Reconnoitering in the Central Adirondacks
Sunday dawned under warm sunny skies. I slept late with no particular plans after yesterdays big hike. Lots of cars roared by me on the nearby road – headed to high peak trail heads and long days of their own but I took my time pumping some water, making some breakfast and packing up camp. No rush today. In the end I decided to hike a firetower peak and then do a little exploring around the central part of the Adirondacks. I was quite close to Vanderwhacker mountain so opted for that one. It was a 6 mile hike with a good climb but it would only take me a few hours so that sounded like enough hiking for the day.

The walk started off very gently past beaver meadows but finally it made a sudden tilt uphill scrambling to the summit ridge. Sadly the clouds started to roll in while I climbed but along with the clouds there were cool breezes so they weren’t totally unwelcome. When I reached the firetower the views were quite limited but I enjoyed watching patches of sunshine run up and down the nearby hillsides for a while.

The descent was fast and soon I was off driving through the central part of the park scoping out trail heads and even an x-c ski center I’d heard about but never visited (no snow there yet ;-). I debated stopping at the Adirondack museum in Blue Mountain lake but – with cloudy (sometimes rainy) weather - the crowds at the museum were pretty heavy. Overall I enjoyed my drive and discovered there’s a lot to see further in to the park so I’ll have to come back and explore some more.

A long hike to 2 high peaks

The weather looked good this weekend so it was time to get back to the Dak’s for a little climbing. I’m hoping to finish off “the list” this year and the weather has not been cooperating of late so spying a reasonably dry looking day made me jump at the chance…. As it turns out I would NOT be alone in this thinking. I took a leisurely drive down on Friday after work to the usual camping spot at South Meadow and found it almost full to overflowing. Managed to squeeze in to a spot and got a solid nights sleep before rising with the sun. I had a long day planned heading for Cliff and Redfield so I decided it would be worthwhile to cut a little total distance by parking at the Loj parking lot. Despite the $9 parking fee this would shave a mile off the total hike and every little bit would help. The walk from the Loj to Marcy dam and up through the Avalanche pass was mostly uneventful – lots of campers at the dam slowly stirring from their sleep and gearing up for their day. More of the same as I strolled around Lake Colden. But for the most part the trails were quiet. The trail up the Opalescent creek is one of the more beautiful walks as it skirts along the roaring brook. At a few spots the trail sits on loamy ledges and you can peer down into narrow, deep chasms where the brook crashes downhill. It makes for a nice walk and the trail was in pretty good shape in spite of all the extra rain we’ve had (read typical mud pits only). When I crossed the Uphill brook I had come to the herd paths for Redfield and Cliff - finally the start of the real work. Three hours of hiking to get to the bottom of where it starts to go up…. hmmm gonna be a long day.
Ranger rowing across Lake Colden in the morning

I had heard that you should do Cliff first and then Redfield (cause its easier) but I sometimes prefer to go against the grain so I opted for Redfield first – it’s a lot higher afterall - how can that be easy? The herdpath for Redfield is actually quite nice. It also meanders up a brook and sometimes climbs through it with vignettes of the high peaks through the trees. It starts off slow and gets perpetually steeper but - apart from the increased heart rate - is never overly taxing. I arrived on the summit to find the beautiful sunny skies replaced by dark forbidding clouds (fortunately somewhat higher than the summit so there were still some views to be had). I sat for a while and a family (Dad, son and daughter) joined me on the summit. The son was concerned about the somewhat dubious lunch that Mom had packed for them… not quite a sandwich but sort of the makings of one. I was about to mention that my Mom hadn’t made me any lunch at all!… but the Dad was quick to point out that their Mom had at least been good enough to pack something to eat… Good point Dad. Unfortunately the clouds started to lighten their load on our heads and a light rain began to fall. I opted to start down and 2 minutes after I left the summit a mighty thunderclap echoed through the peaks – yikes… time to get low! As I started to motor down (the family in hot pursuit) the skies opened up and a heavy shower soaked me but as quick as it started it stopped… and soon the sun was shining again. Good news – hopefully the trails didn't get too soupy as I wouldn’t want to have to come back for Cliff.

