Sunday 25 January 2009 – The Taylor Lake Loop

It started overcast today, and therefore warmer. By the time Ken, Sue and I reached P19 at Philippe at 11.30 am the sky had cleared, but at -14°C the conditions were positively balmy, and today it wasn’t so difficult to keep warm.

After yesterday’s exertions we were all happy to have a short, leisurely day….

Sue and Ken shot off into the distance.

Luckily they were distracted by this impressive wall of ice.

The Taylor Lake Loop – trail 55 – incorporates the ‘Taylor Lake Luge’ that has claimed quite a few tumbles between us, especially from me. Today it looked relatively benign as we herringboned up it in these still excellent snow conditions. This often tricky descent had encouraged today’s anti-clockwise approach, thereby avoiding that obstacle, and luckily we didn’t have to dodge any out-of-control-skiers flying at us from the opposite direction.

We soon passed a different type of ‘cabin’, the Taylor Lake Yurt. This is used by groups for overnight stays. It’s basically a reinforced tent with a wood burning stove inside.

Then we passed the old site of the Yurt – it gets moved occasionally to reduce stress on the environment – where a neat sign requests one to treat the breeding turtles with care.

The views up the lake were stunning today.

From here to Renaud the final 3km of trail 55 got busier as we approached the cabin. It was much quieter than Healey was last Sunday, but inevitably there were familiar faces, and we said hello to Dan and Thomas, who had arrived here via a back country trail.

A family arrived, the youngsters having been transported in the sleds seen here parked outside the cabin.

One of the thrush sized dinky red squirrels was busy noshing below the bird feeder.

When it saw me it dashed into a hole in the snow. It then peered out from a selection of many entrances, checking my movements.

There was a good selection of birds at this feeder – Chickadees (below), Downy Woodpeckers and Blue Jays, with a thrush sized female Pine Grosbeak (far below) biding its time in a nearby tree.

After the usual excellent toasted sandwiches, washed down with tea and accompanied by various other goodies, we enjoyed a gentle ski along the wide but busy track back to Philippe.

On the way we passed the site of Ken’s camping trip from over a week ago.

Wild camping is not permitted, so even for this winter bivouac Ken and his friends had to make a booking, and the site does have ‘thunder box’ toilets to avoid pollution.

Here’s Sue’s picture of Ken reposing on the site of his bivouac, as if in his bivvi bag.

Luckily she didn’t notice that behind her I’d lost my balance in the deep snow and was writhing around in a completely helpless state. It’s quite hard to do anything at all from a prone position in deep snow with skis pointing in all directions!

It took a while to warm up after that, but the parking lot, and the warmth of the Subaru, were soon reached.

A flock of Bohemian Waxwings was harvesting berries from the nearby trees, oblivious of human presence.

Today’s 13km ski took us from 11.30 to 14.00, including our 35 minute break at Renaud Cabin.

After a most leisurely afternoon (aren’t they all!), and in the absence of our Head Chef, we adjourned to the nearby burger palace known as The Works, for a pitcher of beer and a selection of burgers, which, as they weren’t as piping hot as they should have been, came FOC.

Bad news here for unattended children, though. A large sign proclaimed that they would be 'sold'!

It's nice to know that humour of this kind can still prevail in a public place....

Cold Ken and a BBQ

Ken returned, eventually, from his 61km outing. He had been slow and cold towards the end.

We revived him with tea, then he set about his next duty.

I had prepared the way for him by clearing the deck. Ken just had to cook the steaks.

They were delicious.

First BBQ of the year, cooked at -23°C, though it was eaten indoors with a fine bottle of Saint-Emilion 2006 (is that cheating?).

Saturday 24 January 2009 – The Cold but Sunny Road to the Fire Tower

As can be seen from this picture of Sue at the Fire Tower, it was lovely and sunny today.

But COLD.

Below -20°C, with a fair nip of wind as well. Sadly my fingers never really warmed up, despite my trying most possible glove combinations (I had 4 pairs with me).

One of the visitors to McKinstry Cabin, our lunch venue, was complaining of a frost-nipped cheek. We stayed well wrapped up! At 27km, this was our longest ski yet, starting from P12 (Meech) by the scenic Lac Meech, a haven in the summer for canoeists, but just now it’s well frozen into a barren white expanse.

Trail 40 starts steeply. This was supposed to warm us up, 100 metres of height being gained really quickly. It’s quite difficult in icy conditions, but the snow was soft and powdery today, and really sticky with our light blue wax that nevertheless gave us good glide when we needed it.

