The Beach

Every day, I cycle by the Westboro beach twice, once in the morning and on the way home after work. Some days I catch the groundsman cutting the grass, usually on Monday. I can usually tell if I can running early or late based on whether the beach has been raked and smoothed. If I'm lucky, I'll catch the groundsman, in action, dragging the rake behind his tractor. It has been so wet this summer that I haven't been able to enjoy the beach first hand. As I write this entry, I'm sitting at the beach for the second time in two days as the hot summer days have finally arrived in Ottawa. People are coming and going with some carrying a once burdensome cooler back to the car that has been sitting in the sun for too long. It's so hot that there are the same number of people in the water as lazying on the beach. The two lifeguard are sitting up in their chairs with water cans ready for deployment at the first cry of urgency. On top, cyclist, roller bladers and joggers trundle by in the unbearable heat. Close to the shore children are building sandcastles under the watchful eye of their parents. The lifeguards finish another shift and head to the portable shelter to gain some relief and his replacement reluctantly leave his oasis . Slowly, the sun descends towards the horizon and the children and parents take a final swim before packing up for the day. Soon the beach will be deserted and the lifeguards will announce that another day has come to an end. The sun finally dips below the horizon and a marvelous sunset graces the Ottawa River. It is dark. Another day await the groundsman as a new day will break soon.

Awesome weekend in Baltimore

I spent last weekend having an incredible great time in Baltimore. I arrived on Friday afternoon and Jason met me at the airport. We headed over to Whole Foods for a late lunch as I was famished. After lunch we headed back to Jason’s place to chip away at a layer of cement in his bathroom as earlier in the week the bathroom tiles didn’t set properly. Having two hammers and chisels beaver away at the floor allowed us to nearly get the floor free of cement debris 1 2 . In the evening we headed south to Glen Echo, which is south-west of Washington for some swing dancing. Jam Cellar and Sac au Lait were hosting an outdoor dance in the old bummer car pavilion. It was a great venue and the music was good.

On Saturday, we headed back to Jason’s house and spent much of the morning scouring the bathroom floor of cement so that Em could lay the tiles in the afternoon. In the afternoon Jason grouting another bathroom and I was cool to act as a support person doing chores for Jason and Em. In the evening we headed over to Camden Yards to take in an Orioles game. It game started late as the “O’s” were playing a double-header. We had great seats and we watched a good game despite the fact that “O’s” lost.

We started off Sunday with a large breakfast (home-made waffles) at Jason’s parents place. Jason gave me some tips on how to get my Yahoo Mail on my iPhone/iPod Touch which was really good. Afterwards, we headed to REI as I had an order that needed to be picked up. I was able to buy two BPA free Nalgene bottles which was sweet. We next headed in a North-Western direction to the Catochin Mountains close to Thurmont, MD. Much of the day was spent hiking and doing some light climbing. I was happy to watch Jason scale some steep rock faces. (Note to self – I should have brought my climbing shoes and harness.) (Wolf Rock n39 38.042 w077 26.258) There was a little exciting when we were at Wolf Rock. I found a crevasse in the some rocks which allowed me to lay back and to take and get in some R&R. Once Jason had climbed Wolf Rock he set his eyes on a more ambitious goal of seeing his could climb through a rock face underneath me. He got very close to the surface only to find he couldn’t get his chest through a small crevasse. What to do? The only solution was to head back down the way he came. It was a hot day and the rocks were slippery. As he was heading down Jason lost his grips and fell 15 feet bouncing from one rock to another. It was a WOW moment. A little later we headed south back to Em’s place for an awesome lasagna dinner with family friends.

http://picasaweb.google.ca/moulec/Baltimore_Sept_2008#

On Monday, Scott, Jason and I headed over to Home Depot to get some Hardi-backer flooring boards. I had estimated that we would need 14 boards by measuring the area and adding in an error factor (15%). After lunch we laid down the cement, Hardi-backer boards, and screwed in 850 screws. Having three people working on the task meant that we always had a ready-supply of cement, some putting in the screws while someone else was measuring the next board. In the evening we headed to the Austin Grill for some swing dancing. I head a great time dancing while many folks that I had danced with before. We close out the evening doing something quite memorable and that is playing wordabble on our ipod Touch/iPhone.

