Still rehabing the ankle. I can ride now (getting in and out of the pedals comfortably now) so I'm off the couch. Went for a couple of short walks along the Rideau Trail as well and was able to walk with minimal pain but I don't think I'm ready for mountain trails just yet. Day by day things improve so hopefully soon I'll get back to the peaks. We're into the hot hazy days of summer so climbing high peaks perhaps wouldn't be too enjoyable anyway - at least I keep telling myself that.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Sunday, July 22, 2007
River sunset
Progress goes slowly on recovery from the sprained ankle. I seemed to gain some initial mobility quickly (perhaps as the swelling went down) but now things have plateaued - perhaps as the real healing gets underway. I have no rotation possible in my ankle so I don't think I'll go hiking for a while. I can walk almost normally until I have to turn a corner.... and then I'm forced to kind of hop in the way your car would without a differential. I have managed to go riding a little bit - nice to get off the couch. The only problem so far in riding is getting my cleats into my pedals which requires a twisting motion of the foot.... When I came back from todays ride I just took my shoe off - still clipped in to the pedal - but I suppose that's not ideal should I want to stop somewhere along the way. In the meantime I'll take what I can get.
Stopped along the river pathway to get some nice shots of the sun setting on Friday - of which this is one. Managed to remember to a) bring my camera, b) insert a memory card, c) insure battery was charged up, and d) focus... so perhaps I've overcome my bad "photo luck" of late.
Stopped along the river pathway to get some nice shots of the sun setting on Friday - of which this is one. Managed to remember to a) bring my camera, b) insert a memory card, c) insure battery was charged up, and d) focus... so perhaps I've overcome my bad "photo luck" of late.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Be careful what you wish for...
I’ve had some bad luck the last few weeks so no recent posts. Two weeks ago I took my camera to go paddling in an “authentic” (fiberglass) Voyageur canoe with my Dad and niece… but managed to forget to put a memory card in the camera. Last weekend I headed up to the ‘Daks with Mike to go bag a peak. The day started off badly. The alarm didn’t go off and I awoke at precisely the time I was supposed to meet Mike across town!!!! Desperate run to grab gear and race up to the meeting spot ((un?)fortunately only 15minutes late and Mike was still there). In the mad scramble I forgot my sunglasses (no big deal) and later discovered I’d forgotten my camera as well. Those disappointments aside we made the drive down and picked a loop hike to Mount Marshall. The weather looked a little sketchy so we decided this would be a good one as – if the weather turned bad – we could still have a good lowland hike and forget the actual summit push.
Geared up (sans camera) we started along the Indian Pass trail but a couple of miles in I stepped on a loose rock. The rock rolled and my boot sole gripped so the only thing left to give was my ankle…. with a rather loud crunch. #%^@%!!! Another chance to use my medical kit..... in two successive hikes!
It’s the kind of thing that could happen anywhere on the trails so perhaps I was lucky to be so close to the start of the hike. A quick examination of my ankle at a nearby stream showed it looked like someone had slipped a tennis ball under my skin. It was clear the day was done. I iced it off in the stream and then wrapped it with a bandage. From there it was a slow hobble back to the car and the drive of shame home. On a positive note it looks like it rained (heavily) on Marshall – one of those really “localized” showers I suspect - so I think I saved Mike from a dreary trudge in the rain ;-) This was Mikes second failed attempt at summiting Marshall so I suspect he will not be asking anyone to go with him on his next try (or perhaps I shouldn’t go with him when I go back…). Almost a week later and I have pretty good mobility but the tendon that “let go” prevents me from certain kinds of movement (no rotation of the foot without great pain) so it could be a few weeks before I get back to the peaks. So it goes. I’ll try and do some riding this weekend. The photo – Mikes – is from the lean-to we stopped at to ice my ankle. It’s actually a nice little destination in itself. I camped here some years ago with my friend Mark…. but found the babbling brook (while quaint) not conducive to a good nights sleep.
Geared up (sans camera) we started along the Indian Pass trail but a couple of miles in I stepped on a loose rock. The rock rolled and my boot sole gripped so the only thing left to give was my ankle…. with a rather loud crunch. #%^@%!!! Another chance to use my medical kit..... in two successive hikes!
