Back in the White Mountains

It was really nice to be back in the White Mountains even if it was only for a long weekend backpacking and snowshoeing trip. This trip was the last trip of the winter season in our search for snow. We finally found some, which was great if a little on the wet side, but at least I was able to play with the snowshoes I was testing. A small group of us left out of Lafayette campgrounds and hiked up to the hut at Lonesome Lake. The views were amazing and we had a great time. Once we arrived, we had more fun running and making tracks around the lake, and soaking up some sun with the great views. We were scheduled to stay that night in the hut before moving on to another shelter for the following night. The hut was great and we had fun playing some games and relaxing. The next day we hiked out to Kinsman Pond shelter and soaked up a lot more sun as well as played on the frozen pond, took some macro shots of lichen and mosses. We eventually all made it up to the top of North Kinsman mountain and the views were even more amazing. I had a chance to do some glissade back down to the campsite and had a great time doing it. The last day saw an overcast day with the threat of rain. We actually got the rain just before we hit the hut again. We ducked in for some warmth and to eat a quick snack. The stop over turned into about a 2 hours stop with us helping to eat some of the deer with bacon wraps that were left over from the party that had occurred the night before. Too bad we couldn't have joined in the party as it sounded like it was a blast. The hut was too full for us to spend another night as they had booked well in advance of us and filled the bunks.

In Pursuit of Snow

It is funny how I keep moving further south put then start spending more time seeking out snow in the winter. As my attitude towards outdoor activities has changes, and my personal life too, I have been seeking out more to do over the winter to stay active and fit. My summers lately have been filled with kayaking, some day hiking and a few backpacking trips. Since I don't have the equipment to kayak in the winter I have been turning more to hiking, backpacking and snowshoeing. But were is a person to go for snowshoeing in an area that rarely gets snow? Why West Virginia and Pennsylvania of course! So it was off to Pennsylvania this weekend to find some snow. Unfortunately the area had a warm spell over the last week and the 12 inch snow base out in PA had melted down to nothing. Sigh. Oh well. Winter hiking it was. I hadn't been feeling well over the last couple of days leading up to the hike and was barely eating this trip but I felt good and was able to still hike at my usual pace. I did discover that drinking on a really empty stomach results in almost instant drunkenness. Walking on rough trails while drunk without tying of boots is bad. Hilarity ensued as I had to be walked to the bathrooms to prevent falling into the cold water on the trails. Oh well. When you gotta go, you gotta go!

The mileage was kept low on this trip as we assumed we would be slogging our way through lots of snow. In the end, we were at camp early and had tons of fun sitting around, talking and playing Uno. Strip Uno was suggested but it was simply too cold. The shelters we stayed at were almost luxury on the trail. There was a real bathroom area (pit toilets), a wood pile provided, fire places at each shelter and a pump for water (potable). Each night was quite cold and I was playing with a 15 F bag. Unfortunately this bag doesn't do anything to keep me warm once the outside temperatures get below 24 F. It got below 24 F and I ended up having to switch bags with someone who had a -20 F bag and complaining they were too warm. I was much warmer after that. Time to get a better bag if I want to keep doing winter backpacking.

Its snowing!

I think this is the first real snowfall this season. We had a light dusting twice before but nothing that really stuck around. It has been snowing since about 10:00 this morning and hasn't really let up. Everything outside is slowly being covered up with a white layer.

I have a quick backpacking trip planned for this Friday and we are expecting more snow on Saturday. Could be interesting. This will be an easy winter camping trip to try to hammer down gear and also make sure the tent I am testing gets tested. I will unfortunately be carrying a really heavy winter bag until the 20F bag (my next test item) arrives. While it is a really good bag, a Sierra Designs Woman-specific bag rated to 0F, it is about 4.5lb. I only really use it as a winter quilt in really cold weather inside the apartment. Now that my apartment has heat included and they keep the place as warm as a sauna, I have not needed it. I can't turn off all the radiators, there is one that will not close, so I can only regulate the heat by strategic window opening.

Big Ski trip

I went on a big ski trip this weekend. I actually worked on New Year's eve so I could take the Thursday and Friday off for this trip. The trip started with a wine and cheese meet and greet on Thursday night in West Virginia's Canaan Valley. Friday morning everyone was grouped off into classes and the lessons began. As I have only downhill skied once, I was one of two new people receiving beginner lessons. I had three instructors too, which was great. Especially when I started to get better then the other guy. We ended up breaking up into two groups and getting more personal instruction. The snow was great on Friday, nice and powdery. Saturday was a little warmer so they stopped snowmaking as it was just creating ice. Saturday night it rained so most people didn't ski Sunday. The resort had a hot tub and sauna which was great for my aching body. The trip included a buffet breakfast each morning, wine and cheese events each night in the trip leaders room and we went to a micro brewery where the trip leader bought us all a round of beer and provided pizza for us. Overall it was a great trip and I feel I learned a lot. Now I will have to find some time to squeeze this into an already packed schedule.