On Tuesday, we had a leisurely morning which was great. We exchanged gifts and I’m pleased with my JetBoil. For lunch we headed to Rosina’s which is a sort of tradition. In the early afternoon I headed back to Ottawa by way of Philadelphia.

Adirondacks June-July 2008

Wright Peak/Algonquin/Iroquois/Phelps/Colden

Friday June 27
One of my goals is to eventually climb all of the 46 peaks in the Adirondacks whose elevation is above 4,000 feet. This past weekend I added one more to the tally, Iroquois. On Friday morning, Chris Mc and I headed down to Lake Placid and stopped in at the Price Chopper to get lunches and groceries for the long weekend. Once at camp we setup a tarp and bug net over the picnic table as suspected we would meet the bugs and/or rain over the weekend. Na, Paul and Ben would arrive at the campsite a little while later. After supper we started a fire and contemplated when Wendy and Erin would arrive. We took bets on when they might arrive and I won. They wouldn’t arrive until mid-afternoon on Saturday.

Saturday June 28
The five of us were up early (0630) and eating breakfast by 7:00 AM. Our goal for the day was to hike the mountains near Algonquin Peak much of this would be dependant on our stamina and the weather. At 8:21 AM we headed out from the ADK Loj trailhead and made our way south-west. After 30 minutes the trail splits, one direction leading to Marcy Dam and the other to Algonquin. We took the right path and headed south. The trail very gradually climbs and is a Mecca for boulders. Along the way we took in the sight of a waterfall. After climbing for about an hour we reached another trailhead. Half of the group climbed Wright Peak while the others continued on the trail to Algonquin. The view from Wright was good but we could see a storm approaching in the distance. As continued our ascent up to Algonquin it started to lightly rain and in rolled the mist. It was hard to spot the next cairn. We stopped for lunch at the summit. The mountain steward was standing on watch. The group split again and most of the people headed down Algonquin. The remainder continued east to Boundary and Iroquois. The intensity of the rain increased and the fog grew thicker. It was at this point that the GPS proved its value. At breakfast time I punched in the coordinates for all the peaks we would be climbing. A father, his son and a large poodle mistook Boundary for Algonquin. I shouted that the GPS said we had another 300 yards to hike. They were not happy by this remark. The final 300 yards involved hiking through shoulder height trees and boggy mud flats. My knee high gators kept the spruce trees from scratching my legs as well as keeping the mud away from my boots. Once we reached the summit we retreated back to the valley between the mountains. We had a choice to head back by Avalanche Lake or return the way we had come. Three groups were making the same decision and all opted for coming back the way they had come. It would be better to head back on familiar terrain that to take a longer route with an uncertain terrain. The constant rain made this choice obvious. As we headed across Algonquin the rain became more intense and my heart went out to the steward huddled next to a large rock. It would be another three hours before he could head down. Once below the tree line the rain let up and we could take off our rain jacket. The forest was steamy hot. A little while later the sun came out. As we were heading by the falls I saw some naïve hikers making there way to Wright Peak. They were wearing button-down white and blue shirts. I wonder how long they would stay clean and dry as another storm was an hour away. Once back at the camp I had a piping hot cup of tea to celebrate my ascents. Wendy and Erin had arrived by this point and prepared a marvelous pasta dish for supper. Paul and I trimmed up a standing conifer tree and as a standing dead tree is a dry tree. A blazing warm fire was a welcome site to the group.

Sunday June 29
Most of the group was awake at sunrise and we started down the trailhead early in the morning. Our goal was to climb Phelps. At the first trail junction we headed east towards Marcy Dam and took in the sights before heading further east. There was much relief as we were climbing the Phelps trail as it had fewer rocks than the trail leading to Wright. We ate lunch at the Phelps summit. The knats and black flies were swarming on the summit so we headed down shortly after lunch. We were at our campsite by mid-afternoon. After a Chinese stir-fry meal we headed into B&J for ice cream. There were black clouds hanging over Lake Placid. As we were heading back to camp it started to pelt. There would be no fire tonight. It would rain for most of the night.