Very few people were out on this sunny Saturday in the peak of the skiing season. I wonder why?.....Tim had called earlier, he often joins us at weekends…”Brrr”, he’d said, at the very suggestion of going skiing today, “Too cold for me!”

Anyway, we rose nearly 200 metres to Ridge Road, turned right, and headed a further 7km along the crest of the wooded ridge that heads along the top of the escarpment. Views down to the Ottawa valley are however limited; here you just enjoy the snow laden trees, the frozen lakes and the sweeping undulations and gentle curves of the trail.

An hour and a half of skiing from P12 brought us to McKinstry Cabin, the most remote of the cabins on the south side of the park. It’s an unusually shaped structure, particularly the interior.
A French Canadian lay sleeping in front of a radiant stove. His mates arrived. Their sandwiches were soon fizzing in their foil covers. This stove was really hot.

But our objective was the Fire Tower. The 2.5km from McKinstry to the Fire Tower is one of the nicest easy runs in the park. A quiet trail with long, gentle undulations. It takes us 40 minutes for the return trip, so on days when the stove at McKinstry has to be lit, this short ‘side trip’ provides ample time to return to a roaring furnace and a fine lunch.

Today, after a tea break and a change of gloves, we enjoyed this trip to the Fire Tower turning point at the end of the trail.

Back at McKinstry the thermometer outside indicated that it was still a fairly cool -21°C at around 1pm, the hottest part of the day!

The camera lens misted too much for a meaningful interior photo, and nobody wanted to pose outside for me!

We joined Ken, Lester and Dan for lunch in the cabin. They had left early from the easternmost point in the park, P3 – a 61km round trip for Ken, who was continuing to the Fire Tower, and only 5km less for the others. They are of course in training for the 160km Canadian Ski Marathon that takes place in a couple of weeks’ time.

By now the cabin was busy, and the other three kept being delayed by familiar faces arriving for a chat.

After a 40 minute break we headed back, returning along #1 past the #24 turn, to regain to Meech via #2 (briefly) and #33, which we hadn’t been on before. It was a lovely route, marred only by the frigid conditions, which worsened after leaving #1, as the final 3.5km to the car park was largely in the shade of the waning sun.

So it was a relieved pair of cool skiers who at 3pm returned to the little Honda Civic at P12, having successfully negotiated the final steep drop down Trail 40.

So ended a cold 27km ski, taking us from 10.10 to 15.00, including an hour’s breaks in McKinstry, etc. There’s a good 200 metre height difference between P12 and the Fire Tower (170m to 370m), but with today’s undulations we probably ascended a good 500 metres in total.

A false start from the car park – I had to stop because the steering wheel was too cold to handle, was followed by some unlikely events at Woodroffe Towers, where Ken had temporarily appointed himself as Head Host, as Helen has escaped to Atlanta for the weekend.

Friday 23 January 2009 – Lost and Found on the Burma Road

Hello, I’m Bluey. This is my first attempt at blogging, so please bear with me. I’m actually lucky to be here at all!

My most recent adventure started last Monday. The Boss was having trouble going up the Burma Road. Her ankle was hurting. Apart from keeping her little hands toasty, I have other roles in times of crisis such as this. And so it was that I was withdrawn from the security of another pair of gloves and used as a sort of ankle support.

I wasn’t very good at this!

It was cold and draughty and the sock I was cuddling was very smelly.

So I made my escape…

Mistake!

I was run over by several long thin bits of wood.

Soon I heard a gentle swish and was swept off the ground by a very sexy leathery mitt.

I thought it was my lucky day!

I tried to cuddle the mitt, as I was Very Cold by now, but whilst its boss had a cheery countenance, my luck was out.

I was placed on a cold twig beside the Burma Road.

I spent the next four days clinging to this twig, about three feet above a deep drift of snow. If I fell off here, I knew I may be lost forever (until spring, anyway) and my twin would be pining for me as we always do things together.

As I drifted in and out of consciousness, lots of people passed by, on those ungainly wooden planks that seem to be in vogue at this time of year. I waved frantically at them, but nobody noticed, and I had to be careful not to fall off my twig.

I spent four nights and three full days out in the cold, but at least it didn’t get too dark, and one or two people even went past during the night. They didn’t notice me shivering beside the trail.

Today it got even cooler. By 11am it was around -14°C, but with a chilly wind it felt much colder. How, I wondered, would The Boss be managing without the benefit of my tender caresses?

Then a Miracle happened.

