tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89010728931398145372024-03-05T10:55:43.703-05:00All that is gold does not glitter: not all those who wander are lost.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501651088936379399noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901072893139814537.post-44860043615281833002016-08-17T01:04:00.000-04:002016-09-26T00:27:55.738-04:00Mount Assiniboin Provincial Park 2016<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Fprs3Sqj7A7kS0EKAdR0wOxIVDbcUkxJLqxx34TfLeLoAqW0FnjUywClzfGxGxwe8wipegIseqCXr6I0TSozWjuFq1fa9y0M-k-_t5s2OBUnq_VLlogyr-yziGyUZC0QZglCWwCnnzI/s1600/Rockies+2016-28401+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Fprs3Sqj7A7kS0EKAdR0wOxIVDbcUkxJLqxx34TfLeLoAqW0FnjUywClzfGxGxwe8wipegIseqCXr6I0TSozWjuFq1fa9y0M-k-_t5s2OBUnq_VLlogyr-yziGyUZC0QZglCWwCnnzI/s640/Rockies+2016-28401+%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: <a href="http://www.hennygraphy.com/">Hennygraphy</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><i>"I want to see mountains again Gandalf, mountains!.. and then find somewhere I can rest."</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Another summer. Another hiking trip. We've finally tackled the Rockies! For years I have wondered about the back-country of the Canadian Rockies. People come from all over the world to see its ranges and lakes but I think Canadians take the Rockies for granted. Some Canadians travel the world without really getting to our amazing backyard - the Rockies, the Rockies, the Rockies! I have been to the Rockies many times since I was a child and every time I go, it is simply spectacular. To truly get to know the Rockies it would require many trips: you must do a sightseeing tour (Lake Louise, Lake Moraine, etc etc), 2-3 back-country trips, and a winter hike/ski trip in both the front and back-country. If you are a fan of mothernature, you will be mind blown. And trust me, even if your mind is pre-blown, it can be re-blown (bazinga!).</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR8YQvEONITKtgGO2XTkFnvh_Z_onJuuZzaLaFCeLLveCVjyaY83opTMHIMan-9bJUbSjFk52SmLsGbLbRAS6uH-1OsTreD9ldO3vJjLbbI6TtnbZr2Ck7fDM5_M4nXWtjYSyaxzX3Btg/s1600/Rockies+2016-27810.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR8YQvEONITKtgGO2XTkFnvh_Z_onJuuZzaLaFCeLLveCVjyaY83opTMHIMan-9bJUbSjFk52SmLsGbLbRAS6uH-1OsTreD9ldO3vJjLbbI6TtnbZr2Ck7fDM5_M4nXWtjYSyaxzX3Btg/s640/Rockies+2016-27810.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: <a href="http://www.hennygraphy.com/">Hennygraphy</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">There is no clear name for the route that we hiked but we hiked a loop starting at Mount Shark trailhead, over Wonder Pass, base-camped for 4 nights at Lake Magog, and came back around to the trailhead via Bryant Creek Trail (<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">henceforth</span> referred to as Shark-Magog Loop). Because we started our hike very early in the season (June 10th), the Sunshine Village (Ski Resort) trailhead was not accessible. The Citadel Pass was reported to be still covered in snow. Mt.Shark trailhead is close to the Kananaski country (south of Canmore). This is where most of film Revenant (2015) was filmed; the soundtrack was an EXCELLENT accompaniment during our drive around this area. A fine choice by our very own DJ G. Yoon. G for granny.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo6Sce0qJzKkptm6wxqJHRY2zatE8mNoyCfFluL00Ya4hVljcGe90PVgbqnnlpyC-ddR1eQE2zZcPeKUWUxO8CSA5ZB8j-BpZV1GyWwa3wMn1OUy-YX5D-89VsvKIpE8wrfASxA9_-k84/s1600/Rockies+2016-28545.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo6Sce0qJzKkptm6wxqJHRY2zatE8mNoyCfFluL00Ya4hVljcGe90PVgbqnnlpyC-ddR1eQE2zZcPeKUWUxO8CSA5ZB8j-BpZV1GyWwa3wMn1OUy-YX5D-89VsvKIpE8wrfASxA9_-k84/s640/Rockies+2016-28545.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: <a href="http://www.hennygraphy.com/">Hennygraphy</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">We left on June 9th, started hiking on June 10th, ended our back-country hike on the June 16th, and came home on June 20th. We spent all our nights in our tents during the entire trip (front/back-country) and we cooked all but 3 of our meals. We rented a white Dodge Caravan in North Vancouver where our journey began. 5 comrades accompanied me that included the following people: Helena Yoon, Ji-Won Han, Henny Hwang, James Kim, and Joe Myung. We took two tents: Big Agnes Copper Spur UL4 (4pp) and Tarptent Cloudburst 3 (3pp).</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJQHxWnR3YXHY-L0uPHRJeUlaAfx34FeMODJEbFA7mB5-1rw8-JzNVmToE4xSHQW7J71bqSmfjybEKNiPqxbTBymzgq_le7JYsrnlynrihfJaugXXI9DoJ2nZbSkZ8_p1yxpg30jPQHII/s1600/Rockies+2016-28493.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJQHxWnR3YXHY-L0uPHRJeUlaAfx34FeMODJEbFA7mB5-1rw8-JzNVmToE4xSHQW7J71bqSmfjybEKNiPqxbTBymzgq_le7JYsrnlynrihfJaugXXI9DoJ2nZbSkZ8_p1yxpg30jPQHII/s640/Rockies+2016-28493.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: <a href="http://www.hennygraphy.com/">Hennygraphy</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">As always, the success and failure of a trip depends on who you travel with more so than where or when you go. Each and every one of my comrades have participated remarkably and I thank them for such a great time. The memories that we've created will be remembered for a lifetime. Most notably, I was very glad to have had James on this trip; he's one of my best and oldest friends from childhood and it was a pleasure having him joining me on my yearly hiking trip :D <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">He put in a lot of effort to <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">come on this trip and <span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">it meant a lot to me</span></span></span>. This trip was also particular because we had a professional photographer join us. Henny of Hennygraphy tagged along and the result of it was an amazing photo album. I actually did not even carry a camera during the entire trip and decided to rely on Henny for photographs. Joe was another special guest who took on a special role for us. He was someone I could rely on throughout the trip for a lot of the necessary chores: a man of efficiency if you will. He could probably go a long way without food or water and he would be last to survive during a disaster in the mountains (I'd probably be the first to go). But I do sincerely hope that someday he can truly LOL. Anyhow, we all have pretty strong personalities but we've somehow all managed to get along. I think it is largely in part due to how long we have all known each other. Apart from Joe, we are all childhood friends. We've have our separations throughout the years, but this trip definitely brought us together again. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Bny4I7H_DKk4m6szC-YgW-o3AhOJdKOpJrUKY4ai0Pp1HJPgRewUlNAhx-pYvoMFyObNDAupRg7tTBKKQ98kalEfxsnRguvYoEPvPSqTp8zbtG5QBHaAUpHtCdmCY3Gis9xFfIPMSkM/s1600/Rockies+2016+Hennygraphy-27919.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Bny4I7H_DKk4m6szC-YgW-o3AhOJdKOpJrUKY4ai0Pp1HJPgRewUlNAhx-pYvoMFyObNDAupRg7tTBKKQ98kalEfxsnRguvYoEPvPSqTp8zbtG5QBHaAUpHtCdmCY3Gis9xFfIPMSkM/s640/Rockies+2016+Hennygraphy-27919.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: <a href="http://www.hennygraphy.com/">Hennygraphy</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Hiking during the early summer season in the Rockies is probably a very different experience to hiking during the mid/late season. At roughly 3000m above sea level, snow doesn't usually clear out until early July. The official ski season ends at around early March and the hiking season doesn't start until July. This means that maintenance at the cooking huts and tent sites are minimal and we were told by some people on the trail that fees are not collected for your stay. I nevertheless paid what is usually due at these sites ($10/night/person). Pre-season means more unexpected weather, lots of rain/snowfall, and a LOT less people. I normally prefer shoulder season over high season and I am glad once again to have hiked it at this time of the year. You get to witness a very different landscape and lets face it, who wants to be so mainstream about hiking.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUFweHA39I1CoCZ3TTxzxwaYj7eNNmXvTnJqgU-piA29aluIQcGIfDb3zl3RBqiBwkwgCYXdd6hYsg9XLUfsqijbgOGLvSU1GNkreaq0yJ1XkaYU-u4TgJN16onm8wNnkCOjnE9dqMKlQ/s1600/Rockies+2016+Hennygraphy-27952.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUFweHA39I1CoCZ3TTxzxwaYj7eNNmXvTnJqgU-piA29aluIQcGIfDb3zl3RBqiBwkwgCYXdd6hYsg9XLUfsqijbgOGLvSU1GNkreaq0yJ1XkaYU-u4TgJN16onm8wNnkCOjnE9dqMKlQ/s640/Rockies+2016+Hennygraphy-27952.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: <a href="http://www.hennygraphy.com/">Hennygraphy</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Although the Banff National Park gets over a million visitors a year, only a small portion of those visitors actually care to venture into the back-country. Consequently, the products and services provided by Parks Canada is mostly focused on the sightseeing tourists and front-country car campers. Information about back-country hiking and bookings for campsites is not clearly provided online. To add to the frustration, because there are so many different offices that manage different areas of the park, different information was provided for us depending on which employees of the park we called. Furthermore, the trail that we covered went through two different provinces (Alberta and B.C.) managed by two different parks (Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park and Banff National park) that were each under two different governing bodies (B.C. Parks and Parks Canada).</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwIV2uBtcjEQ_gjn_j0iRVxe-46tV5JhyphenhyphenZnG20nNn-yQ_oF0-1s35oyMG0kxjKGTtLOqpPlstTZrPoeHmUUJGz7wg8nY8JY9gAyiQ3Zgi5vkwHMViYRdfGAZMHJHsa0zwd1zl4GPv8HqQ/s1600/Rockies+2016-28563.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwIV2uBtcjEQ_gjn_j0iRVxe-46tV5JhyphenhyphenZnG20nNn-yQ_oF0-1s35oyMG0kxjKGTtLOqpPlstTZrPoeHmUUJGz7wg8nY8JY9gAyiQ3Zgi5vkwHMViYRdfGAZMHJHsa0zwd1zl4GPv8HqQ/s640/Rockies+2016-28563.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: <a href="http://www.hennygraphy.com/">Hennygraphy</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">This is just a quick overview of the trip and I hope that I can get to the nitty gritty details of the trip on this blog. I doubt that I will get to it anytime soon. Afterall, I have only posted a overview for last year's trip as well. I will get to them someday. Till then, happy trails :) </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcpgvFl_P5jqjIxAkuUq0aRsM745cZMWDrXqcdpNEULHrk8MnJfCEWm5dFGqBEhXBLeWgCSsgEchUDHXOpQyjSyx4LWrlMsssqDD8zwaYZ0SgwtV8McFSKgIsbdr0xjSlDSAO8ZQ_SWi0/s1600/Rockies+2016-27794.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcpgvFl_P5jqjIxAkuUq0aRsM745cZMWDrXqcdpNEULHrk8MnJfCEWm5dFGqBEhXBLeWgCSsgEchUDHXOpQyjSyx4LWrlMsssqDD8zwaYZ0SgwtV8McFSKgIsbdr0xjSlDSAO8ZQ_SWi0/s640/Rockies+2016-27794.