As I descend I could see Cliff through the trees and it was in perfect sunshine so I pressed on with the days agenda. Cliff is a different sort of mountain… its not actually 4000 ft but, due to a surveying error, was originally on the list and has stayed there ever since. The approach starts out through a very swampy section of trail (just to get your boots good and muddy) and then – much as its name suggests – it goes up a series of very steep cliffs and ledges. It’s probably the most challenging technical climb I’ve had in all of the 46 to date. It requires all four limbs to come into play. I was sure to keep 3 points of contact at all times as a fall out here would be a bad thing. Careful slow progress and you make your way up only to be greeted at the top by another large, deep mud pit (to prep your boots for the down climb). The top is relatively flat but the true summit is at the other end from the cliffy ascent. The mountain was hit very hard by Hurricane Floyd in the ‘90’s so its quite surprising that any trail could be cut through the mess of blowdown at all but eventually you arrive at the summit sign (with more views of blown down trees). The descent is no easier so again slow careful progress was the order and soon enough I was down the mountain with just the walk out to go. I was dreading this part of the hike (death marches are seldom fun) but it actually went quite well. The closer I got to the parking lot the better the trail condition was and the faster I was able to go. Maybe there’s something about “the horse smelling the barn” there…. I’m just sayin’. In the end I hiked about 10.5 hours and covered something north of 30km with about 4000 foot gain. Good day in the peaks and two more off “the list”.

Allen Mountain - calling to me?
On my hike in the morning I had seen very few people hiking – too early perhaps. I did run into a few groups on the herdpaths, which is more than usual. Most of hese hikers had camped at Colden, Flowed lands or even the Uphill brook leanto to give easy access to the trails. As I descended the peaks to Lake Colden I started to see how precious a sunny day in the Daks (save for one brief thunderstorm) can be as the crowds started to mount. With campsites already pretty full I saw line after line of college aged backpackers heading in, families – all in tennis shoes and no packs - hiking to the Avalanche pass, climbers and hikers at every turn (some with maps, some without). Amidst it all were wild-eyed rangers telling anyone who’d listen where they could stick their tents. I guess there hasn’t been that many good weekends in the summer and everyone seized the opportunity all at once. When I stumbled out at the Loj I found 12 pages of names in the sign in book from where I had signed in the morning. Clearly a busy night – and probably good pickins’ for the local bear population. For me, I opted to grab some food in town and then headed off to a secret and quiet campsite. I was sound asleep by 9pm and hit the snooze button the next morning.

Redfield - 43 of 46
Cliff - 44 of 46

Avalanche pass on a sunny afternoon

Nascar Reggata...err Racing

The August long weekend is time for the summer road trip to take in some auto racing on Ile St. Helene. The island is quite a little oasis in the heart of Montreal and is likely a very relaxing spot on all but 2 weekends a year. On this weekend the Nascar Nationwide series had brought their traveling road show to town and brought along the Grand Am and Canadian Tire series racers as companion races for the weekend. It makes for a great couple of days at the track watching practice and qualifying sessions, strolling through the paddock areas before the green flag drops on some great racing. This year I drove down with a friend from work and we met up with some colleagues from Montreal to take in the show.

Friday was mostly practice and qualifying on the track with the Grand Am series race to close the day. The weather was mostly overcast but still pretty warm so we appreciated the lack of sun that would have barbequed us in the grandstands. Time at the track on Friday is always a little more relaxing - a few less fans and more of an opportunity to walk around and check out some of the other parts of the course. Time in the paddocks gives you a great chance to see the cars up close before they head out to the track for their races and with a bunch of Canadian drivers qualifying for the races there was a good buzz in the crowd. Post race we spent a very civilized evening at a local brasserie preparing ourselves for Saturdays action.