I heard from afar the distinctive swish of the two grey planks I’ve looked down on for many happy hours. It’s me, I whispered in my loudest voice, shivering on my twig….

It’s you! It’s Bluey! Exclaimed The Boss.

I’d been rescued at last. I spent the next 30 minutes secreted deeply in a pocket, my Vapour Rising through RAB’s wonderful pores. I was home at last, as this is where I spend much of my time.

I heard The Boss discussing the day’s route…

“P10 and Fortune Parkway, up the Khyber Pass to Huron Cabin. We stopped there to light the fire and enjoy a flask of tea and some trail mix. There was nobody else around. Then we headed back via Trail 3 – The Burma Road. I knew Bluey might be there somewhere, and to my amazement she was! Bluey was found! So that put me in a very good mood for the descent back to P10, and my sore ankles and bad back didn’t seem so painful now I knew Bluey was safe.
I think we skied 12km today, from 10.00 to 11.55, including a 20 minute tea break at Huron Cabin.”

And I think I heard her talking about strange men with sledges on the Fortune Parkway…

Thursday 22 January 2009 – A New Trail

Helen and Sue proceed along trail number 53, only recently reopened to skiers

Helen joined us today for a 15km excursion from P17, Wakefield. The temperature had risen to -2°C, so dark blue wax was the order of the day. This should have worked fine, but the snow was so powdery that it balled up under the skis, making progress rather slow at times. The route was straightforward - #53 to P19 at Philippe, then #51 to rejoin our outward journey at the bottom of a hill.

The trails were quiet; we encountered only three people, though a school bus parked at Philippe did indicate that Renaud Cabin, where we had contemplated going for lunch, might be inundated with children.

Anyway, we’d elected for a morning ski. Our only concession was a 10 minute break for hot chocolate and Helen’s patent trail mix, at an exposed point on #53, with rare expansive monochromatic views.

Soon we were back in the trees. A swarm of animated Snow Buntings – there must have been 100 or more – briefly filled the air as we continued along the pleasant route, only recently reopened after having been reclaimed from snowmobiles. It’s marked on our old map, but has been unavailable for skiing for the past few years; snowmobiles and skiers on the same trails are not really compatible! I understand most snowmobile trails pass through private land, by agreement between the landowner and individual snowmobile clubs.

Our ski today was a mere 15km taking us from 10.25 to 12.55, including 10 minutes for our hot chocolate interlude, after which we returned home via Tim Hortons – a Canadian institution, a doughnut emporium, where we enjoyed coffee, soup, and of course a doughnut for lunch – a bargain at $4.50 (£2.80) per person.

Messages:
As always, it’s good to receive your comments. Thank you Dave, Ron, Phil (I think you probably got tipped out of your canoe into Lac Meech – not possible at this time of year; also not possible is the discomfort of mosquito bites), and Gayle (I think you and Mick would enjoy the skiing here – even though you would probably have to learn from scratch[easy!]).

The hat I won in your competition, Phil, is you will be pleased to hear, in daily use – an essential part of my kit. Brilliant!

Over My Dead Body - A Very English Affair

Our action packed visit took us last night to Ottawa Little Theatre for a spot of, well, Culture?

This play by Derek Benfield is set in the Home Counties of England. It was a complete surprise to us that we had come all this way to see an English comedy performed by Canadian actors! They made a fair attempt at the correct accents, but the Canadian cleaning lady, 'Carol Capstick' seemed a bit out of place.

The situation comedy had some of its Canadian audience 'rolling in the aisles' - there was some hearty laughter anyway, even if the plot was a bit thin.

An enjoyable evening was had by all in this welcoming (medium sized) theatre, with a fine selection of art (for sale) to peruse whilst waiting for the performance to start.

For anyone who may be interested (I appreciate that Ottawa is not exactly a hot bed of readers of this blog - is there anyone out there?) the Ottawa Citizen's review is here.

Wednesday 21 January 2009 – Lunch at Keogan Cabin

A group of French Canadians leave Keogan Cabin after a sumptuous lunch

Yesterday’s blue skies were replaced by snow flurries at -10°C, plus another -10°C for wind chill. Sue strapped up her ankle and off we headed to P7 – the car park at Kingsmere. From here, trail#30 heads up a steepish hill, quickly gaining 100 metres of altitude before joining #1 – Ridge Road – for a pleasant, undulating and twisty few kilometres to Keogan Cabin.