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: <a href="http://www.hennygraphy.com/">Hennygraphy</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501651088936379399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901072893139814537.post-55969595922728240802015-08-17T22:16:00.000-04:002015-08-17T22:16:11.232-04:00Cape Scott Provincial Park 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcSLWBGj9LvtFlRuwl2EPhfOXUXUO7ijWZRIHhiNgq7yibXVtSSxN8DkV7f7bxbfDkq8r7woXk8UlzeKsqagKpu4ZpHUsHcGmP0CN8jiTwt0HgQtPIDgq1cIEazWBfmyRcQAubRBIGKfM/s1600/IMG_2150-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcSLWBGj9LvtFlRuwl2EPhfOXUXUO7ijWZRIHhiNgq7yibXVtSSxN8DkV7f7bxbfDkq8r7woXk8UlzeKsqagKpu4ZpHUsHcGmP0CN8jiTwt0HgQtPIDgq1cIEazWBfmyRcQAubRBIGKfM/s640/IMG_2150-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">This year's trip to the Cape Scott Provincial Park was quite different from any other that I have been on. The hike was much easier and we even had a rest day in the middle of our 5 day adventure. Three other people accompanied me on the trip: Helena the "organiz-addict," Ji-Won the "bear fearmonger," and Aaron the "west coast newbie." Aaron and I started our trip from Ottawa. We met up with the ladies in Vancouver and set off on our trip from there.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigsJGx9EYBBSPrHMglAfTHOB6EStvvOAI9GrGCb1107lDD24jBbAfJQpLMsZgrWqJpUI6e9THgQZgPVdEj3IEcrFdMvRwzIt6YICbcMrGE-LqhdU8JBMLtPQsn0MEYoPh7Gc9MduvIX98/s1600/IMG_1849-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigsJGx9EYBBSPrHMglAfTHOB6EStvvOAI9GrGCb1107lDD24jBbAfJQpLMsZgrWqJpUI6e9THgQZgPVdEj3IEcrFdMvRwzIt6YICbcMrGE-LqhdU8JBMLtPQsn0MEYoPh7Gc9MduvIX98/s640/IMG_1849-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Initially, we intended to start at Port Hardy on the North Coast Trail, hike our way to the Cape Scott Trail, and complete both trails. After reaching the Cape Scott Lighthouse, we were to hike down south and end our trip at the southeast trail head of the Cape Scott Provincial Park. Due to an injury to one of our members, we had to cut our trip in half to just the Cape Scott Trail. It was reviewed by other bloggers as the more scenic route with better marked trails; water supply is known to be scarce in many parts of the NCT and there are longer stretches of inland trails.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Some parts of this trip was quite bland. We didn't really feel exhausted and we certainly had a large surplus of calories at the end of each day. Also, since we camped two nights at Guise Bay, the extra day of rest was relaxing yet monotonous. But monotony in nature is not always a bad thing; monotony can bring you special moments that would eventually become one of the most memorable parts of a trip. We tented every night right on the sandy beaches and a nightly camp fire was never disappointing. We also had a birthday surprise for Aaron on July 1st! Helena and I really wanted to plan this year's trip so that we could have our birthdays (June 13th and 14th) while on a backpacking trip but our schedules did not work out. Even though I was very jealous of Aaron, there is great satisfaction for doing something you really want for yourself for another person. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I think we somewhat needed a relaxing trip like this one after the amazing but extremely difficult Gros Morne adventure. I remember back in October (2014), Helena and I both thought that we would not want to hike for about a year. The trip to Newfoundland was very exhausting and were literally hiked-out. That thought did not last long for both of us though! We immediately started planning our next summer's backpacking trip by the winter of 2014. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501651088936379399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901072893139814537.post-22686941190949639512014-10-09T19:33:00.001-04:002014-10-09T19:35:22.909-04:00Day 6 Long Range Traverse (Gros Morne National Park)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> Day 6 of our 7 day journey was very relaxing. We started hiking up from the Gros Morne Mountain trailhead and travelled north along a new area (the Long Range Traverse). This route had a defined trail that was very easy to follow. The incline was steady but it was nothing compared to the hikes that we've been on during the past 6 days. The sun came back up and it was a beautiful day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">We hiked towards the Gros Morne Mountain, hooked around the southern base of the mountain. The walk was not particularly scenic at this point but there were a lot of rocks everywhere. Our plan was to hike to the first campsite at the base of the mountain, setup our tent, hike up to the Gros Morne Mountain for the view, and return to our tent for the night.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Once we tented and dropped off our bags, the hike was much easier without the packs. I carried my ukulele up to the mountain and sang the entire time at the top of my lungs. Same songs over and over and over and over again. I didn't have many songs memorized so my crew had to endure the repetitive soundtrack for this trip.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The hike up to the mountain was steep but it was easy peasy. Some stairs and lots of board-walks later, we reached the summit. The weather was great and the sun was setting so it was a great time to take photos. We hung around the top for a while and returned back to our tent just before nightfall. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">It was a relaxing day. A great way to end the final part of our trip to Newfoundland. It was more of a time of reflection and conversations for us. It rained on and off throughout the night and the tent as our primary shelter became more natural to us than it was at the beginning. It was our last night in the backcountry and all three of us were most certainly sad for the end. I will return to Newfoundland to finish this trail next year (hopefully); in the meantime, I will miss the great moments and the amazing sights we had the privilege to experience. </span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501651088936379399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901072893139814537.post-29379370994821312452014-10-06T21:07:00.003-04:002014-10-09T19:35:17.879-04:00Day 5 North Rim Traverse (Gros Morne National Park)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6oFkwlgKxCLGc59usaop46TuEhSxnAR79WiEk27daXnP_NzyurGlwt6nuFb85IrCumDXJjyySHwLv2VxHWugnThIBZedYI5XQyOkzNnl8Tx-i0lVHiyLh_iBHa64Rjgc-u6VTuvig6uQ/s1600/IMG_0063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6oFkwlgKxCLGc59usaop46TuEhSxnAR79WiEk27daXnP_NzyurGlwt6nuFb85IrCumDXJjyySHwLv2VxHWugnThIBZedYI5XQyOkzNnl8Tx-i0lVHiyLh_iBHa64Rjgc-u6VTuvig6uQ/s1600/IMG_0063.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> From the start of day 5, we accepted that we are behind and that we cannot catch up. We had to accept it if we were to enjoy ourselves for the rest of the days. Playing catchup was stressful for us. We were there to enjoy. As much as I felt the competitive need to finish the "entire" route, we had to set our priorities for what we have come for.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Our new plan was to hike to the end of the Western Brook Pond, hike down to the water, and take the boat to where we started. Then, we were to taxi back down south to the Gros Morne Mountain Trail head and hike north along the Long Range Traverse.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgAdUMCj1Q99O1Rb5B1wbetcQPKZfn-C_JkjX8sIjcL1IUy-zHrObejkizSWLGdZpvZ9XkZtZlvi0yge2WTOk1C9EaeV_LhpbFlbvNf9IZqIoWe0RABSki2RdjgDipQ893FLCLauEK9Lo/s1600/IMG_0094.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgAdUMCj1Q99O1Rb5B1wbetcQPKZfn-C_JkjX8sIjcL1IUy-zHrObejkizSWLGdZpvZ9XkZtZlvi0yge2WTOk1C9EaeV_LhpbFlbvNf9IZqIoWe0RABSki2RdjgDipQ893FLCLauEK9Lo/s1600/IMG_0094.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I THINK these are pitcher plants?</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">We got up, packed our tent, had a quick oatmeal breakfast with dried prunes, and we were off. In about 45 minutes, we were at the top of the hill on the other side of the lake that we slept by. It was a rainy day. Rain poured on and off and the black flies were having a feast on my thighs. It was an easy hike. The "trails" were more or less defined and we were thankful. We didn't see any tuckamore at this point. Rain seeped through my boots and my socks were soaked within 20 minutes. It was alright though as the hike was much easier. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6kF5dMsa-ag-vmL-mHJeoY9lQH8b8yd8Tfz5AeFfiyOlJRhLVvuAZ3pe3biW7N_YHZkczVHGxvoR7fWcDiB7OMOjsynziKHN6UAdm7T56nVYI2Twg9WQqR_-Slm2adE9q82ikpME63Lk/s1600/IMG_0104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6kF5dMsa-ag-vmL-mHJeoY9lQH8b8yd8Tfz5AeFfiyOlJRhLVvuAZ3pe3biW7N_YHZkczVHGxvoR7fWcDiB7OMOjsynziKHN6UAdm7T56nVYI2Twg9WQqR_-Slm2adE9q82ikpME63Lk/s1600/IMG_0104.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Our bags waiting for us by the main "trail."</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirOOBuQeyK2_3S_NEjkJmemjvSXXJTo2s2hHAUXm9HvqlRmysMDyvV3LkRXlx6SwWoVHzDPUs_HZyEhrePzdb0VkQqDO9IQF5sA9N7eMMHZ9LyWhNd81z-nkP-hii3fBVPwImFvVQA0Wg/s1600/IMG_0079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirOOBuQeyK2_3S_NEjkJmemjvSXXJTo2s2hHAUXm9HvqlRmysMDyvV3LkRXlx6SwWoVHzDPUs_HZyEhrePzdb0VkQqDO9IQF5sA9N7eMMHZ9LyWhNd81z-nkP-hii3fBVPwImFvVQA0Wg/s1600/IMG_0079.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Ji-Won initially refused to come to the edge of the cliff. She was sure that the section would break off and kill us all.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Few hours into our hike, we were able to locate ourselves on the map with ease. There were many defining features in the terrain. In no time, we were at the spot where Scott said to detour. Along the hike, there was a "special spot" that you can hike to go right to the edge of a cliff. We left our bags on the trail and walked towards this "special spot." When we got there, it was just as Scott had explained. You can literally walk right up to the edge of a cliff and look down into the Western Brook Pond. The view of the fjord was amazing.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk_Dnn0w1Z0BTEA8cCyBFx6BrICut7fjRg8kNGrneMXotbNvRWrh6lXBpZJLmI9KWM127SuuIIPJLZlSC-mOsgFtLORIhZBue1hmzO16go1e6eLmxqhstChdfwJVegmcM0caS3qdHZPdk/s1600/IMG_0080.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk_Dnn0w1Z0BTEA8cCyBFx6BrICut7fjRg8kNGrneMXotbNvRWrh6lXBpZJLmI9KWM127SuuIIPJLZlSC-mOsgFtLORIhZBue1hmzO16go1e6eLmxqhstChdfwJVegmcM0caS3qdHZPdk/s1600/IMG_0080.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">At the edge of the cliff.