Saturday dawned sunny but the forecast looked grim. The morning race went off with out a hitch and some exciting racing led local racer Andrew Ranger to victory lane, much to the delight of the fans. As the big show drew near so did dark threatening clouds. The drivers introductions were punctuated with lightening flashes on the south shore and as the cars raced a handful of laps the skies suddenly opened up. It was like someone turned a bucket of water on our heads! The race took an enforced break and drivers put on rain tires while the track crews tried to sweep away the flooded sections of the course. Soon enough the racing was back on – the first Nascar race ever using rain tires. A rear brake light was mounted and some cars had a windshield wiper while others opted for a heavy coat of Rain-X to clear the windshield. To my surprise the fans hung tough, donning their ponchos and raingear and waiting for the race to restart. And when it did the racing was brilliant as the rain tires worked well under occasional light showers. Finally another deluge hit and didn’t look like it would let up. With night falling and steady rain the race was called (short of the full distance but long enough to be official) but no one left disappointed – a good show all around.

Close battles on the slick track

Sunday morning I headed to Maniwaki to visit with a few friends who had congregated at the cottage for the long weekend. The weather was a little better with short passing showers mixed with patches of sunshine. Lots of chores got accomplished with many hands available - chopping firewood, cabin renovations, making beer runs (hey! who got that easy task?!) There was of course plenty of time for a little swimming and waterskiing – the cottage is not all work afterall. Nice quiet spot after a weekend of noise at the track.

Time for a swim...wait a minute have these kids been swimming while we worked?

Ironman Lake Placid
After Saturdays hike, I stayed overnight in Lake Placid to check out the Ironman competition on Sunday. I wanted to see the race out of curiosity as well as see how another big event like this handles the logistics that I deal with in the spring. After a tour of the course Saturday evening (to see any course prep), I got an early start to see how set up and road closure were handled. Of course when roads close I couldn’t drive around much so I had wisely brought my bike to cycle around and see how it all went off. After a bit of a tour on the bike I headed over to the Lake in town to join the crowds in watching the swim start. Quite a scene watching 2400 swimmers churning up Mirror lake and for each competitor there is at least 3 or 4 "Ironfans" on the sidelines in support - Big crowds.

As the pros finished their second lap (of 2) in the lake I ducked around to get a good position to see them coming out on the bike for the second leg of the race. Just as the first competitors took to the bike course the rain began. Sprinkles, then drizzles, then pounding, dousing rain…. Then more rain (in cups and buckets)… and more in the “cats and dogs” variety… And then more and more and more. In fact… it rained (at times really hard) all day long. Not a huge problem for the competitors who would appreciate the cooler weather although visibility and bike handling would be a bit of an issue in the pounding rain. No, this day would test the mettle of the "Ironfans" and volunteers who would spend many hours standing around waiting - cold and wet. I heard a lot of comments like "I saw him go by, lets get out of here..." amongst the crowd. I was quickly drenched and was worried my camera would get soaked so after most of the riders were on their way on the bike leg I sloshed back to the car and got changed into dry clothes.

Rather then head home (it was only 9am at this point) I decided to drive the bike course. The Police keep the opposite lane of traffic open on the 56 mile loop of highway the racers use so I did a clockwise drive of the course while the riders went counter clockwise. I even got to see the leaders working their way around for the second lap as they descended through the Cascade pass. Back in town I took my camera and my umbrella (which would have been useful in the morning) and wandered back into town. The rain was still pounding down but it was a great opportunity to see the riders deal with the wet roads. On a couple of tricky wet corners it was immediately clear who had trained in the rain and who were fair weather riders. I didn’t see any spills though as the poorer bike handlers typically slowed to a crawl before gingerly edging around the corners while the better bike handlers carved their turns flawlessly. Before long the leaders were back in town and ready to head off on a marathon…. 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile ride and 26.2 mile run, man is that a tough day.