We should have stopped to light the fire here, but my fingers had only just warmed up, so we continued on – along a pleasant route in light snow, except when the sun appeared briefly as we passed the Champlain Lookout.

We headed from Keogan, up Fortune Parkway, along Champlain Parkway and past the Lookout. Then down #1B, back onto Ridge Road to the junction with #24. This was our turnaround point, but we made a loop by turning down #24 to head back to Ridge Road via this more interesting route with a few sharp bends. I misjudged one of these and spread-eagled myself briefly across the track. With only my pride dented, we were able to continue once Sue had recovered from a coincidental laughing fit.

Rejoining Ridge Road we flew past Huron Cabin, down the Khyber Pass and on to Keogan Cabin for lunch. It was 12.30, so surely the stove would be lit...
The cabin was fairly full, but we paid for our lack of attention earlier – we should have lit the stove. It had only just been started, so we had to wait a while for it to get hot enough to toast our sandwiches.

Never mind, we earwiged various conversations, notably a group of diehard back country skiers berating the fact that their ‘black diamond’ trails had been compacted by a grooming machine. This actually makes them more manageable for unskilled skiers such as us, and it also provides protection from rocks. But the die-hards clearly object. Fortunately for us, they appear to be in a poorly catered for minority!

All the cabins sport bird feeders. Today the one at Keogan was home to Chickadees, Bluejays, Downy Woodpeckers, tiny red squirrels and, pictured below, Nuthatches.

Today’s 21km trip took us from 9.50 to 13.35, including 45 minutes of breaks – an excellent little excursion.

Other News

Google Reader threw up a couple of items of interest today.

First Alan Sloman has spotted a Mad Woman intent on heading up to John O’Groats with her dog, just to walk all the way to Lands End with it.
I will of course be following her blog – Sophie Easterwood’s ‘The Longest Dog Walk in Britain’.

Next, and of completely different importance, John Hee came up with a long preamble about this historic and momentous day……
We knew what was coming…..another homage to Obama on the day of his inauguration as US President?
But no, it was the identity of The Stig – an ‘open secret’ amongst the press, but now revealed to the world at large.

Nice one, John!

Tuesday 20 January 2009 – MEC – a Canadian Institution

The sun shone brightly from a clear blue sky in Ottawa today. Sod’s law dictated that we had a day off skiing, spending it instead relaxing in the quiet environs of Woodroffe Towers.

Yesterday Sue lost one of her liner gloves, so a trip to the local outdoors shop, just a couple of miles away, was in order.

Amongst the Canadian outdoors fraternity, MEC, aka Mountain Equipment Co-Op, is an institution. Its 12 stores, spread right across Canada, are meccas for Canadian skiing, canoeing, biking, mountaineering and hiking enthusiasts. In order to purchase anything you must be a shareholder; I’ve seen bemused customers abandon their purchases when confronted with this requirement, but to date over 2.8 million of us have forked out the $5 cost of a share in the company.

I’ve bought various bits of kit from this store over the years, and today it served us well, with a new pair of gloves for Sue at a cost of $9. The store seems to me a bit like a Decathlon emporium (which I visit very rarely) with lots of own branded gear and little that shows signs of high technical detail.

There’s not much evidence of lightweight gear, either. Ken has been exploring lightweight kit for his forthcoming 160km of skiing in two days, including an overnight ‘camp’. I noticed he had printed off a GoLite rucksack catalogue, but he is still using an ancient Berghaus Cyclops sac. Apparently no retailer in Ottawa stocks GoLite, as there is ‘insufficient demand for their products’. Ken likes to try before he buys, so until he visits a stockist, GoLite is off limits for him. That’s a shame. PTC* has recently posted about the early Karrimor Alpiniste rucksacks, and perhaps the Berghaus Cyclops is in the same genre. Ken’s large sac weighs in at a competitive 1.3kg, has few if any ‘bells and whistles’, and must have withstood tens of years of use and abuse. So he continues to use it, whilst his mates struggle around in their over-engineered kit weighed down with unnecessary appendages.

Monday 19 January 2009 – A Medley of Trails

Today it was overcast again, with snow flurries but occasional glimpses of blue sky. It was a balmy -10°C in the Park. Perfect for skiing.

So whilst the whole of yesterday’s run had been along #(Trail)50, today we enjoyed a medley of trails. We started again up Fortune Parkway from P10. This is a ‘green’ trail, suitable for novices, and is generally very well (and frequently) groomed. It’s a ‘dual carriageway’ for skiers, with up and down ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ lanes either side of a central area that is mainly the domain of ‘skate skiers’. These skate skiers use shorter skis and a different technique, and are mainly folk out for energetic bursts of exercise. (Joggers.) Our preference is for the longer ‘classic’ skis. We travel more slowly but generally for longer, and maybe sometimes further, than the skate skiers. We are the equivalent of ‘day walkers’.

