Training Log Archive: Bash

We paddled around Norway Lake on another sunny morning then headed out to our vehicles through Kakakise and Carlyle Lakes. By this time, our team portaging system was a well-oiled machine! The portage between Norway and Kakakise Lakes passed through spectacular forest with pale green leaves and a carpet of trout lilies and other spring flowers. Except for the heavy loads and the hills, it would have been a beautiful hike - and it still was.







Such a fun getaway with friends! 'Bent and I went to Killarney for our traditional fish and chips meal, then we drove to the North Bay area to pick up 'Bent's belated birthday gift from me - a used Carbon Innegra Slingshot 222 racing/tripping canoe. I think we'll be paddling again soon. :)

The portaging portions of today's trip.

This morning dawned clear, cool and still, which meant beautiful reflections on Norway Lake.





The black flies slept in so we sat outside at first.



Then their alarm went off so we had breakfast in the bug shelter.



From our campsite at the south end of Norway Lake, we could hike to the La Cloche Trail in 5 minutes. That was my plan in booking this site a while ago. I wasn't sure how well my hand would have recovered from surgery by now so I didn't want to commit to a lot of paddling. As it turns out, paddling and hiking are both fine now but we hiked to The Crack anyway.



The section of trail between Norway Lake and The Crack is rugged with lots of climbs and descents, some of them a little tricky. I've done this section twice before but this time it reminded me of the Lake Superior Coastal Trail. If we saw a cliff anywhere ahead, we could be sure we'd end up on top of it! It was way easier without the heavy backpack though.



It was Etoile's toughest hike in a long time and she was a rock star.





It was a perfect day to be at The Crack.







We were roasting on the way back so we stopped for a cold water break at Little Superior Lake. We drank, we drenched our shirts and I think someone dunked.







Our insect friends were waiting back at camp so after a refreshing swim/dunk, we had Happy Hour and dinner in the bug tent.



Beautiful night.



[Elapsed time: 7:17]

Fun Killarney canoe trip with 'Bent, Hammer and Etoile! We went in at Carlyle Lake and portaged over to Kakakise Lake, which is so pretty that we paddled around and stopped for lunch rather than portaging out of it right away.











Note for future reference: The portage trail from Carlyle has an unofficial detour around the east end of Kakakise Lake that allows foot access to Norway Lake and the La Cloche Trail starting from Carlyle Lake.

Then we portaged over to Norway Lake. My multiple trips across the two portages added up to about 5.5 km of rocky trail with hills, boardwalks, muddy bits and hungry black flies. Since it was a relatively short trip, 'Bent and I didn't bother travelling light, which made for a good workout.



After setting up camp, we all dunked ourselves in the cold lake. Hammer and 'Bent even took a few swimming strokes. I've rarely felt that hot on an August canoe trip. It was quite warm but I'm just not acclimatized to heat yet.

Much to 'Bent's chagrin, I insisted on bringing our 27-lb car camping bug shelter. (Our lightweight backcountry bug shelter was in Kolapore.) Known variously as the "Queen of Norway", the "Saving Grace" and the "Norwegian Princess", this ridiculously heavy luxury item made the trip *much* more fun.



In the old days, a wilderness trip on May 13 would almost certainly beat the black flies but they were out in force and my chef wasn't pleased. Dinner was delicious anyway.

The portaging portion of today's trip. Heavy loads and high heart rate!

Sunset paddle on Norway Lake with 'Bent.

Packing and shopping for the first backcountry trip of the season, which always takes longer than it should when I'm out of practice. This will be a 3-day Killarney canoe/hike trip with Hammer and Etoile. We were hoping to miss the black flies but Hammer just got his first bite of the season. Uh oh!

Quad exercises.

This turned out to be One Of Those Days so I didn't get out in the gorgeous sunshine.

I saw my physio, who had wanted to check on my Achilles when I started running after ski season. It ended up being a lot later in the spring than expected. He was so horrified by my quad injury ("a very hard fall!" "a serious contusion!") that we barely discussed my Achilles. He was surprised the Emerg doc hadn't done anything about it but I was so freaked out about my smashed nose and potential concussion that I didn't really notice my quad until after I'd left the hospital. It is recovering but he assigned some exercises and suggested that I massage it to try to break up scar tissue.

On a much more cheerful note, I found a lightly used H2O Slingshot 222 carbon innegra canoe - a slightly lighter version of the one we test paddled on Saturday. If all goes well, 'Bent and I will be picking it up on Sunday night and he will finally have a very late birthday gift!

Longest steady run in a while. The first 6 km felt good then my body reminded me that (a) I haven't been running much, and (b) it's one of the first warm days. For the last 1.5 km, I walked the uphills and felt overheated. Mostly, I was pleased with this. My Achilles will give its opinion tomorrow. My quad has been fine with running and biking over the past few days but still isn't happy with bending the knee too much. Progress!