Training Log Archive: Bash

Timato, Kristen and Aubrey came up to Kolapore to play in the snow with us.

We started with a backcountry ski around Southern Crossing, Quiet Pastures and Jackrabbit. These are less travelled trails in a network that isn't heavily travelled. Almost all of today's route was on winter-only trails that cross wetlands. There are creeks, little bridges and boardwalks, and the trail twists and rolls. Some people call this area an enchanted forest - especially on snowy days like today.





We weren't sure if it might be a bit too much for Aubrey but she proved us wrong. The hardest sections were narrow, treed downhills - the kind that frequently defeat adults accustomed to wider trails. Aubrey had no trouble with those and her uphills got stronger as we went. By the end, she asked if it would be OK to turn around and ski downhill, even though it meant climbing that hill a second time. Of course!



We ran into Bruce & Val King again. They had just taken down the sign for the old Labyrinth trails. 'Bent offered to carry it out since he'd worn a bigger pack.



Fun ski!











After all that work, we needed a pizza and beer break by the fire.



Then it was time for the tobogganing portion of the day. An ambitiously steep hill was selected and - over time - a luge run was created.





Mostly, it was a success but tobogganers occasionally suffered the agony of defeat.

Another bluebird day and perfect ski conditions in Kolapore. :)



'Bent went for a long ski with Stephen and Kevin, the other members of the Ski Musketeers, who are going to do the virtual Canadian Ski Marathon together. I'll be the support crew and they'll have their Gold Camp in our back yard.

I went for a long (although not *that* long) solo ski clockwise around the Kolapore Big Loop. This was a little longer than last week's Big Loop; there are quite a few variations. It was fantastic.



It was like skiing through a Lawren Harris painting.






I ran into Bruce & Val King and Richard Ellen, some of the original builders of these trails almost five decades ago. All still ski here regularly and are active volunteers. Bruce and Val do the lion's share of the work to manage the Kolapore Wilderness Trails Association.



I'm planning to get more involved because after 50 years, I figure they could use a little more time off.

I also ran into the Ski Musketeers, who were clearly having a wonderful time.



Time deducted for conversation breaks.

Beautiful ski around the Kolapore Church / Paradise Highway loop with Dee, Jaime Arthur and 'Bent. So much fluffy snow in the forest! It's always great when people join us on the trails. :)

Snowshoe through deep, fluffy snow with 'Bent and the pooches. We worked more on the route we started testing yesterday. BazingaDog started off at a gallop so we did some unplanned snowshoe running in deep powder. Although he was less obedient today, he didn't get into trouble. It's sooo nice to see him off leash after a decade of being untrustworthy.

We came up to Kolapore today because 'Bent's work week fell apart again due to Covid in the community. On the bright side, there is lots of snow so it wasn't the worst thing. We went out with the dogs to scout a new snowshoe route to divert people away from our ski tracks. The snow was DEEP! BazingaDog couldn't have run away if he wanted to. After the first half hour of wallowing, he was super keen to go home and lie by the fire.

Yesterday was Logan Day - the 7th anniversary of AdventureDog joining our family. In honour of the occasion, I took both dogs for a bushwhack around Palgrave West on a sunny lunch break. Turns out I should have used snowshoes but it just forced me to work a little harder.

We have a neighbour who is an excellent nature photographer, and she'd asked me to let her know if I saw an owl. I visited some old trees with hollows that seemed like perfect candidates. No luck today.

Dr. Brian Goldman (Toronto ER doc, CBC podcaster) tweeted that on Sunday he worked at a vaccine clinic that was disturbingly quiet. I replied, saying that our clinic was also quiet even though we've only given 40-50% of kids' and booster shots. Because he's well known, my tweet attracted a deluge of anti-vax replies, some of them using my name and telling me I should be ashamed of myself. I had to block a bunch of people (or bots) but it was interesting: "Better brace yourself for prosecution, violating the Nuremberg Code is a war crime. 'Following orders' is no excuse. Tribunals have started already." Oh my.