About 2km up the Parkway a right turn leads up #3, a blue trail, known as the Burma Road. Blue trails are harder than green ones, and on our last visit, two years ago, this trail was too icy for us to feel confident enough to tackle. In the past we have always approached it from the other direction, but today’s superb conditions meant that the steep ascent, which two years ago was dangerously icy, was really very easy to overcome, as illustrated above.

It’s steeper than it looks. Here Sue catches her breath after 'herringboning' up the hill.

An hour later, after many pauses for Sue to attend to a sore ankle, we reached #1 near Huron cabin. We’d only met a handful of people on the Burma Road, a delightful ski despite the ankle problem.

We decided to visit Western Cabin, which sits on top of the escarpment overlooking the Ottawa valley, for lunch. On the way we came across #9, freshly groomed. This is a ‘black diamond’ trail, the hardest variety of the marked x-country ski trails, barred to skate skiers. They are narrow, twisty and undulating. A basic level of skill is handy in order to avoid frequent tumbles on these trails, albeit usually painlessly into soft snow. (Not having many basic skills, I've been there, often.) We didn’t attempt a single such trail on our last visit two years ago.

We couldn’t resist #9 today. Off we went along the short 700 metre section to Western cabin, and for the first time in my life (I think) I managed to stay upright down the final luge that dips and twists and dives down to the main trail and the cabin beyond.

It was great.

As was lunch in the cabin. Three folk left as we arrived. They had got the stove really hot – it was belting out heat. Sue has a cool extremity that benefits from such gadgets.

We had the cabin to ourselves this Monday morning – what a contrast to yesterday’s hubbub at Healey cabin!

Our return to the car was via #2, #1B, Champlain Parkway via the lookout, to Huron, #1 down the Khyber Pass, to finally gently descend down Fortune Parkway and back to the car.

The trail known as #1B is very pleasant; especially so today, as we encountered a Pileated Woodpecker, a crow sized monster of a woodpecker, laying in to the trunk of a huge tree, far above us. We had the wrong camera for a good picture – this was the best I could manage. A video is ‘reserved for later’!


Today's 18km trip took us from 10.25 to 13.55, including 45+ minutes of breaks.

Sunday 18 January 2008 – The Road to Healey Cabin

Ken approaches the grooming wagon on Trail 50

The morning dawned snowy, as usual, with a few fresh cm overnight, but it had warmed up to -12°C outside!

We were graced with Ken’s presence (as well as Helen's) for today’s ski, though he did manage to overshoot the entrance to the car park – P16 at Vallée Meech.

Our trail was being groomed, and later we caught up with this vital piece of equipment, without which our trips to Gatineau Park would be completely different.

The car park was filling up quickly. The four of us set off. My boots felt a bit loose, and under the balls of my feet the they felt hard. Oh dear! No insoles. They had been taken out for drying yesterday and hadn’t found their way home. As a result my toes were a little cool at times.

Ken, Martin and I continued beyond Herridge Cabin to the eastern end of Lac Philippe, where we loitered for photos, trail mix, and for the groomer to pass.


Helen followed, but turned around at the junction with trail 52 and headed back to Healey for lunch.

Arriving at the new Healey Cabin at 12.40, it was definitely Sunday. All the tables were occupied and damp clothing was draped everywhere. The recent conversion of this 19th Century farmhouse includes the installation of some large windows, so the cabin is very well lit compared to the dark interiors of some of the other cabins in the park. Animals have nibbled chunks off the wide wooden planks used in the renovation.

Shortly prior to our arrival here, we encountered Ken’s friends Wayne and Don. They were lunching on the trail in preference to Herridge Cabin, which was only a few metres distant. Wayne is a Ski Marathon veteran, having completed the Correur du Bois Gold route some 13 times (that’s 180km in two short days – cut off is shortly after 3pm – carrying a pack and bivvying overnight). That’s what Ken is training for this year.

In the cabin we encountered another friend, Dan, whose attempts to make conversation were hampered somewhat by the waterfall that seemed to be streaming down his face. Ken explained that he is a friend from the canoe club!