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">After we had our fun on the cliff, we walked back to where our bags were and headed southeast towards the end of the fjord. It was a very swampy area. With the rain pouring down, it was very wet all around. For me, stepping into mud and stepping into a puddle made no difference.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Add caption</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The end of the Western Brooke Pond was amazing. This is where everyone took their money shot of the park. This is the spot where people hike up to from the water to start their hike south along the Long Range Traverse. As expected, we met some hikers starting their journey south. It was their day-1 and they were fresh.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">We accepted the fact that we would not be able to hike the northern part of the Long Range Traverse in the morning. However, I could not stop myself from feeling a bit of regret. Having to fly all the way out to Newfoundland, hike for 5 days along the North Rim, and not being able to finish the entire park was a bummer. But as mentioned before, we were there to enjoy. Sometimes, things don't unfold as planned. I guess I did bite off more than I could chew. I would recommend 9 days to finish both trails at a leisurely pace. That will be my plan for my next trip to Gros Morne National Park next summer. Anyone interested?</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">The walk down to the water...</span></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501651088936379399noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901072893139814537.post-85502052736850308432014-09-24T22:49:00.000-04:002014-10-09T19:35:12.847-04:00Day 4 - North Rim Traverse (Gros Morne National Park)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxNKR3kSeod8yy26qfZFp8QoBnFr4EW692z705si78fN48Ys6P3zEGlz6awhTAkEfc5_8_NSftlTmlGY48clGwF0nojyfQgF6xklSlyGcpY9aurOqkSYvrOgtk2VL7XLxQ-Zl56tJ-ayc/s1600/IMG_0037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxNKR3kSeod8yy26qfZFp8QoBnFr4EW692z705si78fN48Ys6P3zEGlz6awhTAkEfc5_8_NSftlTmlGY48clGwF0nojyfQgF6xklSlyGcpY9aurOqkSYvrOgtk2VL7XLxQ-Zl56tJ-ayc/s1600/IMG_0037.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">We are a campsite behind but with Scott's advice, we felt confident that we may be able to play some catch up this day. We are supposed to hike through minimal tuckamore but elevation gain and loss was supposed to be quite dramatic. Also, we are expecting some rain on-and-off for the next 3 days.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">As usual, we got up, had some warm oatmeal with dried prunes, packed our tent, and set to go. I was more confident with the map and the compass at this point and the terrain was not as difficult to navigate through. For the first several hours, there were many ponds to take reference points from. We just had to match the ponds we see in our surroundings with those on the map. Scott was right. We were able to walk around tuckamore with ease and it was just a never ending hike through the rolling hills. Up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down... the hills were not high but it was very repetitive. As advised by Scott, you always want to go against the "grooves" of the hills. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzLr1LsemE7vgZfDjHJPn7KaqhTNdmuQ5dMMFagf4KNJNAXgzrIMTcDO9zfCg7MSuJwcsBrvKh20GHSipFdM7EKAAHhQdATHkN9hhy-7ojXNwoiARfI5ehpIOkL7MrmrED010ftMa7sLg/s1600/IMG_0016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzLr1LsemE7vgZfDjHJPn7KaqhTNdmuQ5dMMFagf4KNJNAXgzrIMTcDO9zfCg7MSuJwcsBrvKh20GHSipFdM7EKAAHhQdATHkN9hhy-7ojXNwoiARfI5ehpIOkL7MrmrED010ftMa7sLg/s1600/IMG_0016.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The ground was very damp and rain started drizzling down on us on-and-off. It was difficult to take photos because of this but our rain gear was decent. Except for my boots. My boots are nearly (perhaps over?) 10 years old. It is a pair of North Face suede boots that used to be water resistant. Within 30mins of walking, my socks were entirely soaked and the boots had no support for my ankles. There was not much I could do and after several hours, it didn't bother me too much.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Pond after pond after pond after pond after pond.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Since early morning, fogs came in an out of our path. Sometimes visibility was limited to the point where we would just sit at the top of the hill waiting for the fog to blow over. Visibility is key when you are navigating by compass and map. I think it's a big drawback from a handheld GPS units, but we managed without too much difficulty.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">By late afternoon, the ponds became too small to accurately identify on the map, fog was getting worse at many points, and the path was nothing but rolling hills. With my limited orienteering skills, I could not locate myself on the map any longer so we just kept going "against the groove." Once we reach the top of a hill, we could see endless hills ahead of us in the far distance. As long as we continued to go up and down, we were supposed to see a big lake. This first big lake that we run into was supposed to be the campsite for the third night in the park.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The plan in the morning was to go past this lake campsite and try to make it to the next campsite that would be only several hours more into (finally) the Long Range Traverse. For hours and hours we walked through the hills hoping and hoping that we would see the lake. Every hill that I climbed I kept saying that, "once we're on top, I think we would see the lake!" 3 hills in, nobody believed me. We were fed up and daylight was dimming slowly. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">One thing about wilderness orienteering is that your mood is rarely medium. You are always either extremely happy and mountain high or you are feeling insecure and feeling endangered of being lost and killed by a bear. We climbed a particularly steep and high hill hoping that it would be the last hill before the lake. We got up and looked ahead and I was wrong. Our mood was starting to crash. Then suddenly, at that moment, it started pouring rain. We stood on top of the rocky hill looking at each other in silence for a good 15 seconds listening to the rain drops hit the rocky surfaces surrounding us. Ji-Won suggested that we should take a break by "that rock over there." We walked about 5 meters towards the rock and right under the hill, there was a huge lake! I took out my map and in 10 seconds the three of us were yelling and dancing in the rain in joy. The lake was only about 1.5-2km away from where we were and it was a down-hill route.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I guesstimated about 15-20minutes to get down to the lake. Another 3 hours and we could arrive at our planned destination by 19:00. We were walking down the hill feeling extremely happy and confident. It turns out, the hill is a very rocky jagged one. We walked around in circles and back-tracking whenever we hit dead end (usually a cliff drop). It took us over 2 hours to get down and we were pissed as we got closer to the lake. The route down was a very dangerous steep rock face. Walking on wet rock with a 30-40lb pack is mentally stressful. One slip can set you back a long way in the mountains.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Finally we arrived at the site. We found the toilet, the bearbox and and ideal place for our tent. We decided that we should not go on much longer because we won't be able to make it to the next campsite before sunset. We were still very happy to be able to have a warm dinner and get inside our warm cozy tent. I was especially happy to take my wet boots off. Then...as it got cooler and the sun was setting, bugs started acting up. There were these small flies that would swarm on my bare knees and just sit there. I observed their behaviour and assured the ladies that "it's okay, they don't bite!" I was never more wrong. In 15 minutes, my legs were dotted with purple bite marks. In hours, they were starting to swell a lot: they were black flies. I didn't bring any long pants so I expected to suffer for the next 3 days.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">This didn't stop Helena and I from going for a dip in the cold lake. It was freezing cold but we had to do what we had to do. I prefer the cold over going into my sleeping bag with all my sweat from the day. A quick dip, a nice warm dinner and we were once again safely in our sleeping bags wondering what we will have to face the the day after.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Sleeping in a tent in the wild is something I recommend everyone to try out. It's an unusual feeling. Lying in the tent in pitch darkness can give you a different perspective of our selves.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Oh. Also, I got a black fly bite right in my butt crack from going to the toilet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501651088936379399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901072893139814537.post-91038904275872651452014-09-21T20:56:00.002-04:002014-10-09T19:35:00.332-04:00Day 3 - North Rim Traverse (Gros Morne National Park)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7w4ciGvAjDsaMk71ziLZpczHhfTND3AHcItHbV7YsXPdUH6N55LsuyIpwQgk6Rh9j4ZNJK1S4p8UhnBpcXGU2aZSME0WQjoSOGt0tuY1-pUfrtZCWE1vmirz0SYvMZci9reZ4vnHBnCY/s1600/IMG_3875.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7w4ciGvAjDsaMk71ziLZpczHhfTND3AHcItHbV7YsXPdUH6N55LsuyIpwQgk6Rh9j4ZNJK1S4p8UhnBpcXGU2aZSME0WQjoSOGt0tuY1-pUfrtZCWE1vmirz0SYvMZci9reZ4vnHBnCY/s1600/IMG_3875.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Our second night was loud and windy. We all didn't sleep very well but when morning came, we were recharged and ready to start hiking again. In the morning, I could not have been more thankful for the awesome tent that we had. It withstood the strong wind and held together fine through the rough night. Again, we had some Clif Bars for breakfast, took down our tent, and packed our bags. With the daylight, we were confident that we were at the lake that we thought we were at. Our direction for our next campsite was clear but the terrain looked rough. A few more hours of harsh uphill tuckamore and we made it to the top of a hill by early afternoon. From this spot we were able to make out the direction for the next few hours.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Why else would I bring her?