I am now exhausted after all the skiing and partying this weekend but I had a mostly great time. I fell twice and knocked my left knee each time, it is my worse knee, but seems to be fine. I couldn't stay awake during the car ride back, good thing I wasn't driving. I am sore in all the places I would expect and a few I didn't. Who expects to get sore arms while downhill skiing. Apparently the few flat sections where I pushed off with the poles were enough to get my arms into use. My 15$ bargain find skis where great if a little long and I am glad to finally have had a chance to use them. Good think I got the bindings put on last winter. Sorry I don't have any pics to show off of me in my orange ski clothes. I think I over did the orange a little, I am testing a Columbia adobe/rust parka and bought orange North Face ski pants. I was warm and comfy in the clothes. And I was quite visible.

In Montreal

I arrived in Montreal to a few flurries and a fresh layer of snow.  It is much colder here than I am used to so I am finding myself cold all the time.  I did bring layers and fleece but I am still cold.  There is a lot of snow here, they have snow banks that are taller than the cars.  The flight was mostly uneventful but we did have to wait on the plane for the security person to check us off.  Not sure what was up with that but we had to wait for some time.  I was stamped into Canada, something they have never done before.  Normally you don't get a stamp for entering your own country but apparently they either have changed that or the customs agent didn't notice.

I wanted to travel light since I was going to have to lug my suitcase on the metro to get to the airport so I opted for my small suitcase.  This suitcase is about as old as I am, maybe even older.  It is still in relatively good shape.  They just don't make things the way they used too.  But since the suitcase is baby blue, it is really easy to pick it out of the suitcase pile.  That made it easy to grab my suitcase and get out of the airport quickly.  It was fun looking out the window and watch the countryside slowly go towards winter, until I got there.

It is nice to be home.  Not sure I care for the cold weather but the snow is making everything very picturesque.  I am also feeling my allergies starting to act up with the cat around.  I have some pills with me that I will likely have to start taking.

Cow sock

Cow sock
Originally uploaded by Canadian Loonie.

I finally had a chance to get out and try the snowshoes. I was a little worried as I was driving out to WVA as there was no snow on either the roads or the fields. My hiking partner called ahead and they said the trails were open with fresh powder so off we went. It wasn't until we were heading up into the hills that we finally encountered snow. The going got a little slippery but nothing that a little cautious driving couldn't handle. When we finally found the place, the wind was really up and the snow was coming down. After stepping outside, dressed for DC weather and a warm car, it was cold out. We basically ran to the warming hut to put more layers on and get another pair of snowshoes. I ended up peeling about 10 minutes into the hike after we hit trees. The day was nice and I had a lot of fun snowshoeing. I really can't wait to get out again. I have a report to write up on these and a cool pic to go with it.

We passed this really cute cow shaped wind sock on our hike up to the trail. It was really windy and we had not built up any heat so the picture was taken on the way back. At that point, I was sufficiently warm to stop and take a few pictures. I nearly froze my hands off though, that wind was really biting. I had my film camera with me and snapped a few of the cow, thought I would try the blue filter I got off Freecycle. I am interested to see what it dows to the picture. As I didn't notice the mountains behind me, I had to pull the camera out a second time and snap a few more pics, freeze my already cold hands some more. The drive back was interesting as once we were coming down from the mountains we left the snow behind and the sun even came back out. The weather was great in DC.

Another snow day

Winter snow fall
Originally uploaded by Canadian Loonie.

Started snowing today. It started off as sleet but then progressed into the wet fluffy snow. I ended up going to the movies and walked through the snow fall. It was very nice out. Everything was covered in a thick layer of fluffy snow. I grabbed the camera and took some pics as I was running down to catch the bus. The buses were running late making me late but then so was the person I was meeting up with.

Wow, more snow

Woke up this morning to a crisp, clean, white world. It had snowed sometime last night. Enough to be a pain if I actually drove to work, but not enough to snowshoe in. I will have to arrange for a trip or three out to some more snowy areas if I am to get those snowshoes properly tested any time soon. In the meantime, I am able to get the YakTrax tested on this lower snow level. Haven't had much in the way of ice but they work fine on snow too. I have a hike planned with some others for Old Rag which seems to be the hike to do in this area. Actually when I looked more into the hike, it looks like it can be a little technical. I hope my knees are up for it and the weather is in our favour. I would hate to have to bail on what sounds like a great hike. Maybe then I will have a good chance to use the YakTrax on some good trail use, and not the smaller, flatter trails I have been encountering lately.