Monday June 30
On Monday morning, Na, Paul and Ben packed up and headed back to Ottawa. Chris Mc, Erin and I set out early to climb Mt. Colden. We headed over to Marcy Dam before hiking in a southerly direction towards Avalanche Lake. By lunch hour, we were climbing over the ladders that take you along the shores of Avalanche Lake. The edge of the lake ends in a steep cliff so they have wooden ladders and platforms hanging from the edge of the cliffs. Our trek along Colden Lake was muddy. Midway down the lake we started our steep ascent of Mt. Colden and reached the summit after much exertion and heavy breathing. It was a bright and sunny day on the summit. We ate our lunch while admiring the views, of Marcy Dam, Avalanche Lake, and the three other peaks we had climbed two days earlier. The hike down to Lake Arnold was a pleasant one as the switchbacks allowed us to gradually drop elevation. We pumped water at Lake Arnold despite the black fly infestation. Within an hour we were back at the Marcy Dam trailhead. We all headed into town for steak dinner at the Lake Placid Boat Club which sits on the edge of Mirror Lake. Erin and Wendy headed north to Ottawa after dinner. Chris Mc and I headed back to camp for the final camp fire.

Tuesday July 1 – Canada Independence Day
We were both up at 5:00 AM. I spent a little while packing my thermarests and sleeping bag before leaving the tent. Meanwhile, Chris Mc got the Coleman stove alight. We had all our gear packed and heading north by 8:00 AM.

http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/2008_Adirondacks_July

Off to the Adirondacks soon…

In just over a week, I’ll be heading down to the Lake Placid area for my second hiking trip of the year. The plan is to climb East Dix (4012 feet) and South Dix (4060 feet). Last year, Chris Mc, Kevin and I camped at the base of what we thought was East Dix and later confirmed once we were at the summit. This year we are taking a different approach and staying at a hostel overnight in Keene Valley and to summit both Dixs peaks as part of a long day hike. Now that we have the GPS coordinates we can start at the car and just follow the GPS arrow as it counts down the kilometers/miles to go. Chris Mc and I are leading a group of OHOC hikers this time round. There is still one unsolved mystery and that is, will there be bugs and how fierce/intense they might be as this is the earliest in the spring that I have been hiking in the Adirondacks.

Ice flows on the Ottawa River..but not for long...

I work in a tall building near the Ottawa River. Today, I was looking out the window and noticed another sign of spring, ice flows making there way down the river. In the winter the river freezes thick enough that you can snowshoe across to the province of Quebec. The chunks of ice are getting smaller so the water temperature is getting warmer. Further up the river a few brave soles are kayaking the rapids while protected by a thick wetsuit. Doing an Eskimo role in the frigid conditions could be a fatal paddle/outing if you don't recover quickly. I'll see if I can post pictures in a couple of days.

In the afternoon, I found myself in a bit of an emergency situation as the mercury had started to climb to an Ottawa warm 21C/70F. I was starting to cook but not for long as two zips later I was comfortably wearing shorts.

Five fingers and the first mile

Today, I walked my first mile outside wearing my Five Fingers "surge" sandals. It was a nice day outside so I walked over to the pool for my swim workout. I tried to spend a much time walking on the grass as possible. I know from my running that the worst surface for running on is cement and then as asphalt, which is a little better. The sandals felt light, cool and very comfortable. One thing I had to do is actively keep my toes pointing slightly upwards. Jason has been wearing them recently and was finally able to get them to work for him as they are a fun shoe to wear. The plan is to gradually increase my wear time so that I give my muscles a chance to grow and adapt.

This raises a good question, could I see myself running a 5km or 10km in my five fingers, the answer is maybe. When you run twice your body weight is placed on each foot for a moment while you go through a running stride. I've had a fair number of tibia stress fractures in my running career so a little reluctant to be risky but we will see.