</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">We planned to sleep at the campsite 2. Even though we would be a day behind, we did not want to risk another night where there would be no bear box. At the time, we thought that it would be better to play catchup for the day we lost in the Long Range Traverse section of the park. It was an easy day until I twisted my ankle and fell. I just sat there on the ground and wondered what was to happen if I couldn't walk anymore. The pain was getting worse and worse by the second and it felt pretty shitty to think about the possibility of not being able to finish the hike because of me. By this time, the three layers of my boots were starting to separate (the rubber sole, the spongy cushion, and the main leather wrap); the boots really took a beating from the hike and it had less and less support by the hour. Helena had an injured ankle from the beginning so she had some bandages and tenser for her ankle. She took them off and put it on my ankle. After a 10min break and 2 ibuprofen, I was back on my feet.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUQwbr1nIhX4cwgjaIc6F3a0sQszcTVPjOzScQUdxuD6qYaQDneAob9G6N4HH02zpZwB1LZKaJzVApFOjy039pP85wovNgy2H9PgYYuSRXLIrGYa-QO56Z-dH3XACdDJ7OOWmlWKra0b8/s1600/IMG_3880.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUQwbr1nIhX4cwgjaIc6F3a0sQszcTVPjOzScQUdxuD6qYaQDneAob9G6N4HH02zpZwB1LZKaJzVApFOjy039pP85wovNgy2H9PgYYuSRXLIrGYa-QO56Z-dH3XACdDJ7OOWmlWKra0b8/s1600/IMG_3880.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Even when they are close to tears, they never fail to smile so brightly when you point a camera at them. Camera therapy.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3niCqeNZOGyVF5EzN2qBEEYRzVHJcbLIGJ3nfEomolbKq1kZNCkB7s-Scj66OzirBSdxJB1Jm7AEXHCm8I72iAap7M9UFDI-FRXDr-DIw_lhMc_x8EWdAD2t-FT4vw1mm51b5-nMT7o/s1600/IMG_3882.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid3niCqeNZOGyVF5EzN2qBEEYRzVHJcbLIGJ3nfEomolbKq1kZNCkB7s-Scj66OzirBSdxJB1Jm7AEXHCm8I72iAap7M9UFDI-FRXDr-DIw_lhMc_x8EWdAD2t-FT4vw1mm51b5-nMT7o/s1600/IMG_3882.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">After another 2 more hours of hiking, we found ourselves on top of another hill overlooking the our destination lake. It was a beautiful scene. We were on a big plateau with amazing weather. Since we were only about an hour away from our destination, we took a long break. Ji-Won and Helena took out their sleeping mats and took a short nap while I played with my ukulele. It was a great feeling lying down in the middle of nowhere under the sun letting the wind play the ukulele. If you hold up the ukulele at certain angles against the wind, it would ring random tones! It was a bit freaky at first but lying there in the sun listening to it was very soothing.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Our new campsite</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">We arrived at the campsite right by the lake. Even though we only spent 1 night at an "un"designated designated campsite, the bear box, the toilet, and the tent pads felt like 5-star luxury amenities. We were a day behind but we were in such good moods. We had instant ramyun for lunch and Japanese curry for dinner. By 16:00, I was walking to the edge of the lake and saw a couple arrive! They were setting up their tents and filtering water. It felt so great to find a fellow human being in the wilderness. I spoke with the lady and she said they lived in Rocky Harbour and that they do sections of the hike often. They promised to come by our tent after dinner and give us some tips.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">This is where we met Scott Taylor. Scott works as a geographical information systems (GIS) specialist for Parks Canada at the Gros Morne National Park. He knew the geographical features of the park like no other. He had the latest satellite images and a lot of different tools to survey the land. For any first-timers at the park who wanted some advice, he was the man to see. He came over to our site after dinner to give us some useful advices. The most welcome information from him was that you can eat the berries that we kept seeing them on the ground during our hikes. They were called cloud berries and they were not poisonous despite what I thought. The colour and the way it grew so low to the ground off of 1 stem looked fatally poisoning to me but I guess I was wrong. He said that we're not allowed to pick them...(?)... I cannot put into words the gratification we felt for him during the days to come; we benefited so much from the valuable information that he was so generous to provide us with. He even gave us his phone number just in case we needed a ride out from the trailhead on our last day. Scott, if you're ever seeing this, leave me a comment!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">It was a great day. Even though we were a day behind, we were well fed, we had another day of amazing swim, and we were back on track! We had a few days of rain ahead of us, but we were prepared and confident. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Feel the music</span></td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501651088936379399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901072893139814537.post-42435179487190457942014-09-16T20:32:00.000-04:002014-10-06T20:31:49.033-04:00Day 2 - North Rim Traverse (Gros Morne National Park)<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Day 2 of our trip started where we left off at Snug Harbour. Our plan was the hike up roughly 4KM to the top of the northern gorge by early afternoon and hike another 5KM to the North Long Pond.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">We woke up late because the only timepiece we had was my Casio Databank watch. We set our alarm for 6:00AM but it turns out that the alarm is very quiet and it would only ring for less than 30 seconds. Nobody woke up to the alarm and we ended up leaving our campsite at 11:00AM. We had 2 Clif Bars for breakfast and substituted brushing our teeth with gums. The first stretch of hike was a rough hike with steep elevation gain on unclear paths. We kept losing the main trail and within 2hours, I had to take out my compass and tried to triangulate our location on the map. It was a difficult task and we were all panicking a bit. In 3H51M, we reached the top of the gorge. We had no more water, had our bug nets on, and the sun was stronger than ever right over our heads. Looking at the map, it was clear to me that the hardest part is over. I was most definitely wrong. I thought that we fought our way through our share of tuckamore for the trip. Wrong again. Tuckamore is a thick cluster of evergreen trees that are very difficult and painful to go through. We were told by the ranger to go around, not through, tuckamore no matter how tempting the B-line seems to be.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">From here on, according to the topographical map, there was minimal elevation gain. Naturally, I underestimated the terrain ahead of us. It turned out, we had to walk through hours and hours more of tuckamore with no end in sight. We had no time or the mental capacity to take photos while we were walking from here on. It was mentally and physically straining us to our limits. I felt lost 90% of the time and tuckamore would just not end. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">With no more water we started panicking even more. We managed to locate some marked trails but with so many caribou and moose trails in the park, it was difficult to know if we could trust it. As I was walking ahead of the group trying to find our way, I heard a stream trickling in the distance. We walked a few hundred meters north and I found a small stream running through a mini-valley. We took a 15minute break filtering and treating our water and had some Clif Bars. </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq5kN4gOyw6PgtjJ276F7HDB_FqNut918e0i_kbyQdUvglgmnRmLFWjUMMrcIgHmJFO-e2jC-tAlz5m_S85-NV2Osr56M1fyPlxG6Yn7Gs1RSGVTXwR_Wh0QFfz-KH3VcZ5y-miiqssYE/s1600/IMG_3860.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq5kN4gOyw6PgtjJ276F7HDB_FqNut918e0i_kbyQdUvglgmnRmLFWjUMMrcIgHmJFO-e2jC-tAlz5m_S85-NV2Osr56M1fyPlxG6Yn7Gs1RSGVTXwR_Wh0QFfz-KH3VcZ5y-miiqssYE/s1600/IMG_3860.jpg" height="480" width="640" /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/_IwO02T3t2w?list=UUBqUXW5C6X8Vus5efawtbcQ" width="640"></iframe></a><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">By 19:30, we found a clearing from hours of tuckamore that we fought through. The sun was setting and the view was amazing. Nobody knew the troubles that Helena has seen and she looked like she was about to cry. At the center of the small patch of clearing was a big boulder. We sat on the boulder and discussed our options. The sun was setting, we need more water, and we had to find a place to stay overnight. Finding water is not a big problem but there were some risks that we had to consider when camping in a non-designated area. Our biggest fear is wildlife getting to our food. We in the end, decided that we should tent right by the closest pond that we could see. After another few hours of fighting tuckamore, we managed to arrive at the end of a random lake/pond a few kilometers off the cliff.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Despite my complaint, the two ladies insisted that we shouldn't cook a warm meal; it might attract bears. We tried to scout the place out around the lake to find an ideal place to tent. Unfortunately, the thick tuckamore came right up to the edge of the lake. As we were trying to decide where we were going to tent, it got very dark and dangerous to keep walking around. Helena touched a "poisonous" mushroom and almost "died." In the end, we tented on top of the tuckamore. The trees were so thick that we managed to tent right on it; we were about 3 feet off the ground and right on the edge of the lake. The night was rough. Because we were so close to the cliff, the wind was very strong. The tent was slanting the entire night and the flapping tent fabric was extremely loud. Nobody really slept well that night.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">This was by far the most difficult hike and our morale was rock bottom. Yes, Ji-won was at a constant alert for a fatal bear attack. Yes, Helena felt that her life was endangered throughout the night. But in the end, we kept it together and helped one another stay calm and positive. The information center was not wrong about this day being the most difficult hike. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501651088936379399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901072893139814537.post-39271660326826877612014-09-14T19:46:00.001-04:002014-10-06T20:31:55.061-04:00North Rim Traverse - Day 1 (Gros Morne National Park)<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Gros Morne National Park has two major wilderness hiking areas: the North Rim Traverse and the Long Range Traverse. Our plan was to finish crossing both areas in 7 days.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Day 1: Western Brook Pond --> Snug Harbour </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">We camped out on the day of our arrival at the Berry Hill Campsite; just 5 minutes (taxi) from Rocky Harbour, there is a nice little campsite with sufficient facilities. We checked-in at the campsite very late (around 21:00) so we were placed in the over-flow section. This turned out to be better for us because there was much more privacy and we got to use the washroom and the shared "kitchen" all to ourselves. For just $25.50 a night, it was a far better option than some of the hotels in town that all charged over $150. Another option in town are bed and breakfasts; apparently they are cheap and well maintained at prices below $100.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">This was the first time we got to use the new tent Helena bought for this trip. It is the <a href="http://www.tarptent.com/cloudburst3.html">Tarptent Cloudburst 3</a>, single wall, dual arch tent with two entrances. At merely 52oz./1.48kg., the high price is well worth it for backpackers. We also had an extra pole for high wind and an inner condensation liner. On the first night at Berry Hill, we woke up with slightly wet sleeping bags. Without the inner liner, we didn't expect so much condensation to fall from the tent ceiling. Single wall tents absolutely require this inner condensation liner if you have down bags.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">After a quick breakfast (oatmeal, coffee, apple), we packed up, and the taxi came right to our campsite on time as promised. </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">We started late
