over the next 12 months, I'll be thinking about rabies - yikes.
https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/48/11/1493/34...
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/pu...

I think my right Achilles might be ready for another test.

Brisk-paced Tour de Newmarket and latte with Veinbuster.

Today's report from the vax clinic:

- It was steady - busier than we were in the weeks before the Sept. 22 vaccine mandate came into effect and more than twice as busy as we were in mid-August.
- A good percentage of the clients were getting 1st shots - awesome!
- We're starting 2nd shots for people who got their 1st shots as soon as the vaccine mandate was announced.
- We're welcoming more clients who seem unhappy to be there. Almost all of them are polite to staff though. These aren't anti-vaxxers.
- As always, lots of people bring family or friends to support them. In some cases, I suspect the companion was there to make sure the client went through with it.
- Some clients have medical concerns that caused them to wait and some of them don't have family doctors to answer their questions. Luckily, Facebook was down this afternoon so they came to ask our nurses questions instead!
- Almost everyone still chooses Pfizer - even for their 1st shot.