It’s the kind of thing that could happen anywhere on the trails so perhaps I was lucky to be so close to the start of the hike. A quick examination of my ankle at a nearby stream showed it looked like someone had slipped a tennis ball under my skin. It was clear the day was done. I iced it off in the stream and then wrapped it with a bandage. From there it was a slow hobble back to the car and the drive of shame home. On a positive note it looks like it rained (heavily) on Marshall – one of those really “localized” showers I suspect - so I think I saved Mike from a dreary trudge in the rain ;-) This was Mikes second failed attempt at summiting Marshall so I suspect he will not be asking anyone to go with him on his next try (or perhaps I shouldn’t go with him when I go back…). Almost a week later and I have pretty good mobility but the tendon that “let go” prevents me from certain kinds of movement (no rotation of the foot without great pain) so it could be a few weeks before I get back to the peaks. So it goes. I’ll try and do some riding this weekend. The photo – Mikes – is from the lean-to we stopped at to ice my ankle. It’s actually a nice little destination in itself. I camped here some years ago with my friend Mark…. but found the babbling brook (while quaint) not conducive to a good nights sleep.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Canada Day
After the big hike, the rest of the weekend was pretty relaxed. I headed back up to my friends cottage near Maniwaki to partake in some campfire time and enjoy the fireworks. There was also a concerted effort to catch "General Sherman" (as pictured). As of this posting he remains.... at large.
Of course there are no freebies in life and the next morning - having enjoyed the camp fire and fireworks - I was once again put to work . This time designing and laying the groundwork for a concrete staircase to be built for access to the new dock (which I was put to work on during my last visit). When it became clear that there were insufficient supplies to actually start pouring concrete I took the opportunity to head for home..... concreting will have to wait until next time.
Of course there are no freebies in life and the next morning - having enjoyed the camp fire and fireworks - I was once again put to work . This time designing and laying the groundwork for a concrete staircase to be built for access to the new dock (which I was put to work on during my last visit). When it became clear that there were insufficient supplies to actually start pouring concrete I took the opportunity to head for home..... concreting will have to wait until next time.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Getting to Gray peak one drops down off Skylight and then has to bypass Lake Tear of the Clouds (pictured here) which is the headwaters for the Hudson River. It’s a beautiful little high mountain lake and probably the best photo op when climbing Gray peak. The herdpath up Gray is kind of what I expected herd paths to be. Tricky to navigate, scrubby, bushwhacky and a real test of will. Fortunately most of the herd paths I’ve been on so far have proved to be not what I expected of them – they have been for the most part well maintained, easy to follow and a real pleasure to hike along. Gray on the other hand… was exactly what I expected herd paths to be (scrubby, bushwhacky, test of will). At least it was pretty short.
After scrambling up, taking a few summit shots and working my way almost down I managed to jab my leg into a broken tree branch and dug a pretty big gash in my leg. After the initial “@#$%^!” of pain, I was actually pretty pleased with myself. Finally, after many, many years of hiking, I was going to get to use my first aid kit that I lug through the bush trip after trip – yippeeee!! I pulled out an alcohol pad to wipe away the now flowing blood (no lactate monitor handy to take valuable data). The small 2-inch pad quickly soaked red and was pretty useless. Another pad did the same…. Blood starting to roll down my leg. Hmmm…, time to apply pressure and get a band-aid on this (debated needle and thread to stitch up my thigh… opted against it). Applied band-aid, which seemed to stop the bleeding. No longer in a threat of losing quarts of blood I had to now package up the “medical waste” and continue on my way. Debris safely stowed I headed down the herdpath and regained the main trail. Five minutes back on the main trail and the band-aid was now showing signs of falling off my sweaty leg. Possible recurrence of bleeding scenario? Still 6 or 7 rough miles to the car? As luck would have it a group of young ladies from the Gordon College backpacking club arrived on the scene… but before I could get them to administer wilderness first aid – for extra credit – I realized the cut was no longer bleeding…. Drat!
Other excitement of the trip back to the car was a chance meeting with Pin-Pin (and Pin–Pin jr.). He’s (they are?(long story)) an Adirondack legend (from Montreal) who has (have) summited the set of 46 ADK high peaks close to 80 times (that’s more then 3600 summits!!!). He whizzed by me like a flash with a brief conversation in French (I tipped him off about the college girls ahead so he may have quickened his pace ;-).
All in all another great hike. I was less beat up at the end of the day (cut to leg notwithstanding). The hike was a similar distance and elevation to the last hike so that suggests I’m getting stronger. Good start to a Canada day weekend.
Marcy - a revist
Skylight 28 of 46
Gray 27 of 46
After scrambling up, taking a few summit shots and working my way almost down I managed to jab my leg into a broken tree branch and dug a pretty big gash in my leg. After the initial “@#$%^!” of pain, I was actually pretty pleased with myself. Finally, after many, many years of hiking, I was going to get to use my first aid kit that I lug through the bush trip after trip – yippeeee!! I pulled out an alcohol pad to wipe away the now flowing blood (no lactate monitor handy to take valuable data). The small 2-inch pad quickly soaked red and was pretty useless. Another pad did the same…. Blood starting to roll down my leg. Hmmm…, time to apply pressure and get a band-aid on this (debated needle and thread to stitch up my thigh… opted against it). Applied band-aid, which seemed to stop the bleeding. No longer in a threat of losing quarts of blood I had to now package up the “medical waste” and continue on my way. Debris safely stowed I headed down the herdpath and regained the main trail. Five minutes back on the main trail and the band-aid was now showing signs of falling off my sweaty leg. Possible recurrence of bleeding scenario? Still 6 or 7 rough miles to the car? As luck would have it a group of young ladies from the Gordon College backpacking club arrived on the scene… but before I could get them to administer wilderness first aid – for extra credit – I realized the cut was no longer bleeding…. Drat!