because we were told that it would be an easy hike with a clearly
defined path. Also, the Wildlife Museum in Rocky Harbour opened at
09:00. On our way to Western Brook Pond, we made a quick stop to buy the bug nets. From there, it was a 30minute ride up to the Western Brook Pond trail-head ($60 taxi).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">It's quite a scenic ride along the coast; as we were passing by small coastal communities, the taxi driver was kind enough to explain the history and the life in these areas. The Western Brook Pond trail start right off the highway by the coast. There is a boat that takes you all the way into the fjord. Most hikers would just take that boat and start at the end of the fjord and hike the Long Range Traverse south.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The hike is just 7KM long and it only took us 5 hours and 25 minutes (10:28 - 15:06). We had to take off our packs and our boots to cross a river that had water that came up to just below my crotch, we got lost once trying to find a short cut, and we stopped for lunch for about 30 minutes around 14:00. We ate pepperoni with tortilla for lunch. I'm not much of a fan of peperoni sticks but it was a good fill with enough fat, protein, sodium, and carbs. With so much granola bars and oatmeal, fiber is not much of an issue on the trail. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">After arrival, we quickly tented and jumped into the pond. It was the most amazing swim. It was a perfect prevening (bazinga!), and the water was nice and warm. We didn't get to swim everyday on the West Coast Trail because I don't like swimming in saltwater before going to sleep; it gets gritty everywhere after. Also, the cliff section of the fjord in the backdrop is amazing to swim with.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Dinner was pasta with peanut butter, chilli pepper can tuna, and onions. I enjoyed it very much probably because I was so hungry. The campsite has 4 basic features: a "bear-post," a wooden tent-pad, a picnic table, and a toilet. Literally just a toilet. I mean literally just a toilet with a lid: No walls, no toilet papers, no wood chips, nothing. It was a toilet surrounded by bushes at the end of a path that started with a toilet sign. Literally just a toilet. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh481px9vi34KHeWAx4JPOB_Dy2poVjDGA3XzMiq1Ede6KpVjEoZFvA1TvOkvxR-r3lF5DpFiuBvz9n6NC7r_MJYVI7oMfKKTT-V6hzsJsGeRmolAExElsu3t-gUO9rzdrZ_Wh8b9Ktq6w/s1600/IMG_3797.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh481px9vi34KHeWAx4JPOB_Dy2poVjDGA3XzMiq1Ede6KpVjEoZFvA1TvOkvxR-r3lF5DpFiuBvz9n6NC7r_MJYVI7oMfKKTT-V6hzsJsGeRmolAExElsu3t-gUO9rzdrZ_Wh8b9Ktq6w/s1600/IMG_3797.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">This didn't bother me as much as the "bear-post." I have never seen these before but it was very intuitive to use. It was basically a long wooden post (around 30 feet) erected a fair bit away from the tent area with 4 hooks on all sides at the top. On the ground you are given a long metal rod with a hook on its tip. The trick is to hook your food bag on to the rod and hang the bag on the hooks on top of the post. It looked and sounded easy enough that I decided to put this task aside until later. It turns out, it's not easy at all. Since this was our first of 7 days of backpacking, we had a lot of food. The bag was too heavy to lift with the long rod and it took us over 45 minutes to try and figure out how we can protect ourselves throughout the night from bears. It was not only bear bears but I saw several mice running around the bushes. In the end, we managed to only get the necessary food (food with most scent) hung up on the top and the rest were put into Ji-Won's bag that we hung on the lower section of the post on the sign.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">We were energized, hyper, and excited for the next few days to unfold. None of us really knew what we were getting ourselves into but every one of us were there to make the most of what will be handed to us on the trail. I said this throughout the trip again and again: this first day is my favourite day during the entire trip. We had beautiful weather, a breathtaking scenery, and a perfect swimming spot. Perhaps it may not be the most memorable; in the end, the most miserable moments in any adventure makes up the best stories.</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501651088936379399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901072893139814537.post-83283192473621735922014-09-12T20:44:00.002-04:002014-09-12T20:45:00.781-04:00Orienteering!<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Orienteering has been the biggest challenge during our trip this year at the Gros Morne National Park. If we had someone more experienced in orienteering, our hike would have been far easier(?). If we had a handheld GPS device, maybe that would have also cut our walking time significantly. This post will walk through some of the basic orienteering techniques. </span><br />
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<u><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Map:</span></u><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">To properly orient yourself in the wilderness, you need an up to date topographical map. Knowing how to properly read a topographical map alone can help you a great deal. The most up to date and detailed topographical maps in Canada is published by <a href="http://geogratis.cgdi.gc.ca/geogratis/Home?lang=en">Natural Resources Canada</a>. The map shown above is one of two maps that I used for this trip; the file size of this map alone was 75MB! They are extremely high in detail and the pixel count is sufficient to print a 30"X30" map with ease. I believe they provide maps of anywhere in Canada with the scale of 1:50,000 and the contour intervals of 10m. A scale of 1:50,000 means that 1cm on the map represents a distance of 50,000cm (or 500m or 0.5km). Contour lines are the squiggly lines on the map that shows the elevation gain or loss; with a 10m contour interval, every time you cross over a contour line, you are gaining/losing 10m of elevation. For example, if you look at the contour lines where the "N" is (in "NORTHERN"), the lines are very tightly set. This area represents a cliff section that surrounds the Bakers Brooke Pond; there is more elevation gain/loss within a given distance. In contrast, if you look at the hills just north of the letter "N," you see wider gaps between the contour lines (by "BIG LEVEL"). When contour lines are set wide apart like this, the terrain is much more level and the slope is less pronounced.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Simple? The concepts behind map making/reading is much simpler to understand than it is to actually to put into practice. Yes, the contour lines show the slopes, blue means water, and the scales can tell you how much you need to travel. However, examining a map and visualizing what the landscape will appear in real life is a much more difficult task. Looking down from a high point at the surrounding hills can help you locate yourself on the map; unfortunately, it's not easy trying tell apart different hills and peak points around you when you are actually in the field. You can be looking down from a high point at several different lakes (or ponds) and still have difficulty telling which pond is which on the map. Despite the high level of detail and accuracy of today's modern maps, for someone as inexperienced as I, matching shapes I see before me to the shapes on the map is difficult. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">There is no way to get around practicing map reading. I suggest you carry around a topographical map whenever you go hiking even more so when you are familiar with the surrounding. It's a suggestion from books I've read and a suggestion I chose to ignore before heading out to Gros Morne. I learned the hard way that a little practice can go a long way. </span><br />
<u><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></u>