The rain was still pounding down and the rolling streets in town were becoming cascades…more wet feet but I had one last pair of dry shoes in the car (umbrella was working like a charm though). The Lake Placid brew pub had a tent on course and was cooking up a little barb-q so I partook in a little lunch while the runners ran (and lots of cyclists still cycled). Must be hard to run by that tent after 8, 10, 16+ hours on the course and smell the brats cooking up yet be unable to stop… kinda cruel really. Finally the leaders came in to take the victory and I took my leave to drive home. Wet day but an interesting one so I was glad I hadn’t bailed out after the initial soaking.

Porter Cascade traverse
The weather looked good on Saturday so Mike and I headed down to the Peaks to get in another hike. This time we opted for a non-list peak… too many list peaks of late so it was nice to do a hike just to explore some new trail and enjoy the day – no real agenda no fixed summit to bag. I decided I’d stay down on Sunday to take in the Ironman competition so we drove down in separate vehicles… which of course means we could try a traverse. We weighed our options, bounced a few ideas around and settled on Porter and Cascade. Porter and Cascade? Aren’t they “list peaks”? Indeed, but both Mike and I had them checked off. With 2 cars we could take the lesser used approach from the Keene valley, traverse these two peaks and then drop down the short, direct trade route to the Cascade pass where we would leave the second car.


Hazy Keene valley
With Mike’s car in the Cascade pass and we drove around to the Marcy airfield in the Keene valley to get to the other trailhead. The climb from the Keene valley has an extra 1000ft of climb and is a significantly longer approach which is why it is seldom used but the trail is a good one. From the parking lot we started to climb, and then climbed and climbed and climbed some more. The day was hot and muggy which seemed to sap my energy faster than normal – glad this wasn’t one of the marathon hikes I have left on the “list”. Once we got to the first summit of Blueberry mountain we were both pretty beat but this mountain had a treat for us. As its name suggested it was covered with wild blueberries – snack time! Also along this summit ridge we came across one of the largest high ridge erratics I have ever seen. I of course had to climb it and fortunately didn’t snap both my ankles as I lept off.

No time to rest for long though as we still had more climbing to do. Here the humidity gave way to actual rain… then some sun (which pumped up the humidex to new highs) and then more rain. As we crested Porter the rain was coming down in sheets (no views) so we didn’t stay long but instead ducked into the trees for a little cover. Fortunately as we walked the ridge to Cascade the sun came out and we enjoyed some good summit time. It was still a little hazy and the clouds (and birds) were blowing around above us but on a day like this you take what you can get.

Cascade is a relatively easy peak to get to on the main trail from the Cascade pass and as a result a lot of non-hikers come up to try out high peak hiking… and today was no exception. Converse high tops and high tech running shoes, denim to basketball shorts, overstuffed packs to no pack at all… the tourist crowd has all the bases covered but anything that gets people up to enjoy the high summits is a good thing.

Finally we started down and as we did it started to rain again… I moved faster wanting to get off trail without getting too wet… but of course forgot that it was Mikes’ car in the pass… so I had to wait for him to exit the woods(with his keys) before we could load up and drive back to my car. It wasn’t too long though and soon we had cleaned up and were enjoying a beer and a burg on a patio in Keene as it had cleared up nicely in the evening. Good hike and a nice traverse.

Holiday hike in the Dix range

With a clear forecast for the weekend I decided to make another run down to the Adirondacks to do some climbing. With luck I’d get clear skies and maybe the bugs had died back a bit allowing for some precious summit time. I loaded my car and started driving Friday after work. On the way down I came across a number of town parties underway – July 4th of course – but I had a few miles to cover so I kept rolling. As I approached the village of Long Lake I found I was just in time for the fireworks and an impressive show it was. Turns out the villages in the Park trade off the “big party” from year to year. This year it was Long Lakes turn which meant that – by enjoying the fireworks as I pulled into town - I also had to cope with the traffic as all the spectators (coming from a 100 miles in each direction) scurried back to their cars to get home after the last “rocket burst in air”. Long Lake usually takes 5mins. to drive through but tonight it was like Sussex drive last Tuesday night(Canada Day) – a free for all! Forty minutes later, unscathed, I headed off to make camp and get some sleep.

