The Mysteries of Snow
Over the Christmas holidays I have been staying at my folks place where I have been happy to be away from the Ottawa cold and snow for a while. I knew that the absence of snow wouldn’t last long. Overnight we received two inches of fresh snow which brighten up the muddy front yard. As I was taking Hoover out for his morning walk, I started to notice something that the snow had revealed. The snow exposed all of the local animal activity. As we were walking around the back forty we saw mouse, rabbit, mole, vole and deer tracks in the snow. I spotted where mice had started to eat the bark off tree for food. Flying overhead were red-tailed hawks in search of a daily meal.
Innovations in snowplows
On my morning commute, I saw something that got me excited and that is, the latest innovation in snowplows. The traditional setup is to have a concave blade that can plow straight ahead, plow right or plow left. The new plows have the blade split into two sections each which can be independently angled. What this means is that at a twist of the joystick the blade can change to a “V” shape or the shape of an arrow or one part at a 90 degree angle and the other straight ahead or whatever combination meets the needs of the situation.
The Maze in the Grass
In one of my blogs last week I presented a couple of mysterious pictures (a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/Spring2008_Ottawa/photo#5191511901804105170″one/a, a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/Spring2008_Ottawa/photo#5191511923278941666″two/a, a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/Spring2008_Ottawa/photo#5191511949048745458″three/a) taken in the grass near where I live. I had first seen the phenomena when I was growing up and this was the first time I had seen it in Ottawa. The picture is of mouse trails and tunnels in the grass and dirt. When a thick crust of snow forms mice burrow and hibernate underneath it eating the grass, weed and worms. Rather than stay in once place they dig through the grass and soil to form a maze that they can run through to keep warm and to expand their feeding ground.
Ottawa Spring Mystery
Today, I was heading along a trail that I take to the train and noticed a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Spring2008_Ottawa/photo#5191511901804105170″something /athat made me stop. It is a spring-like phenomena common in Ottawa. I came back later in the day and took two more pictures (a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Spring2008_Ottawa/photo#5191511923278941666″2,/a a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Spring2008_Ottawa/photo#5191511949048745458″3/a). The challenge is to try and figure out what want the pictures represents.
Spring running
I did something spring last night and repeated it tonight, run in bare legs. The weather in Ottawa has finally turned for the better as the snow and ice piles are quickly melting away. There is so much snow melting away it is causing large puddles to form; my interval course is no exception. Tonight, I did 5×1km intervals on 60 second rest. The workout was made a little more difficult as there were two large puddles located on the course which we had to cross ten times. We would run hard/fast, hurdle over the first puddle, run hard/fast, hurdle over the second and then run to the finish and then repeat the process all over again. A crosswind made for uneven interval times. 4.16/3.52/4.16/4.04/4.18
Hazards of snowshoeing
This weekend I learned first hand about one of the perils of snowshoeing in the Spring, weak ice. We had an impromptu gathering of the people that went on the recent Adirondack trip. We headed up to a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatineau_Park”span style=”border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;” class=”yshortcuts” id=”lw_1207532558_0″Gatineau Park/span /aon the north side of the span style=”border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; cursor: pointer; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;” class=”yshortcuts” id=”lw_1207532558_1″Ottawa River/span. The snow is melting quickly but there is still a thick base of granular snow. Our goal was to have lunch at Pink Lake. We initially started out by bushwacking in a northwesterly direction. After scrambling through a couple of thorn patches we decided to try and find the main trail. It was at this time that we ran into a wet problem. We had to trek between two lakes divided by a land bridge. The hump of the land bridge was quite steep. My first attempt at getting up span style=”border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;” class=”yshortcuts” id=”lw_1207532558_2″the hill/span was unsuccessful. One of my legs slid down onto the weak ice breaking through the surface of span style=”border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;” class=”yshortcuts” id=”lw_1207532558_3″the lake/span giving me a soaker. One foot was icy cold while the other was toasty warm for the recent exertion. As more and more people went up the slope it became more slippery. A couple of soakers later we decided to take an inland route rather than trying to scout along the edge of the lake. We made it to Pink Lake and took a more direct route back to the car.br /br /br /Sent from my span style=”border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer;” class=”yshortcuts” id=”lw_1207532558_4″iPod/span
Adirondacks 2008