<u><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Compass:</span></u><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Being an expert at reading topographical maps alone can probably get you to places you like. After all, we've found our ways around cities and parks just by reading a map. However, if you master the use of a compass, you can travel more efficiently and accurately. A simple compass (any compass) can tell you where north is. An orienteering compass can help you set your bearing (your intended direction of travel), triangulate your location on the map, and safely orient yourself around obstacles. There are many concepts, techniques, and exercises that can help you in the wilderness; I will just go over the very basics of finding and maintaining your bearing. </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.learn-orienteering.org/old/img/compass1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="drawing of compass" border="0" src="http://www.learn-orienteering.org/old/img/compass1.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: http://www.learn-orienteering.org/old/lesson1.html</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">An orienteering compass has several features that a regular simple compass may not; the above image shows the different necessary parts of an orienteering compass. Follow these steps to find your bearing to travel from point A to point B:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">1. Place the compass on the map with the point A touching either one of the two long edges of the compass. Point A should be touching the back (opposite side of where the direction of travel-arrow is pointing) of either one of the long edge of the compass.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">2. Turns the compass so point B is also on the same long edge as point A. Now you will have both point A and point B on either ONE of the long edges of the compass. Point A should be closer to the compass housing edge and point B should be closer to the head of the direction of travel-arrow.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">3. Turn the compass housing so that the orienting lines are parallel to the longitudinal lines on the map.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Your compass is now oriented to a given bearing! If the degrees/mils are indicated around the compass housing, you can find the exact direction in degrees/mils by looking at the point where the back of the direction of travel-arrow touches the compass housing. Now, if you are actually standing where point A is indicated and you intend to travel to point B, all you have to do is turn the entire compass so that the compass needle north is right over the orienting arrow. DO NOT turn the compass housing after it has been oriented to a specific direction! Once the needle is directly over the orienting arrow, the direction of travel-arrow shows... well, your direction of travel! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Simple? Probably not. Trying to explain this process using just words is tedious and probably not very accurate. But it's definitely fun! Yes? Yes? Yes. Now go out, buy yourself a nice orienteering compass, print out a topographical map, and explore your neighbourhood!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">*For more exercises/techniques that are well written, refer to <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Expert-Map-Compass-Bjorn-Kjellstrom-ebook/dp/B002WQLNC4/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1410568864&sr=8-5&keywords=compass+and+map">"Be Expert with Map and Compass" by Bjorn Kjellstrom</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><u>Which compass?</u></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7m5W-iOQDqk4bw09lycmwyGKpkbgFzs7jQrjdjqZxtEEQ8dxzDPlhLLqkdrRLQpGXr4dsgbZICspYhgEtnZINgSkBhF1PeY-6GA4CB8P3UDwyVqW8VW-wF7SHNPRVUZZFNfm1UsGxsuo/s1600/20140912_191316.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7m5W-iOQDqk4bw09lycmwyGKpkbgFzs7jQrjdjqZxtEEQ8dxzDPlhLLqkdrRLQpGXr4dsgbZICspYhgEtnZINgSkBhF1PeY-6GA4CB8P3UDwyVqW8VW-wF7SHNPRVUZZFNfm1UsGxsuo/s1600/20140912_191316.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">This is a long post mostly because I am probably terrible at explaining things. I do however need to add one more thing! Which compass should you buy? You want a compass with the basic features identified in the image above. Other optional features include a global needle (a needle that works both in the northern and the southern hemisphere), a "freeze-proof" compass housing, a waterproof housing, a slope needle, a sighting mirror, and a declination adjustment. I went with the <a href="http://www.mec.ca/product/5010-589/suunto-mc-2g-global-sighting-compass-360-degree/?h=10+50777+50040+50131+50565&f=10+50131+50565+4294964454">Suunto MC-2 Global Sighting Compass</a>. It was quite pricy but it included almost all of the features I may need in the future and I wanted something that would last. Reviews around the internet recommend Suunto over Silva in North America. Silva, a Swedish compass manufacturer, invented the modern orienteering compass design; unfortunately, the quality of their compasses sold in North America are abysmal. One more thing to note when you are purchasing an advanced orienteering compass is to make sure you buy the compass with degree markings instead of the Mil scale. If you can figure out how to use the Mil scale, great! It's another tool you can use. With the Mil scale, you can determine the size of an object at a given distance by using your compass. It's a more common tool used in the military. I tried. I gave up. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Cheers!</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501651088936379399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901072893139814537.post-71327954095042022712014-09-11T00:06:00.002-04:002014-09-11T00:13:25.169-04:00Gros Morne National Park: the preparation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY49LIUO098j9MD_L5EEeoSg3A9Fmb9b8L0QUDTmPQl8DvvdklSRvoqs3jc-8AI9gyNTC1FlZ-Ll3URx_gu7pxstTkTFjYQ6Al44p3mA-5IZcJbpjP6N-VUGLKoMKgUg00q3n0Ov3z9dk/s1600/IMG_0171.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY49LIUO098j9MD_L5EEeoSg3A9Fmb9b8L0QUDTmPQl8DvvdklSRvoqs3jc-8AI9gyNTC1FlZ-Ll3URx_gu7pxstTkTFjYQ6Al44p3mA-5IZcJbpjP6N-VUGLKoMKgUg00q3n0Ov3z9dk/s1600/IMG_0171.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Finding people who are interested is easy enough. Finding people who can actually go is a much more difficult task. Living in a country with such abundant nature keeps people interested in exploring the outdoors. Taking time off to go hiking is difficult for many people and financing such a long trip is also a challenge. Most people, though they are interested, would rather not prioritize a hiking trip in their life. After a little less than a year of planning with people who are interested, Ji-Won and Helena were the only possible members for this trip. The only requirement that I requested to the people who were interested was for them to be able to run 10KM in 70min; I thought it was a reasonable request and looking back, it was a VERY reasonable request. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Once the team was formed and the date was roughly set, I had to figure out the logistics of the transportation and the hike itself. Buying permits is easy enough; the Parks Canada rangers were friendly and informative over the phone. My biggest worry, despite "someone's" reassurance, was navigation. Nobody in our group has ever had any experiences with orienteering with map and compass. A short research in the library and on Google led me to a couple of books by <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Expert-Map-Compass-Bjorn-Kjellstrom-ebook/dp/B002WQLNC4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1410406153&sr=8-2&keywords=map+and+compass">Bjorn Kjellstrom</a>. He is a Swedish ski orienteering champion and the co-founder of the compass company Silva. I went out and bought an orienteering compass and read a couple of his books. The book and some practice with the compass taught me the theories behind different techniques. I didn't necessarily feel ready but there wasn't much else that I could do.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Information about the park itself is clearly presented on the <a href="http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/nl/grosmorne/index.aspx">Park's Canada website</a> so the necessary information was easy to find. A lot of the practical information can be found on blogs that I came across through Google...but like with my other backpacking trips, you have to be there to know what it's like. With varied environmental circumstances (ex. weather, insect status, etc..), people can have a very different experience hiking around the same area.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/nl/grosmorne/visit/visit7/~/media/pn-np/nl/grosmorne/visit/carte-map-GM.ashx?w=740&h=971&as=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/nl/grosmorne/visit/visit7/~/media/pn-np/nl/grosmorne/visit/carte-map-GM.ashx?w=740&h=971&as=1" height="640" width="484" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I think I got most of my practical information by calling a few businesses in Deer Lake and Rocky Harbour. For directions, travel distances/time, and transportation information, you want to call Pittman Taxi (709-458-2486); it's the only taxi company within the park. Car rental was too expensive for us but all the drivers and the dispatch were very friendly and helpful so it wasn't too bad. A ride from/to the airport and Rocky Harbour is $90-$110 depending on how many stops you want. Anywhere within Rocky Harbour is $10 and from Rocky Harbour to the Western Brook Pond trailhead is $60. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Finally, apart from the transportation costs, here is the breakdown of the park fees that we had to pay:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">- Reservation fee ---------- $ 24.50 (per group)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">- Long Range Traverse ------ $ 84.40</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">- North Rim Traverse ------- $ 68.70</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">- North Rim + Long Range --- $122.60</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">*Reservation phone: 709-458-3602 </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">You can make your reservation over the phone with a credit card. There is no online reservation service. Fortunately, they are open 7 days a week from 08:00-20:00. You call the number above, tell them your date of arrival, read out your credit card number, and they tell you you're booked in. No receipt, no confirmation number, no email, nada. It may not be the most secure process... but I find people in Newfoundland to be very kind and helpful. They are generous with their time and they never hesitate to get out of their way to give you a hand.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">This is the gist of what we had to go through to plan our trip to the Gros Morne National Park. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501651088936379399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901072893139814537.post-15301415698767753792014-08-28T21:27:00.001-04:002014-08-28T21:29:51.362-04:00So, what REALLY happened in Newfoundland? <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEyKjhlZOBjHvAoc5qHnTqmf67k9yKRd0hsJ1v00HA1bgtNOYxrPDUwOKlCxY96Mxbpfx0uF5ECiFI_KkOB73GrDU7-5BIqGsPI-ZdZteAlR6ei1uRgr0L0RPAI5ap2yEQtPislPSKoaI/s1600/IMG_3869.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEyKjhlZOBjHvAoc5qHnTqmf67k9yKRd0hsJ1v00HA1bgtNOYxrPDUwOKlCxY96Mxbpfx0uF5ECiFI_KkOB73GrDU7-5BIqGsPI-ZdZteAlR6ei1uRgr0L0RPAI5ap2yEQtPislPSKoaI/s1600/IMG_3869.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">The past few weeks’ trip to Gros Morne National Park
actually started for me back during the summer of 2013 at the West Coast Trail
in Vancouver Island. During our WCT hike, we met Grant and Heather. This lovely
couple was from Ontario and they clearly had a lot more experiences in
backcountry hiking than we did. We asked about their experiences in hiking
other places around the world and Grant generously shared some of his past adventures
with us. Among many hikes, he personally ranked the WCT as the most beautiful
trail. His second favourite hike was the Long Range Traverse in Newfoundland.