I woke up pretty early on Saturday and wanted to make time to the parking lot. My goal today was the Dix range – a cluster of 5 peaks in the southern end of the high peaks area. The entry point today would be the Elk Lake lodge parking. It’s on private property but they have a small public lot for hikers to use. I wanted to get a spot to park before it filled up as I hear it’s a popular hike and this is a holiday weekend afterall. By 6am I was on trail and I made good time until the slide up Macomb. Here the herdpath enters a long rocky/gravely slide and climbs it for close to vertical 1000ft. While modestly tough going, the views also open up and I kept stopping to enjoy the view in the early morning sun (stopping didn’t hurt at letting my heart rate drop either). With the slide behind me I summited Macomb mountain and with that the bulk of the climbing was done. Once on the ridge the trail (a herdpath) goes up and down the group of peaks but never loses a lot of elevation so from then on the climbs were small. The views on the other hand were anything but small and it was a glorious day to enjoy it with bright sunny skies.

Three peaks in the bag I met my first (and only) hikers of the day. I was on my way back (on an out and back section) so they had a little more distance to travel but we chatted for a spell and compared notes. In the end I didn’t see them again so I had the whole range mostly to myself. Sadly as I topped out on Hough I found I was not entirely alone as my old friends the blackflies came out to welcome me. They weren’t really aggressive – more geriatric blackflies - but they were still annoying non the less so I ate and photographed quickly before heading down for the day. The heat of the day was starting to ramp up anyway so it was time to get down and call it a day.


The Beckhorn off the summit of Dix (as taken from Hough)
With the peaks behind me I though the excitement of the day was over but as I approached my return trail to the car I was attacked by a very aggressive grouse. Usually grouse just fly off into the bush – startling the bejezzus out of you – and are gone. In this case the grouse came at me like those mini dinosaurs in Jurrassic Park - the ones that killed Neuman – puffed up and hissing and spitting like crazy. This of course startled the bejezzus out of me but it was far from gone. After two brief backwards dashes from this insane beast I collected my wits (and may even of started laughing). Time to teach this overgrown chicken what a carbide tipped hiking stick can do to its puffed up self… but then I noticed in its anger it had worked its way off the trail so a few more yells at it (and a few more hisses and spits at me) and I was free to scoot by and carry on my way. First animal attack in a while but certainly a memorable way to end the day.



Macomb - 39 of 46
South Dix - 40 of 46
East Dix - 41 of 46
Hough - 42 of 46

Hard work in the Sewards

Sunday Mike and I planned to head down to the Adirondacks to hike Seward mountain. It didn’t start off on a very auspicious note as I picked Mike up at 5:30 in the pouring rain. While it was raining here the radar plots suggested it would shortly stop raining where we were going so we loaded up and hit the road anyway. Sure enough, the rain eased off as we crossed the border and there were even a few clear skies as we approached the trailhead outside of Tupper Lake – things looked positive!

I hold a bit of a love/hate relationship with the Seward range. I love its remote nature – truly a wild part of the Park. Of course that same wildness makes it a challenge to get to/from and the trails are seldom used making them tough hikes. We had decided to do a loop hike of Seward mountain. The Seward range does not have any official trails to their summits maintained by the Park authorities. Most of these “trailless” peaks have an official, “lightly maintained” herdpath to access them. A herdpath is not formally constructed or maintained but it is recognized by the Park wardens as “the” way to climb these peaks. The herdpaths are maintained by the 46r climbing club… butthis is done only rarely compared to official trails. This means the herdpaths can have a lot of blowdown to negotiate and can be a challenage even at the best of times. By providing (or accepting) an unofficial – official (if you will) path, the Park stewards provide a unique approach to these summits to concentrate the foot traffic(because people will climb them path or not), limit the development and damage caused by multiple bushwhack paths, prevent (or at least reduce) the number of rescues required for lost hikers in untracked wilderness and yet maintain (at least to some degree) the wilderness quality of these corners of the park. Seward mountain has one official herdpath but over the last few years a second (even more unofficial) herdpath has been developed. The cutting and maintaining of this 2nd path is probably illegal but walking on it is not. The second path meets the ridge partway along between 2 of the three peaks on the ridge. With 2 paths to the ridge we decided to make a loop. We would climb the official herdpath up Seward and then walk along the ridge to Donaldson and pick up the unofficial path down before returning to the car on some woods roads thus making a circuit. Clear as Adirondack mud?