span lang=”EN-US”o:p/o:p/spanst1:date year=”2008″ day=”28″ month=”3″ st=”on”span lang=”EN-US”Friday March 28 2008/span/st1:datespan lang=”EN-US”o:p /o:p/span p class=”MsoNormal”span lang=”EN-US”It was under spring-like conditions that the a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952060740676770″uOttawa /aOutdoors club headed south to the st1:place st=”on”Adirondacks/st1:place for a long weekend of winter camping, mountain climbing and snowshoeing. The weather conditions would be a mystery until we arrived at the trailhead. st1:city st=”on”st1:place st=”on”Ottawa/st1:place/st1:City is within a hare’s breath of setting a seasonal snowfall record. Would there be more snow in the Lake Placid? On our way south we stopped at st1:place st=”on”st1:city st=”on”Malone/st1:City, st1:state st=”on”NY/st1:State/st1:place for the traditional Friday fish and chips pre-trip meal. We briefly detoured to Price Chopper so I could buy fig newtons and pretzel goldfish. /span/p p class=”MsoNormal”span lang=”EN-US”o:p/o:pAs we headed south the condition grew worse. It started to snow. The snow was accumulating on the road. span style=”" /spanAs we drove down the park access road we spotted wild turkeys grazing on a nearby field. Further along the road we had to make an emergency stop as a deer was in the middle of the road eating road salt. We arrived at the a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952112280284386″ADK Lodge/a and loaded our backpacks with group gear. This year we would split into two groups as there is a cap of nine people per campsite, we had 15. Under blustery conditions we headed out on the trail towards to a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952168114859314″Marcy Dam/a. We left at an inopportune time as they were four other groups that would be heading towards Marcy Dam at roughly the same time all in search of scarce lean-tos. I was asked to scout ahead and try to get first dibs on the largest lean-to, known as the a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952176704793922″“palace/a.” (N44 09.443 W073 57.079 e=2347 feet) It is the largest on st1:place st=”on”st1:placetype st=”on”Lake/st1:PlaceType st1:placename st=”on”Marcy/st1:PlaceName/st1:place. I got lucky but by only five minutes before the next group arrived in search of an abode. The snowy conditions would work to our advantage keeping the evening temperatures in the mid-twenties. Despite the higher elevation of the st1:place st=”on”Adirondacks/st1:place had received there annual average amount of snow. span style=”" /spanFor supper, we had started with a mixture Knorr Swiss soups mixed with coconut paste. The main course was pasta. While sitting around eating supper a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952198179630434″Steph/a, the leader, offered us some wisdom, what freezes will stay frozen over the weekend. This could mean that your toothbrush, toothpaste, liquid soap or water bottle might freeze and stay frozen. As we settled in for the night, I ditched my snowlion boots and donned my booties and gators. A pair of tights and Gore-Tex shell pants would keep my legs warm. As the conditions grew chillier, I applied more and more layers making it hard to bend forward. On top, I had base layer coolmax top, a REI lightweight shirt, 200 weight Polar fleece vest, a 300 weight Polar Fleece jacket and a Gore-tex shell. I felt toasty wearing all this gear. Before bedding down for the night I dropped a couple of layers./span/p p class=”MsoNormal”span lang=”EN-US”Saturday/span/p p class=”MsoNormal”span lang=”EN-US”I awoke at 0500 to find it was still dark. I dozed off for a couple of hours before getting up at 0730. For breakfast we had a deluxe breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon and bagels. A cup of black coffee would be all that was needed to restore one’s senses. After breakfast I had my first experience with the cold. It would take two hands to squeeze out toothpaste as it as had frozen overnight. As well, I had to de-thaw my toothbrush in my mouth as it was crunchy from freezing overnight. At 10:00 with bags packed we head west to pickup the Algonquin Peak trail (Junction N44 10.334 W073 57.528). Along the way we were passed by the other group traveling at a brisk place and they were eager to be the first to ascend the mountain. There speed would become a hazard. Over the course of the hike we would gain 3,000 feet. As we climbed we peeled off layers as we were working up a sweat. Along the way we eyed the frozen falls (N44 09.578 W073 58.779 e=3277 feet). This would be a water refilling stop on our return. We stopped at the st1:place st=”on”st1:placename st=”on”Wright/st1:PlaceName st1:placetype st=”on”Peak/st1:PlaceType/st1:place trail junction (a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952254014205378″N44 09.156 W073 59.152 e=3994 feet/a) to put on warmer clothing. At this point we were close to the edge of the tree line. We could see the snow blowing near the peak. I headed out first and did a a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952296963878386″solo /asummit (st1:place st=”on”st1:placename st=”on”Algonquin/st1:PlaceName st1:placetype st=”on”Peak/st1:PlaceType/st1:place summit solo @1400 a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952279784009186″N44 08.613 W073 59.206 e=5115 feet/a). (http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=6022) On the way up, I had a weird experience as I was breathing hard and sweating profusely while receiving a blast of arctic cold air. The going got a little rough near the top and I was forced to bash my snowshoes’ crampons into the snow-ice base to get a purchase. A misstep could cause one to slide down the side of the peak. I took a self-portrait and headed down to lead the remainder of the group up to the summit. The going was challenging as the crampons on their rented snowshoes were not aggressive as mine. We would use rock carrons for navigation. There was much relief once we back into the shelter of the trees. It was at this point that the fun began. It was child like. We slide down the trail on our bums. Once back at the Wright Peak trail junction we took a a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952339913551410″lunch /abreak. Our trek back to the waterfalls was a brisk one. Using a a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952361388387922″precarious /amethod we refilled water bottles. We took another rest break at major trail junction and met a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952417222962834″Peter Fish,/a one of the early Park Rangers. We were arrived back in camp late in the afternoon to find a surprise. Something had attacked the food pack and left discarded package of