All he said was “there’s no trail but you can have an entire lake to yourself.”</span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Fast-forward a year and we were set to go on our long
awaited adventure. After much difficulty juggling everyone’s schedule, finding
members, losing members, buying gear, researching the area, reading books on
wilderness orienteering, finding maps, finding more maps, printing the map,
running everyday to be in shape, on and on and on, we were finally at the
airport on August 12<sup>th</sup> 2014 with our boarding passes in our pockets
waiting to board the redeye to Toronto at 23:10. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">In short, the trail we attempted to finish in 7 days was by
far the hardest hike that I have ever been on in my entire life. We planned to
cover both the North Rim Traverse and the Long Range Traverse; the former is
much less popular among hikers than the latter due to its difficult terrain. Retrospectively
thinking, with no real life experiences in wilderness orienteering, I was not
ready to lead a group through these two areas. The rough estimated distance
that needed to be covered was only 62km; but in reality, since 62km is almost
the “crow-fly” distance, we must have walked a whole lot more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">It rained for the majority of the time and my feet were
seldom dry during the entire trip. We faced steep hills, dense tuckamore, and a
lot of swampy wetlands. We had some amazing times walking right to the edges of
a cliff, picking cloudberries, and swimming in ponds with an amazing backdrop
of the fjord. It was a tough journey with great rewards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Most importantly, hats off to the two ladies that came along
with me. They were troopers at keeping the attitude alive during some of the
hardest moments and maximized each and every moments of joy. This trip wouldn’t
have been the same without either one of them and I wouldn’t want to be there
without either one of them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I plan to return to Newfoundland for this hike next summer
for reasons that I will explain in future posts. Words cannot fully depict what
I have experienced in the 7 days on the trail but I will try my best to
articulate it through this blog. I hope that these bits of my life can be both
informative and inspiring to get people planning this adventure for themselves.</span></div>
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</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501651088936379399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901072893139814537.post-14942643005331119162014-04-13T18:25:00.001-04:002014-04-13T18:28:36.890-04:00Focus<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">It's been a busy couple of weeks trying to juggle a term paper and the thesis proposal defense that's just around the corner. I had posted some Youtube videos now and then but those will be incorporated into future blog posts about the West Coast Trail. Today I just want to quickly share this amazing video that elegantly visualizes what climbing techniques really are. Procedural memory is difficult to teach or visualize; you just have to "do it" to know it. But this video does an excellent job capturing many of the climbing techniques that most of us have trouble mastering.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501651088936379399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901072893139814537.post-8260311597571280762014-03-26T17:58:00.003-04:002014-03-26T18:11:37.346-04:00BC parks open for industrial development<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge7Qxf5n6AU9bOvyFoyRSDGRC4XgIfkJB4KG-9oeRSGXW3l99RSAvqMIES_GOHvGWNgcVTC-jV_q6GQCYmeUwpIQAfbiVCFaC3CEzobqbCbX2bSN1Vctwo9IiX0HBbKsH9tlLDv8tJGS4/s1600/IMG_8973.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge7Qxf5n6AU9bOvyFoyRSDGRC4XgIfkJB4KG-9oeRSGXW3l99RSAvqMIES_GOHvGWNgcVTC-jV_q6GQCYmeUwpIQAfbiVCFaC3CEzobqbCbX2bSN1Vctwo9IiX0HBbKsH9tlLDv8tJGS4/s1600/IMG_8973.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rocky Point. April 2008.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">This blog is not for political commentary. I am also easily annoyed with partisan bickering that I often seen on Facebook, Twitters, and comment sections online. However, it is worth mentioning that the Legislative Assembly of BC has passed a bill that will change how provincial parks will be protected from here on. Bill 4, quietly introduced back in February 2014 has been set to become law today. This significant step will open doors for industry led "research" development that includes "without limitation" the construction, maintenance, and improvement of roads/highways, pipelines, transmission lines, telecommunication project, and prescribed projects in a prescribed class of projects. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">So does this mean? You can search online for more legitimate journalism for legal and scientific insights. I just want to mention that this is a sad day for the residents of BC. BC is world renown for its natural resources; yes, this includes things we can extract and consume but a large part of it is for the value we gain from preserving it. People have always complained about environmental protection in BC; from the controversies surrounded the logging industry since the 60's/70's and now the pipeline. But behind the politics, I have experienced and benefited from the day-to-day hard work of park officials in various BC parks. Since I was a child, I have been informed and inspired by all this work put into preserving our parks by witnessing them first hand along the trails and on the beaches of lakes. This includes anything from young men and women walking trails planting tree-lings to parks rangers working with hikers from all around the world to educate them about the park's fragile environment and the effort that we all must put into preserving them for future generations. Also, seeing some of the efforts that hikers have voluntarily put into help the park authorities is personally a humbling experience for me. The point I want to emphasize is that, it's not just the "hippy" activists that are working for our environment against the "evil" government and corporations. Their view is the collective view of many different gr<span style="font-size: small;">oups of people who are both directly/indirectly impacted by the degradation of our environment and also by those who are both vocal/silent about these issues. It seems like the media's coverage of politics makes us forget that the personal is political and that the politics we see on paper is merely the fa<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19.2px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">ç</span>ade over more significant efforts.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-size: small;">Many people will undoubtedly argue that the monetary value we can extract from the environment far outweighs the benefit that the few enjoy in these parks. To that I cannot provide any counter argument that they will ever fully understand. I can only provide voice for myself and myself alone. This is both a burden and a privilege t</span>hat we, as citizens all possess. So what? Who cares what happens in the government or in our forest? What can you or I do that can change anything? These are some of the most common questions I get from sharing my thoughts with people and I guess it's because we are in the end always merely satisficing with what we are given. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501651088936379399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901072893139814537.post-88839451634484215732014-03-25T18:17:00.004-04:002014-03-25T20:20:20.816-04:00Garibaldi Lake: first-backpacking-trip-worthy<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I am still in the process of collecting and organizing materials to start posting about the West Coast Trail (maps, photos, etc.). In the mean time, I think there is plenty to write about in the Squamish/Whistler area. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUYAQ9-q9NaAjnvDDv3Cj1ZPo9sSo20oAwOe0XzIqop3UgcC0OyCGmQtUkv0D_svKmpN5mH0tKI6e_LB0luo-iRS3_h4fe4mOk5vdZoiu9hLLVrbNlntE9tFaBAU655EqWUc0PWopkGPM/s1600/IMG_8665.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUYAQ9-q9NaAjnvDDv3Cj1ZPo9sSo20oAwOe0XzIqop3UgcC0OyCGmQtUkv0D_svKmpN5mH0tKI6e_LB0luo-iRS3_h4fe4mOk5vdZoiu9hLLVrbNlntE9tFaBAU655EqWUc0PWopkGPM/s1600/IMG_8665.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Product of many trail-and-error. Aug 2012.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Garibaldi Provincial Park is a located several hours north of Vancouver and is accessible through two points along Hwy 99: Diamond Head access and the Garibaldi Lake access. Diamond Head is the southern access point that is usually used to reach Elfin Lake. Garibaldi Lake access point is used for hikers heading to the Black Tusk, Panorama Ridge, and of course the Garibaldi Lake itself. With sufficient backpacking expertise and preparation, I believe that there are ways to reach all the main sights through either one of the access points.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The very first backpacking trip that I organized myself was to Garibaldi Lake during the summer of 2012. The members included Helena Y., Jin H., Jiwon H., David K., Andrew K., and myself. We left in the middle of August and base-camped at the Garibaldi Lake for 2 nights and hiked around Panorama Ridge and the Black Tusk. We had several hours of rain during the middle of our 2nd day's hike and temperature dropped more than I expected during the night. All the information pertaining to the park's rules and regulations can be found <a href="http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/garibaldi/">here</a>. Be sure to check the "most recent trail report" before you head into the park. It outlines estimated distances/time, elevation gain, trail conditions, and other safety information. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">All the rules and regulations should be followed. I'll try not to rant on about how important it is for visitors to respect the space that they are privileged to be apart of, but I do want to mention one points. The rules are set for the environmental preservation as well as for the visitors themselves. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">The back-country hiking permit is at best enforced through an honour system; the fees can be paid online or at the parking lot at the trail head but nobody checked our "receipt" anywhere. The current fees are listed on their website. please don't cheap out and sell your soul to save yourself $10-$20. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Our backpacking gear was abysmal at best. We took a 7(?) person tent that had steel frame-rods; I am fairly certain that it is designed for car camping. My pack had only the rods and some granola bars and it weighed around 25lb. We also packed 1 full size <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Deluxe-Butane-Burner-Stove-Free/dp/B000BVC4NY">korean-style burner</a> and 1 "light-weight" burner of similar style that was not light weight at all. Along with the stoves, we also took a pack of 4 butane canisters and a set of compact camping pots. Individual sleeping bags varied from thick and heavy synthetic barrel bags to thin bag liners probably designed primarily for hostels. None of had sleeping mats. Most of our members had nice rain jackets but several of us did not pack clothes for the cold night. We packed instant noodles, oat meal, tons of trail mix, tons of granola bars, and a few different types of snacks. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiraf0ObMieP0BiICFqo_hJXKxhvMLQErGe0tZnF_NjEEPF6SWts2TduCxg7dSObDpDoW3P6iqbjrzP_ReF3nTHwmzJzCKW7ktIpLWK5tO0Me7XjZrKM78lfH4i9ZccAxME8DvE4ItoEwI/s1600/IMG_8766.