We arrived at the car park and headed off on the Blueberry footpath (an official maintained trail) that proceeds at somewhat great distance around the base of Seward mountain with zero change in elevation. It continues into the wilderness but on its way it takes us to the official Seward herdpath. Fortunately there was much to talk about (NHL draft day anyone?) along this otherwise boring section of trail so the time passed quickly. Finally we arrived at the official herdpath and started up. The path started out gently but soon enough it started to climb. It was filled with good “stick to your ribs” ADK mud and at times was little more than a bushwhack as we plowed through dense scrubby pine. As I was beginning to think this would be only mildly difficult the trail started up…. steeply up….. then very steeply up. It climbed steep rocky slabs covered with water and occasionally jumped into deep flowing streams which forced caution on every step. It was unrelenting and kept climbing steeply beyond all reason until we found ourselves into the clouds (where did the sunny skies go? Arggh!) and a gentle rain started to fall. Finally, after a last cliffy clamber up to the ridge, we came to the summit disk – fully treed with no views (and none possible inside the cloud. Quick photos were taken and then we started off to Donaldson and the route back to the car. The path to Donaldson was much easier than the route up and in no time we arrived on the summit where the clouds had parted and Seward was now clear(sigh). More photos were taken and we quickly moved on as now – with the rain stopping – the blackflies started to devour us (or at least me as Mike had long pants, sleeves and a bug hat so he felt no ill effect to the flies). The walk down the unofficial herdpath off the ridge near Donaldson was much nicer than the way up the official herdpath. It was graded much more gently with only a couple of short scrambly bits. It became clear why this unofficial path has become the preferred route up the Sewards. Even with all the rain the trail had only slight muddy sections – a real delight. Eventually we bottomed out on the old woods road and made the long trudge back to the car. We hiked for 10.5 hours and about 23km– long day made longer by the challenging (but fun) conditions. Some days the peaks come easily while others they make you work for every step. I guess that’s why they don’t just hand out 46r badges to anyone.

Busy Saturday near home

Saturday was a busy day … but all of it was close to home so I didn’t have to run around too much. First thing in the morning was the “Emilie Mondor road race”. This is a 5k road race in memory of Emilie Mondor – a talented yaoung Canadian athlete who was killed in a car accident several years ago. The race is for women only and has many fast athletes competing. Women only events are a rare opportunity for female athletes who, in most normal mass start events have to fight there way through the middle of a men’s pack of runners. This event has grown in leaps and bounds in the few years it has been put on. As the start line is only a couple hundred meters from my front door (starting near the Aviation museum) I decided to go check it out. It was a beautiful morning with cool temps and sunny skies – perfect for running – and the competition was good well worth the walk over to the startline.

After the racing I wandered over to the Rockcliffe airport where the Ottawa Jaguar club was having their annual “Coupe D’Elegance” car show. A friend at work – Lyndon – was showing his new Jaguar in the competition and invited me to stop by to check out the cars and enjoy a picnic lunch as he sat around waiting for the judging to take place. Jaguar is an interesting and storied auto nameplate that has been, at times, one of the most innovative in car manufacturing history. Along with numerous technical innovations they also have some of the most beautiful (and a few of the most ugly) cars ever created. I guess when you take design chances sometimes you score big and other times you strike out.