Other excitement of the trip back to the car was a chance meeting with Pin-Pin (and Pin–Pin jr.). He’s (they are?(long story)) an Adirondack legend (from Montreal) who has (have) summited the set of 46 ADK high peaks close to 80 times (that’s more then 3600 summits!!!). He whizzed by me like a flash with a brief conversation in French (I tipped him off about the college girls ahead so he may have quickened his pace ;-).
All in all another great hike. I was less beat up at the end of the day (cut to leg notwithstanding). The hike was a similar distance and elevation to the last hike so that suggests I’m getting stronger. Good start to a Canada day weekend.
Marcy - a revist
Skylight 28 of 46
Gray 27 of 46
Monday, July 02, 2007
Skylight peak
Saturday I managed another long hike – Skylight and Gray by way of Mt. Marcy. This was almost a complete repeat of a hike I did a number of years before with my friend Mark. We did it that time with full backpacks camping at Flowed lands and Indian Falls. This time I did it as a day hike and kept marveling at how dim/strong we must have been as the climbs (with a full pack) are brutal. On that hike we hadn’t tagged the two side summits along the trail so I had to go back and “finish the job” today. Another excuse for a great walk in the woods.
I headed out from South Meadow with another cool day ahead. I was careful to check my watch as I walked the van Hovenburg trail to the summit of Marcy. Last fall I read a report that Kris Freeman – US elite xc-skier – used this trail for a training jog and topped out in 1 hr and 26mins. He commented on how much he likes the trail as it is a steady 8 mile grind to the summit - a couple of steep pitches but nothing extreme and fairly even footing for a mountain trail. I’m no elite skier and I had a full daypack on (and more peaks to climb afterwards) so I was really pleased to steadily hike the trail in 3hrs flat. I may come back in the fall and try again (with lighter pack and a bit of running) to see how I do while I get ready for the ski season. At least now I have a baseline to compare with.
Reaching the summit I shared it with the ranger (Doug) who comes up to educate hikers on the fragility of the alpine flora…. We chatted for a while. He does an 8-hour shift on a summit every 3 days – tough commute but an excellent “window” office.
From there it was off down the backside of Marcy to Skylight. This may be one of my new favourite summits. I spent close to an hour here alone with a (bold/greedy/hungry?) little bird as I ate lunch and watched dozens of people top out on nearby Marcy. The top of Skylight is a unique little alpine meadow above tree line. A beautiful spot to spend some time. (hiking) Legend has it that if you bring a stone to the summit of mount Skylight then it will not rain on you. I added my rock (collected from Ottawa) to the massive pile on the summit – apparently a well adhered to legend. From there it was off to tackle Gray peak – highest of the trail-less summits.
I headed out from South Meadow with another cool day ahead. I was careful to check my watch as I walked the van Hovenburg trail to the summit of Marcy. Last fall I read a report that Kris Freeman – US elite xc-skier – used this trail for a training jog and topped out in 1 hr and 26mins. He commented on how much he likes the trail as it is a steady 8 mile grind to the summit - a couple of steep pitches but nothing extreme and fairly even footing for a mountain trail. I’m no elite skier and I had a full daypack on (and more peaks to climb afterwards) so I was really pleased to steadily hike the trail in 3hrs flat. I may come back in the fall and try again (with lighter pack and a bit of running) to see how I do while I get ready for the ski season. At least now I have a baseline to compare with.
Reaching the summit I shared it with the ranger (Doug) who comes up to educate hikers on the fragility of the alpine flora…. We chatted for a while. He does an 8-hour shift on a summit every 3 days – tough commute but an excellent “window” office.
From there it was off down the backside of Marcy to Skylight. This may be one of my new favourite summits. I spent close to an hour here alone with a (bold/greedy/hungry?) little bird as I ate lunch and watched dozens of people top out on nearby Marcy. The top of Skylight is a unique little alpine meadow above tree line. A beautiful spot to spend some time. (hiking) Legend has it that if you bring a stone to the summit of mount Skylight then it will not rain on you. I added my rock (collected from Ottawa) to the massive pile on the summit – apparently a well adhered to legend. From there it was off to tackle Gray peak – highest of the trail-less summits.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