brownies underneath the bag. A quick check of the bag revealed that the a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952202474597746″martin /amust have a penchant for chocolate. There was some discussion if it would pay us a visit overnight. Would the martin climb into someone’s sleeping bag for warmth? Steph came back to camp a little later to pass along news of the other group. They were a disappointed lot. They didn’t reach summit. Without a compass, a map, or GPS they decided to take a shortcut and see if they could summit by sighting the peak and snowshoeing off trail in hope of beating our group to the top. This wasn’t a wise idea. Midway up the slope they had to turn back as the snow was too deep.span style=”" /spanFor supper we had a couscous stew along with a raspberry, apple flan for dessert. Tonight, would be a colder night as we had a healthy crop of stars visible overhead. In anticipation I added another layer of clothing, a down vest (-15C/5F overnight). /span/p p class=”MsoNormal”span lang=”EN-US”Sunday/span/p p class=”MsoNormal”span lang=”EN-US”Once again I was awake early but didn’t emerge from my toasty sleeping bag until there were others about. Breakfast was hot fruit mixed with a dry cereal. By mid-morning we were back on the trail heading in a southerly direction bound for a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952511712243506″st1:place st=”on”st1:placename st=”on”Avalanche/st1:PlaceName st1:placetype st=”on”Lake/st1:PlaceType/st1:place./a It would be a warm hike. The snow was melting and starting to gum up our snowshoes. We had lunch while sitting on the frozen st1:place st=”on”st1:placename st=”on”Avalanche/st1:PlaceName st1:placetype st=”on”Lake/st1:PlaceType/st1:place. (N44 08.117 W073 57.883 e=2959 feet) The bright sun reflecting off the snow gave many of us the start of a tan on our faces. Once back at camp we had to peel off more layers as there was melt water dripping from the roof of the lean-to. With a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5183952520302178114″lighter packs/a we reached the van in record time. We stopped in st1:place st=”on”st1:placename st=”on”Saranac/st1:PlaceName st1:placetype st=”on”Lake/st1:PlaceType/st1:place for a hearty post-trip meal./span/pp class=”MsoNormal”br /span lang=”EN-US”/span/pp class=”MsoNormal”span lang=”EN-US”a href=”http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Adirondacks_March_2008/photo#5184365322493898578″map/abr //span/p
Good Friday Road Race
There is a Easter tradition with my family which is to start off the Easter weekend with a road race. For the past eight or so years, my father and I have run in the Burlington Good Friday road race. A runner has two distances to choose from to do a spritely 5km(3.1miles) or 10 miles. My father always runs the 5km race while I will switch between the two distances. This year I ran the 10 miles. The race went really well and I finished to find a surprise waiting for me. The course is two loops. The course undulates as you run along the shore of Lake Ontario. Ten miles is a long distance and you have to pace yourself as there is a danger of starting out too fast and having to suffer for your early exurbance. I started out at a comfortable pace and sped up as I started to warm up. My goals was to pass as many runners as I could. The first loop went well and have had more energy than I thought. My five mile split was 37.02. It was time to take the race a little more seriously. I increased my pace slightly and started to pass people at a more brisk rate. Each successive mile was done at a slightly faster pace. At the finish line, the clock said 1:13.04. My second half of the race was 62 seconds faster than the first. I am pleased with my race as it lets me know that I have been able to perserve through the tough Ottawa weather and thay my running, snowshoeing and swimming is keeping me fit.
Shoes
On Friday, I was looking at my shoes with a smile. There is a little problem with my Keen slip-ons. It is a fatal problem. There is a hole that makes me happy as it is in my forefoot. Hmm, why would this make me happy? A hole in this location means that I have been doing my swing dancing correctly by dancing on my forefoot. The shoes are a year old and have taken me through a challenging winter. When a href=”http://www.rei.com”REI /ahad a fall closeout sale I bought a replacement pair at a fire sale price. This pair is currently getting daily service at the office as I change into them at the start of each work day. When there is a hint of better weather it will be time to retire my well trodden Keen and embrace the new ones.
10 days to go before my next winter adventure
Tonight, we had our planning meeting for the uOttawa Adirondacks winter camping, snowshoeing and mountain climbing meeting. Steph, one of the guides, walked us through our gear list and hammered home the fact that we will need two sets of clothes, our day outfit that will get wet during the day and our night set which will keep us warm, dry and toasty overnight. During these meetings he likes to put the fear into the foreign-exchange students so that they take him seriously when he says to pack warm clothing. This year he toned it down a bit. I think this will be the fifth trip that I have taken with Steph and they are always fun and interesting. We talked about peaks and will likely climb a href=”http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/150395/algonquin-peak.html”Algonquin Peak/a or maybe a href=”http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/150567/phelps-mountain.html”Phelps mountain/a this year on Saturday. The weather-of-the-day will determine which peak we attempt to summit. I talked to Steph about changing the trip date in 2009 to the April 3-4 weekend so that it does not conflict with the Boston Tea Party. It would be awesome if a href=”http://jasonplancaster.com”Jason /acould come on the trip in 2009. With Easter coming up rather quickly, I’ll be visiting a href=”http://www.mec.ca”MEC /aa couple of times over the next couple of days to load up on provisions.