Our toasted sandwiches and tea, etc were most welcome. Then the 5km trail back to the car park was covered quite quickly, the downhill stretches providing us with snowploughing practice. It was good to know – from the speed at which we flashed past a slow skier – that our skills have progressed from ‘novice’ level.

This 20km outing, all along Trail 50, took us from 10.30 to 13.50, including 45 minutes of breaks – a quite satisfactory pace along, albeit, easy trails.

We were home by 2.30 pm to enjoy a most relaxing end to the weekend.

We are enjoying this holiday.

BTW: Welcome, summitboy, our latest new 'follower', who chooses to 'follow' rather than look over my shoulder as I write!

Saturday 17 January 2009 – Fortune Parkway and Huron Cabin

One of the great things about coming to Ottawa in the winter is that there is no hurry to go out in the morning. And so it was that Helen, Sue and I enjoyed a leisurely start, after Ken had checked in to report that he had survived the night.

It’s a half hour drive from Woodroffe Towers to our starting point for the day, P10, at the foot of Fortune Parkway. Our skis had been lovingly waxed, and our poles sharpened, by our ever attentive host before he left on his own adventure. So we could leap out of the car to attack the gently rising Fortune Parkway with some considerable vigour, taking care not to overstretch certain muscles that inevitably undergo a process of rediscovery on such days.

On a normal Saturday in January we’d have been lucky to find space in P10 car park, but today there were few folk around due to the cold weather, and as you can see from the photos of me and Sue taken on Fortune Parkway, we had the place pretty much to ourselves.

We headed up to Gossips’ Corner, gossiped amongst ourselves, then zoomed on past Shilly Shally Cabin and up the Khyber Pass to Huron Cabin. A loop from there took us to the Champlain Lookout and back to Huron via the Champlain Parkway.

The view across to the Ottawa River from the edge of the escarpment wasn’t as clear as usual, as a few snowy flurries were invading the gap between us and the blue sky above. This view is something of a grander version of that of Teesside from Eston Nab, for those of you who may be familiar with the latter – picture it as it was in the winter of 1963.

We enjoyed a leisurely lunch in Huron Cabin – there will be more about these lunch breaks in a future posting – in the company of some friendly strangers and a man in a banana coloured suit who Helen was embarrassed to admit was known to her. His skiing kit was just a bit ‘70s style gaudy!

Martin poses outside Huron Cabin in his 21st Century gear

Having taken an hour and a half to reach the cabin for lunch, after that break Sue and I shot off down Champlain Parkway, whilst Helen headed down the Khyber Pass, meeting us at Gossips’ Corner for a brisk return down Fortune Parkway to reach P10 car park only 35 minutes after leaving Huron Cabin.
This was an excellent first day’s excursion despite the cold – with 13km skied in 2 hours, plus 45 minutes for lunch.
On returning home we woke Ken from his ‘nap’ and interrogated him about his ‘bivvi at -35C’ experience, leading to his brief report related in the previous posting. Well done, Ken, we wish all our requests for reports were met with such enthusiasm…

Ken's Night Out ('Cold Enough to Freeze the Medals off a Brass General')

Ken's comment on yesterday's posting warrants a little more than his modest 'aside'. So I've inserted an actual image from a 'Gold Camp' for which Ken was practicing, and here is his report on last night's 'Bivvi in the Park'.

They are made of strong stuff over here!


Actually it got down to about -35C at our 'camping' spot near Lac Philippe (hard to tell since my thermometer only reads down to -30C).
Three of us set out last night from the bright lights of Ottawa to the snow laden forests of Gatineau Park. The purpose of the trip was to try out our gear for the Canadian Ski Marathon Coureur des Bois Or, which involves skiing 80km in a day, camping overnight, then skiing another 80km the following day.
So you need to get your backpack down to a manageable weight but without being too cold at night.
I discovered a few things:

• I need to make a few adjustments to my kit.
• It was too crowded in my sleeping bag with ski boots, booties, over mitts, water bottle, pee bottle, midnight snacks, phone; hardly enough room for me. I am average size but my "large" bag wasn't big enough. How do "Clydesdales" (large people) cope? I had to get rid of the ski boots and put boot warmers (heat packs) in them in the morning.
• At low temperatures: duct tape and foot warmers are not sticky; Thermarests do not self-inflate, unless you blow into them really hard (when you close the valve it then freezes shut); Ziploc bags do not open easily and when they do they tear; peanut butter freezes.
• After you have been sitting round a smoky campfire at -35C, you smell worse than a kipper...!

Ken

Ken also reports that he got about 2 hours' sleep.

