User experiences...

Today, I was at Mountain Equipment Co-op (mec.com) buying some last minute provisions for my hiking/camping/climbing trip (a summer sleeping bag and Clif bars). It was during lunch hour so the checkout line was long and slow moving. I let my eye wander over to a computer screen that you can use to search the online catalog and order stuff from the mail order department. The flat screen was embedded in a wood frame and part of a wall where you could post notices. From a distance it looked like a touch screen. A person walked up and started to touch the screen thinking that it was a touch screen. They would double-click on an icon and nothing would happen. The mouse point was visible on the screen and they tried to move the pointer by dragging their finger across the screen and nothing would happen. It was sort of fun to watch while killing time in the queue. The problem is it wasn’t a touch screen. There was mouse and keyboard on a shelf underneath the screen but it was so low that most folks didn’t see or ignored it. Just as they were ready to bolt, a stranger nearby pointed to the mouse and keyboard and suggested that perhaps these were would be useful. I was at the cash by this point so didn’t see what happened next.

Mt Marcy

This coming weekend we celebrate Canada Day on July 1 which occurs on a Sunday this year, so most folks get Monday off as a holiday. I met with the people that I'm hiking in the Adirondacks on the weekend and we are planning on climbing three mountains, one of which is in the top 46 list. The plan is to climb Mt. Marcy whose elevation is 5,344 feet. It is the tallest mountain in the range. We will set out from camp early on Sunday to ascend the mountain. The other two mountains we want to hike up is Ampersand and Rooster Comb. I'm eager to sleep in my tent for the first time, to try the camelback in the day pack and break in a summer sleeping bag. As well, I'm getting low on fig newtons and will use the trip to stock up on them. Things are shaping up well for the adventure...

Minivacation

I've spent the last couple of days at my parent's place which has a panoramic view of Lake Ontario. On a clear day, I can look out and see the Toronto skyline which includes the Skydome. The weekend started off with me driving my father to the airport as he had a business trip in the states. I was able to get in some geocaching, home maintenance and catching up with my parents, brother and nephew. I fixed my nephew's mp3 player and usb drive which made him happy. I cut out the wooden frame of the four windows that my father and I will replace later this year. I bolted the aluminum storm windows on to act as temporary barriers until the vinyl insert windows arrive from the manufacturer. Today, I replaced the internal door lever on the screen door so that G couldn't push his nose against the door and accidentally get out. I finished my second Barry Eisler novel with another four waiting for me to read back in Ottawa. It has been hot with temperatures averaging in the hight 80s. I'm looking forward to heading back to Ottawa tomorrow where it is a little cooler. Once in town, I have to start preparing for my next adventure, a long weekend of hiking over the upcoming holiday weekend.

Windows

My parent's live in an old house and over the past couple of years we have been replacing the windows. Taking out the old wooden ones and replacing them with vinyl insert windows. They open at the bottom and the top and you can clean both sides of the window from the inside. This is handy. No more getting out the ladder to wash the outside of the windows. Today my father and I cut out two of the final four old wooden windows. I'll cut out the remaining two over the next couple of days. The vinyl inserts are being made at the factory now and we will install them in a couple of weeks. It is fun getting out all the power tools and getting covered in saw dust. It is a satisfying experience. My brother and his son are heading to my parent's place tomorrow and it will be great to catch up with and have a couple of BBQs.

The planning for my first Adirondacks trips is coming along slowly. Next week, I have to head to MEC to buy a summer sleeping bag and some freeze dried, just add water meals. The plan is to head down early Friday morning and to get in a short hike once we get to Lake Placid. I'll be hiking with 15 other folks and so, the other cars will be arriving throughout the day. We will set up a base camp at Adirondack Loj where they have car camping and to use it as our trailhead. The plan is to have two long hiking days, Saturday and Sunday. Monday is a holiday so hopefully we can climb another peak. Hmm, four days and three peaks is most likely to ambitous. I'll have a better feel when we have our group meeting on Tuesday. I'm looking forward the adventure...

Beignet au sucre

Tonight after my running workout, I stopped by a specialty food store in search of a protein-carbo recovery bar and was trolling the shelves a bit and found something that I had to buy. It was a beignet au sucre or a icing sugar coated beignet. In one of Jason's recent blog entries he talked about how they had gone out for beignets and coffee. The beignets were made in Tucker, GA and came in a package of four. There is a bit of an art to getting them out of the package and into your mouth with out getting coated in sugar and wearing a white moustache. When I'm in GA later this year, I hope that I can experience fresh beignets.

Summer reading...

One of the newspapers I read daily, the WSJ, recently had a book review of good books for summer reading. While in Montreal, I bought one of the books off the list, C.J.Box,Free Fire. I enjoyed reading the book over a couple of days and decided to read the rest of the Joe Pickett series. I headed over to local library web site and requested copies of his other books, Out of Range, Trophy Hunt, Savage Run , Open Season and Winter Kill. Over the last little while, I have read all of these books. I headed back to the book review and bought the next book in the list, Requiem for an assassin by Barry Eisler. Yesterday, I requested from the library all of Barry's other John Rain books and will read his other five books. One thing I liked about his book is that he goes into great details about John Rain's tradecraft such as his Spyderco knives, Surefire flashlights and Alon bulletproof windows. There is one other book that I'm reading analyically and clinicially, is George Tenet's , At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA. The book is taking longer to read that I thought as I read a chapter then think about what he says for a couple of hours before reading the next chapter. There is one more book on the book review list that I want to read, but it won't be published for another month. I mostly likely finish the summer off by reading the much sought after Harry Potter, final volumer.

Sore, tired, stiff and Adirondacks

Tonight, I did my first interval workout of the year in the arboretum. It took the form of a 25 minute warmup followed by 4*1km intervals on 90 seconds rest. It was great to be back in the arboretum again as we run around a 1,000 meter loop that features cinder underfoot which gives a great spring when you run on it. The conditions were a hot and sunny 88F. The cool down was a 30 minute jog along the Rideau Canal back to the UOttawa campus. As I write my legs are warm, sore and stiff.

At the end of the month, we have a holiday called Canada Day on July 1. Since it falls on Sunday this year Monday is a holiday. I'll be heading over to the Adirondacks for a long weekend hiking trip. It will give me a chance to try out a new summer sleeping bag, inaugurate my new REI tent and to try out the camelback-backpack combination for hiking. As well, I'm hoping to buy a stove whose fuel comes in a canister. We should have two solid days in which we can ascend at least two mountains. I recently developed this urge to become a 46r. It will involve a fair amount of hiking as you have to climb 46 peaks in the Adirondacks.