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiraf0ObMieP0BiICFqo_hJXKxhvMLQErGe0tZnF_NjEEPF6SWts2TduCxg7dSObDpDoW3P6iqbjrzP_ReF3nTHwmzJzCKW7ktIpLWK5tO0Me7XjZrKM78lfH4i9ZccAxME8DvE4ItoEwI/s1600/IMG_8766.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Morning of our third day: heading back down. Aug 2012.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Once you reach the Garibaldi Lake there are several clearings to setup your tent, an outhouse, and a shelter. The shelter is not for hikers to sleep in. It is there primarily for people to cook and hang their food (as to not attract wildlife near your tent). We spent a lot of time warming up in the shelter after our hikes. A rodent-proof food hanger is provided in the shelter for hikers to hang their food. I don't think it really works because I found several rodent droppings on my bag that I hung up; you should still use them. Also, when we were hanging in the shelter late at night, we can hear mice scuttling around in and below the shelter scavenging for food. I presume that their presence is not very sanitary but nobody got sick from it. David even ate nuts he dropped on the floor and he's still alive and healthy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I've come across several memes on my Facebook feed that say that just 24 hours of camping resets your body back to the natural circadian rhythm. Sounds like a pseudo-scientific-hippy-crap at first but it really does work! With very limited artificial light and many hours of hiking by day, my body was ready to sleep by 10 and up by 6-7. I can never wake up that early without 20 alarms and extreme agony at home. When I'm camping, I usually wake up before most people and manage to start up the stove for coffee and tea.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">This trip is not difficult at all; it's easy and short enough for mistakes and crappy gear. The hike from the parking lot to the lake is only around 3-4 hours. I've heard of people making a full round trip from the parking lot, to Black Tusk, and back to their car in around 9 hours. The trail is quite steep (elevation gain 770m just to the lake) so the return trip takes a lot shorter than the trip up. Our visit to both the Panorama Ridge and the Black Tusk was not successful because of fog and rain but even then, it was quite amazing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Spring already hit in the west coast and summer is just around the corner for all of us. I suggest you plan your summer now before it flies by. Set goals, log your progress, and enjoy it to its potential. Cheers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">* Photo courtesy: Andrew JW Kim</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">* For more photos search <a href="http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=garibaldi%20lake">Flickr for Garibaldi Lake</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">* For those members mentioned in the post, if you have any comments or suggestions about the post, you know how to reach me. For the rest of you, if you have any questions or comments, please comment below. </span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501651088936379399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901072893139814537.post-33193628826994494062014-03-13T16:11:00.002-04:002014-03-13T16:21:55.810-04:00The Weight of Mountains<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Found an informative video online through Alex Honnold's Facebook page. I always wished that I had a geologist friend to go hiking with. This is probably a glimpse of what that would be like. Enjoy.</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="213" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/87651855?portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> <br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/87651855">The Weight of Mountains</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/studiocanoe">Studiocanoe</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">It's fascinating to learn about nature. Science helps us rationalize, categorize, and understand nature; however, I'm a firm believer in experiencing our own personal realities the way they are build around us. Maybe we can't take off all the labels but we can certainly pretend that we are. In other words, maybe we should just sit back and really enjoy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">WHEN I HEARD THE LEARN'D ASTRONOMER:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">- Walter Witman</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> </span> </span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">When I heard the learn'd astronomer;</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me;</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them;</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room,</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">How soon, unaccountable, I became tired and sick;</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Till rising and gliding out, I wander'd off by myself,</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><i>Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.</i></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501651088936379399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901072893139814537.post-16580475580283596462014-03-08T22:31:00.001-05:002014-03-09T00:57:31.607-05:00Running on ice.<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Running has proven to be the best cardiovascular endurance exercise for me. Swimming requires too much planning (e.x. packing swimsuit/gear, getting changed, shower, walking home wet, on and on and on). Elliptical machines and rowing machines are at the gym; I hate gyms. I could bicycle. It can be done outdoors and with higher speed I could travel longer distances. But I have other <a href="http://www.webmd.com/men/features/biking-and-erectile-dysfunction-a-real-risk">issues</a> regarding long term cycling; some things are just not worth the risk. And lets face it: walking is for oldies.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjqYGsiuniN96qTS44R1XYy0gB6GkofQFEhuUe2LxAlDpg3lZR9-v8SY6xLBgrKZDc5I8yc1opaarhhyphenhyphenfUt5vcpnLRpdou5fUWVDzuqGubO5WNi0JCOdYphZH5j4ljpnx_3bRk1hD4H9Y/s1600/71804_10152511707815136_1024104802_n-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjqYGsiuniN96qTS44R1XYy0gB6GkofQFEhuUe2LxAlDpg3lZR9-v8SY6xLBgrKZDc5I8yc1opaarhhyphenhyphenfUt5vcpnLRpdou5fUWVDzuqGubO5WNi0JCOdYphZH5j4ljpnx_3bRk1hD4H9Y/s1600/71804_10152511707815136_1024104802_n-2.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Helena on the Sea Wall, February 2013</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I blame the Sea Wall in Vancouver for my initial enthusiasm for running, but having an awesome running partner got me going even when my body was screaming back at me. Back then (2011), I ran mostly because it felt so great to be running along the coast. Kitsilano Beach, Stanley Park, and Ambleside are some of the places I would recommend for people who want to start running; the coast is quite addictive. Living in Vancouver is such a privilege in so many ways. Unless you don't mind running in the rain, you can typically run outdoors all year long. I must admit that I used to make excuses when it got "too" cold (5°C) but now temperatures like that are laughable.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijK3CXpi1K_I2Gxi5wypazqDVxLyA0bmkfdmi17rcRcJ-yYi5xep_5PBCMwBRQilMJi1f19QsmcabQUAgn_WP3zOtSriQzUDKwIw2K534R_jqLhyphenhyphenE2-khZNRmqTohn9ZPu4OFcSHP7UqM/s1600/IMG_20131207_171415.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijK3CXpi1K_I2Gxi5wypazqDVxLyA0bmkfdmi17rcRcJ-yYi5xep_5PBCMwBRQilMJi1f19QsmcabQUAgn_WP3zOtSriQzUDKwIw2K534R_jqLhyphenhyphenE2-khZNRmqTohn9ZPu4OFcSHP7UqM/s1600/IMG_20131207_171415.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rideau Canal, February 2014</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">After moving to Ottawa in September, I was lucky enough to find great routes along the Rideau Canal and the Parliament Hill. I have been running this 8km route ever since I arrived 6 months ago and it is still a great motivation to run. During this winter, I have ran outside at -16°C (well over -20°C windchill) but my general rule of thumb for opting out and heading to the treadmill is -15°C. If you have thick base-layer top/bottom </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">and a windbreaker, it's no problem. Also, running on snow and running on ice (on the canal) is helping me train my toes. I started climbing and it requires muscles that we typically don't use. The obvious one would be your fingers; but, a less obvious part that people forget about are the toes. Running on the canal ice(rink) helped my toes strengthen this winter a great deal. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Running is not something I excel at. I've never been able to beat Helena, my half-marathon time is embarrassing, and I have no intention of training for a full marathon in the foreseeable future. I run to keep my mind clear and my body prepared. I need to be prepared to climb higher and faster. I need to be prepared to hike the back-country for many days with heavy packs. I need to be prepared for the Spartan Trifecta Tribe!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501651088936379399noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901072893139814537.post-41506487598875258132014-03-06T01:53:00.002-05:002014-03-07T22:09:07.193-05:00Write to remember.<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">First and foremost, for my first blog post, I will write about writing. If you are anything like me, you must have terrible memory. Even as a child I hated being forced to memorize information just to regurgitate back for school. (Un)fortunately some memories are worth keeping. Detail is key and every bit of it can help us build our identity and our passion. As I got older, I learned to value these bits of memories. Sadly...I can't just send an owl to Dumbledore to find me a pensieve. The best that a muggle like myself can do is write his thoughts and experiences down for later recollection.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Remembering every detail of a certain moment in time is difficult</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"> even for someone with amazing memory. This is why I took on photography as a hobby many years ago; it wasn't to create beautiful "works of art." I wanted to capture the moment the way I experienced it. Unfortunately, photographs often do not do justice for some of the amazing breathtaking views that I have been privileged to witness. Also, videos of friends fooling around is fun to watch but it is also limiting. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I now turn to writing. I try to log my experiences when I travel and my 2014 new years resolution is to write 3 pages of anything everyday. This has been proven to be difficult for me as my life is not very exciting. But, when you are away from home visiting new places, you spend a lot of time thinking to yourself. On the trail, on a train, or on the road, you have a lot of time to yourself. For me, I like to discuss things with people around me. Meet new people on the road or at a bar. Share ideas and thoughts with my travel buddies. Waste countless hours with friends talking about the "meaning of life"(?). All in all, it brings out different parts of ourselves; you learn about others as well as yourself. My advice to you is to write these thoughts down. Record this fluid process of your consciousness. A single vista can strike you with thoughts and memories. These are valuable experiences that must be stored somehow. All you need is a pen and a notebook. 10-15 years down the road, this may be the most valuable 300g. that was in your pack on the trail.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501651088936379399noreply@blogger.com1