Friday 16 January 2009 – Deep Freeze in Ottawa

Sue and Helen on Bate Island on Friday morning

Our journey here yesterday was wholly uneventful, unless you regard an encounter with Bobby Charlton, who failed to recognise me despite my having spent many hours on the terraces of Old Trafford in full view of him, as an event.

It was quite a long day, during which we conspired, so far as I can recall, to enjoy at least five meals.

After hitting the sack at 10pm we managed to sleep soundly until 7am; so there is no jet lag on this occasion.

It dawned bright and sunny. But cold. It’s between about -20 and -30°C here, so just a bit chilly. We had already decided not to ski today, so a trip to the Visitor Centre to collect my ski pass (we have enough vouchers for Sue not to need one) was all that was on the agenda. On the way we passed an accident. Apparently the salt doesn’t work below -20°C. I’m told there were 175 recorded accidents in Ottawa yesterday.

The Ottawa River is only partially frozen. The current cold snap is the first of the winter, so the river is still flowing strongly. In this weather a local fog arises from the river, so at places like Bate Island, where we paused this morning, the trees are encrusted with the soft hoar of the frosted vapour.

Bate Island is accessed from a bridge over the Ottawa River, linking Ontario, where we are staying, with Quebec, where our skiing area – Gatineau Park – is situated. I wonder which district Bate Island is in?

Later, a short stroll from Woodroffe Towers drew us back down to the river on a ‘dog walker’s’ circuit in brilliant sunshine, but in temperatures that served to confirm the efficacy of the local frostbite warning.

A lone skier had appeared to produce this furrow, but it is probably the groove of many folk, taking their exercise in single file....


Meanwhile, 'Crazy Ken' was unable to join us today due to having to go to work. He is making up for it by camping out in Gatineau Park tonight, together with a couple of crazy mates. Well, they are not actually camping, just bivvying. It'll be interesting to see how cold it/they get(s)!

Good luck Ken. Please report back on your experience.

Across the Pond

Here are our hosts for the next few weeks, pictured on 28 January 2006 on the 'pond' known as Lac Philippe.

Hello Ken.
Hello Helen.

We hope to be able to post regularly, but please bear with us if we go a bit quiet.

A New Hat

Courtesy of a little competition run by Phil, over at Doodlecat, and with the assistance of a pin (well, it was a little more scientific than that) I have A New Hat. It's Lowe Alpine's legendary 'Mountain GTX Cap', or 'Mountain GTX Casquette' - sorry, I'm just practicing the lingo for our next destination - and the Hat will certainly come in useful where we are going.  The maximum day temperature there over the next five days is currently forecast to vary between -11 and -22°C.

I won't be providing a test report on this excellent piece of kit as it is of known, and very sound, provenance - best used in very cold weather, I hear, and we are certainly heading towards that.

So, thank you Phil for drawing my name out of the 'hat' at such an opportune time, and for delivering said item so efficiently.

Hoorah!

Rob Gauntlett and James Atkinson

We were saddened at the weekend to hear of the deaths of Rob Gauntlett and James Atkinson.  Back in 2006 Rob achieved fame as the youngest Brit, aged 19, to summit Everest.

 

 

This image, copyright of Adventure Peaks, shows Rob with James Hooper above the Third Step.

 

 

 

 

Here, they celebrate on the summit with Stu Peacock.

We followed their expedition with great interest, as our friend Conan Harrod, who had broken his leg near the summit of Everest three years earlier, was also on that trip.  It was an anxious day, as following the news of the youngsters' success, there was no news of Conan for several hours.  In their euphoria, the Adventure Peaks team had forgotten to broadcast his success, shortly after Rob and James.

It is of no comfort to know that accidents amongst those who climb at the levels of these folk are all too frequent, especially in popular places like the Chamonix area.

Our thoughts are with everyone concerned.

A report is here.  And a tribute is here.

Saturday and Sunday 10/11 January 2009 - À La Carte at Ashburton

As a special treat, for a special occasion, Sue and I enjoyed a weekend at Ashburton Cookery School.

We were students on the two day 'Express Dinner Parties Plus' course.  Eight of us were guided through some inspirational menus by Joe 'passionate about food' Bartlett.  We had great fun all weekend, not least enjoying the products of our efforts.

Saturday involved cooking for lunch and dinner, whilst on Sunday we enjoyed a light lunch and an early dinner, enabling us to start the long journey home by 4pm.