True to form a little of everything was represented at the show (the beautiful and not so). Some rare (and beautifully restored) old gems like the XK120’s from the 1940’s were the standouts but of course the 1960’s E-types (arguably one of the most beautiful cars ever constructed) also shone. There were also a few Jaguars created during the more modern “Ford ownership years” (dark days indeed) but perhaps we’ll say no more of these. Of much discussion amongst the club members was the recent sale of Jaguar to an Indian car manufacturer…. How the pendulum of colonialism has swung (no doubt to the delight of Indians). We’ll have to see what TaTa motors does with the venerable Jaguar nameplate. More photos from the show here.

To his credit, Lyndon’s XK8 convertible won best in class… although it was a small class (of 1) for his car type. There was some talk that if his car didn’t score high enough in the judging (meeting a minimum standard) then he would be placed 2nd (in a group of 1) but thankfully he was able to avoid this indignity. With the day winding down I headed home to prepare for a hike on Sunday. Fun day – and all just steps from my door.
The dog rides in the "other" family car

Colden… Take 2 Marcy dam in the morning
With May taken up with Race Weekend prep, the following weekend totally rained out, and then the intense heat that followed the weekend after that... I was itching (bug bites aside) to get out and climb. There was more rain called for on Saturday but Sunday looked like it might clear up so I took a leisurely drive down to Lake Placid on Saturday afternoon to set up camp and prepare for a hike the next morning. Poking around Lake Placid on Saturday afternoon I spotted a guy laying out some cones in the horse fairgrounds… Seems odd, but it looks like he's laying out a race course. In fact it was the route/logistics coordinator for the Lake Placid marathon to be held the next morning. We compared notes. It was certainly interesting to chat with him for a few minutes and hear how others go about staging a similar event although in fairness their event is a lot smaller than Ottawa’s’ (~1200 participants in 3 races). We ended our conversation as some heavy rain clouds opened up dumping significant amounts of water on our heads.

After camping at South Meadow Saturday night I got an early start. The clouds appeared to be disappearing in the east so it looked like it was going to be a good day. I had a couple of trail options in my head but I decided – first big hike of the season and the day after some heavy rains – that another crack at Colden was in order. Pete and I had failed to summit back in April after some equipment problems had slowed us down. Time to settle that account and strike this one off the list. In April we had taken the Lake Arnold trail. That’s the main trade route for this peak - being most direct to the summit from the parking spots. While it would look pretty different from our April trek (without snow), I decided to go a different route rather than repeat the same trail so soon. Instead I went through the Avalanche pass to the trail up the south side of Colden and would then cross the summit and descend the way Pete and I had come up. It was a beautiful morning and I saw surprisingly few people on the trail (just 4 other couples all day!). I made good time up into the pass and stopped for a morning snack as it's truly a beautiful spot and always worth a visit. With no one else about I spent some quiet time in the mornings half light of the canyon. Just a few lazy bugs floating around motivated me to keep moving.
The boardwalks provide the only way to get through the pass... short of swimming

When I'd got to the trail up Colden on the south side the real work was now at hand. Two thousand vertical feet to the top in 1.5 miles... that's a steep climb!! Most of it was up rocky slabs which were still wet from yesterday’s rains. Made for tricky footing but I kept carefully climbing eventually poking out above tree line just below the summit. Colden looks to be a dwarf compared to its neighbours Algonquin and Marcy but it’s a pretty big peak in itself (~4700ft). It provides some breathtaking views – particularly back down into the Avalanche pass deep beneath the summit ledges. I spent a good hour (alone mind you which was quite a shock) soaking in the sunshine, enjoying the fresh air and having an early lunch. Finally (with much regret) I packed up my gear and started to head down meeting the first people I’d seen all day climbing up.A quick stop on the nearby sub summit and then I descended down to Lake Arnold and started the trek back to the car. As I descended the heat of the day started to kick in (~28C) so I was glad I got all the climbing done early in the morning. I got back to the car at ~1:15 so it wasn’t too arduous a journey but the post hike beer was pretty sweet. Great way to start the summer hiking season. More pictures here



Colden 37 of 46

P.S. Driving back through town I saw the last finishers out on the marathon course (~6 hour + marathoners). Interestingly, as I got to the center of town, the car in front of me stopped and a lady got out (with number!) and started trotting in towards the finishline. I assume she had/or shortly would withdraw from the race otherwise her time would be somewhat suspect. Driving 4 or 5 miles of the course is a great way to improve your PB.... but it's none too legitimate.