Jason talked about hiking in his Five Fingers which I think would be an interesting experience as you wouldn't need to carry socks which would lighten the load. I hope that we can do something like this in the future.

Ap in brief

I'm back from a multi-day canoeing, camping and portaging trip to Algonquin Park. This is a quick summary as I'll post a longer blog in a couple of days. The trip went well and started with rain and ended with a couple of days of bright sunshine. The rain on the first night forced us to cook steak sandwiches under a suspended canoe using my new stove. Our food bag was attacked by something and the attacker got covered by powdered milk with no damage to the backpack. On our first night, we had the fun experience of evicting a mouse that took refuge from the rain as we were heading to bed. The rest of the trek was uneventful as the warm sunny weather made paddling on the lakes effortlessly. We also what discovered what really killed the famous artist Tom Thomson.

Photo gallery:
http://picasaweb.google.com/moulec/Algonquin_Park2007

Sore for a good cause

As I type this entry my legs and bum are a little sore and tired. Yesterday, I cycled 90km/56 miles as part of the MS-Bike tour which took me and 600 other cyclists from Ottawa to Kemptville. We stayed overnight at Kemptville College and cycled back today. Over the two days of cycling we covered close to 160km/100 miles. I was able to locate a couple of new geocaches that were placed recently. Rather than stays in the dorms, I decided to camp and was able to use my solo tent which worked out great as they don't have sufficient dorm space for all cyclists. In a couple of days, I'll post a story about one of my first experiences with diesel fuel. While touring the campus I saw something that brought back memories of a misadventures in the occurred when I was in Grade 5.

Philadelphia

As I type this entry I am looking out the window at a banner that says Philadelphia Airport. My flight back to Ottawa was been delayed for about two hours so I decided to fire up the laptop and catch up on the happenings of the day. The conference was a lot of fun. Yesterday, I went to Turner field for a Atlanta Braves game and it was a great chance to chat with some of the delegates from Australia and New Zealand. The Braves won which was a bonus. The toga party went well as the blue material that I bought for my toga worked out well. One of the neat things I did was to meet Jack Canfield. He was a keynote speaker at one of the sessions and wrote the "Chicken Soup for the Sole" books. I bought one of his books and he autographed it for me. I explored the olympic park that was built in connection with the 1996 Olympics. I was able to find a couple of geocaches which was fun to do. One of the interesting things that happened occurred when I was walking through a black neighborhood on the way back from the Martin Luther King Museum. I was passing a group of black guys and they wanted to know what a "white boy" was doing in their neighborhood. I kept on soldiering down the street. The flight has been delayed again so back to surfing.

Scavenger David Morrell

Last night I finished reading another good book. It is David Morrell’s “Scavenger.” The book came on the market in March and I was waiting for it come out in paperback but after reading the inside corner again I bought the book and couldn’t put it down. Scavenger builds on many of the happening of his previous novel, “Creepers” and continues where it left off. I like David Morrell as he is an author with the ability to say and express a great many things with few words. He relies on your imagination to flush out the details. The book contains reference to GPS, geocaching and letter-boxing which I thought were cool. Early on in the book I figured out the central theme and enjoyed watching the way he has the characters perform their roles. It was a good book and I recommend it highly.

Books - The Assault of Reason

In the reading department this has been a good summer for me. I started off by discovering the author, CJ Box. After reading his most recent book I got hooked and borrowed all his other books from the library and read them. I next discovered Barry Eisler's John Rain series of books. I bought his most recent books and again borrowed all of his other books from the library. For both of these authors, I could start reading one of there books and have it finished a couple of days later. George Tenet's book, "At the Center of the Storm" is a book that is taking longer to read that I would have thought. I read a chapter and then think and reflect on what he says about his days working for the CIA. Last night, I finished my favorite book of the summer, Al Gore's, "The Assault of Reason." This is a book that I'll most likely read a more couple of times in the future. I'll quote from the inside jacket of the book, "A visionary analysis of how the politics of fear, secrecy, cronyism and blind faith has combined with the degradation of the public sphere to create an environment dangerously hostile to reason."