Saturday Lunch

Selection of canapés (crab and avocado bread tartlets, parmesan biscuits, and stilton and sesame biscuits)
Creamy mussels with leeks, bacon and smoked paprika (below - getting this ready for 'service')

Saturday Dinner

Leek, garlic and sweet potato soup (to take home)
Roast duck breast with a cassis jus, Dauphinoise potatoes and glazed green beans
Apple tarte tatin with crème fraiche

Sunday Menu

Chicken liver paté with red onion marmalade (to take home)
Mini aromatic seafood parcel (a delicious snack for lunch)
Roasted chicken breast wrapped with parma ham stuffed with red onion marmalade and goats cheese, together with pesto new potatoes and balsamic dressed salad leaves (above)
Seasonal fruit sabayon with lemon shortbreads (below)
We also made copious quantities of vegetable stock and white bread rolls.

Thank you, everyone, for making this such a pleasurable weekend.
In particular, thank you to Maureen and Trevor in Exeter for their hospitality on Friday and Saturday - their skills as former B&B proprietors remain undiminished despite several years of retirement.

For a small (13 images) album of snaps from the weekend, click here.

Bon appetit...

Snowdonia

We are away for a few days on a cookery course.  So blogging is not at the forefront of our agenda.

At about this time last year we were trotting along the Nantlle Ridge.  Here is Sue, with John Shipton lagging behind, on the approach to Garnedd Goch, with just a touch of cloud over Snowdon's summit behind us.

It'll be a bit warmer in the kitchen!

A Trip to Salford Quays

When I arrived in Manchester as a student I visited the docks at Salford.  One of my cousins was a merchant seaman and his boat was docked there.  It was an interesting excursion into a world that I've never revisited.  I remember comparing his cramped living quarters with my tiny room in St Anselm's hall of residence - my home for two years.

I have revisited the scene of our rendezvous many times, and have witnessed the area being cleared of the hustle and bustle of the merchant shipping and redeveloped as offices and leisure facilities, as well as high rise housing.

Monday's visit to Salford Quays, as they are now known, to replenish essential supplies from a factory shop, was blessed with superb weather.  The reflections from the glass laden office block across the bridge from the Lowry Centre were brilliant - better than any filter or distortion that Photoshop might come up with.

A 180° turn switches one's outlook to this fine suspension bridge.

   From the Lowry Centre side of the bridge the new(ish) Imperial War Museum North stands rather starkly before you - on this day the huge tower of the museum was acting as a massive reflector of the low sun.  This link provides more information on the architecture etc.

The Lowry Centre - housing theatres and (I think) the largest single exhibition of Lowry's iconic paintings - was largely in the shade of a giant block of flats at the time of our visit.

Drop Scones

We've enjoyed these scones twice this year, first on New Year's Day after our return from the hoar frost of the Sandstone Trail.  Our stalwart house minders (they've been busy over the past year), Andrea and Thomas, joined us and very much enjoyed this little treat, so I promised to put the recipe on the web site.  But before doing that an image was required, and we had eaten them all.  So I  made some more the other day.

The recipe was given to me by my mother when I headed off to be a student at UMIST, in the days when steam trains still huffed and puffed along the viaduct that splits the Sackville Street campus. 

The scones take a good 5 minutes to make, so they can be produced whilst the kettle boils - highly recommended as a mid afternoon snack at this time of year.

Drop Scones

4 oz (110 gm) plain flour
2 level teaspoons baking powder
1 oz (30 gm) caster sugar
pinch of salt
1 egg
¼ pint (140 ml) milk
1 tablespoonful of cooking oil (keeps scones moist)

Sieve together all the dry ingredients.
Beat in the egg, then the milk.
Stir in the cooking oil.

Grease and heat a griddle (or frying pan).

Test by dropping a small spoonful of mixture onto the griddle.
If it bubbles the griddle is ready.

This simple recipe makes about 20 scones. They soon go!
If you double the quantities, don't double the amount of baking powder.

Even the Pie Man should cope with this one!

Sunday 4 January 2009 - Dunham Massey

Today's short burst of exercise involved a 5 km stroll around the park and canal by Dunham Massey, our local National Trust house.

There was a hint of blue through the greyness of the high pressure cloud, but there were also a few snow flurries, so on balance we felt pleased to have brought forward our planned day out to yesterday.

My picture of oak leaf litter may have benefited from this photoshop filter:

Perhaps not!

 

 

The fallow deer are used to the presence of humans, though this gent has a scary glint in his eye... Then it was home to more afternoon tea and drop scones.
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