P.P.S. Here's a comparison shot of the Lake Arnold trail from April to June (the diagonal tree provides some reference). Note how the snow evens out all the... ummm, crap(?)(sorry if this is too technical a term) providing a nice treadway to hike up. If only you could hike in shorts in January...

Mad dogs and Englishmen...

Hiking down the GAT escarpment
Originally uploaded by Tripper (bvt)

We got the first few days of really (truly) hot weather this weekend. Humidex tipping into the 40's Celcius made for pretty sticky weather. The one blessing was a good breeze that blew most of the weekend so it was never completely insufferable. In spite of the heat 4 of us made a trek up the yellow box trails in the western part of the Gatineau Park. This is a favourite part of the park for me as it is typically uninfested with people. True to form - be it weather or remote trails - we didn't see a soul all day.

The first few km's were under heavy brush and the air was thick with steam (and bugs). This (the bugs) warranted a speedy pace (and a good quantity of bug spray) but finally we turned up the escarpment and got a little more into the open (and the breeze's). With the bugs held at bay we poked along the escarpment nabbing a couple of caches and taking a few breaks to take in the view and enjoy the day. Somewhere in those first few kms I discovered that the battery for my camera was still charging at home :( My camera ended up acting solely as ballast on this trip which was a shame.... but Bryan graciously took extra photos so I could post one here.

Finally it was time to head back down. Being later in the day the sun beating down on the rocks made it feel somewhat oven-like in spots but we kept well hydrated and made our way safely down. Off to the fry shack for a snack although none of us could muster the thought of poutine in this heat (which would have disappointed Mike to no end(alas he couldn't make this trip)).

My post hike plan was to head up to a friends cottage and help him with some construction projects... but I got a panicked call from him as I drove through Wakefield. A) he was not going up this weekend after all and b) he had forgotten to replace the key in the "secret spot" when he left last week... so my plans were dashed. Came home, went for a ride and then took another ride on Sunday.... pretty slow paced due to the heat but it was at least good to get out for a bit after last weekends rains. Some say its best to stay inside in the mid-day sun but I'm not sure I agree....

Still here

New Ed water station
Originally uploaded by kenmores

Haven't posted in a while and was reminded I should update my tens of loyal readers where I am at. Two weekends ago was Race Weekend and I was, as always, run off my feet busy... but thats okay, its always a good time(and they give me a snazzy truck to roar around in so thats good). No actual pictures from the races(this one is from last year) as I just don't seem to have time to do anything but the task at hand.... set up the course, tear down the course, keep my crews rolling and get the Police on and off duty as efficiently as possible to keep costs down. It all went fairly smoothly this year so that's always a plus and it was nice weather so that's a bonus. One year it will surely be miserable weather - law of averages I suppose - but until then I keep praying for sunny days and (so far) for the most part keep getting them.

After showing 33,000 of my closest friends a good tour of Ottawa, I decided the next weekend would be a bit of a decompression period. Unfortunately it rained most of the weekend so I didn't get out to the woods. Instead I thought I would finally go down and tour the new War museum. It's only been open for 5 or 6 years so it was time to pay it a visit. I thought it would be a nice quiet way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon. As it turns out they have a constant soundtrack running in the museum (bombs going off, heavy machinery etc.) so in fact the noise level is fairly high.... still a nice museum to visit and well worth the trip.

This weekend is looking to be hot and sweltering with humidex in the 40C range.... yikes!! Perfect weather to be too sweaty for words while the blackflies swarm so I may not get out to the woods much this weekend either... we'll see. Soon enough the summer hiking will begin.