Going the distance

I logged quite a bit of distance on my GPS in 2012. I had good intentions of doing a lot more riding with my club but family commitments and general laziness limited those rides. I started off well with a group ride on 31 March but I didn't keep it going. I finished with just one group ride over 100 km but also had one of 96 km and 99.94 km. I wish I had had a lot more that long or longer. In 2013, I really want to do a few Grand Fondos with Rich.

Commuting was my main mode of riding this year. There was little snow early in 2012 so I was able to cover over 500 km in the first two months. That's not bad for a commute of just 8 km each way. I was able to stay ahead of last year's pace for commuting and even kept things going during the very snowy November and December. I don't care about the cold but it's the snow and ice and really slow me down.

I wonder how many extra km I could have had since I don't wait around to get satellites at the start of a commute and I turn my GPS off a certain distance from home. I roughly estimate I have around 400 commute files so I'm 40 km short for every 100 m I didn't record on each commute. My total commuting distance was 3045 km, up about 250 km from 2011. I only had 646 km of training on my bike, up 370 km from 2011. My racing distance was almost exactly the same: 98 km in 2012 and 97 km in 2011. There was a huge difference in how I did that distance as I did fewer cyclocross races this year but one was an endurance event. A normal cyclocross race is a little over 10 km for me but I did 37 km at the endurance event. I also did some recreational riding which means pulling my girls around in the bike trailer.

In the end, I recorded 3855 km on my GPS. I classified 3836 km as cycling, 10 km as cross country skiing, 8 km as hiking, and 1 km as skating. I spent over 177 hours riding my bike. I could match my 2012 cycling distance by jumping on my bike and going to San Diego.

My goals for 2013 are to do a little more of everything. 3000 km of commuting is pretty good but exceeding 1000 km of riding with my club should easily be doable. Grand Fondos average around 150 km so a few of those would help and they'd break my current single ride maximum of 130 km. I'm considering doing the 31 km Birkie if I get a lot more skiing in and, if I can make my speed skates more comfortable, I should be able to beat the single kilometre I did in 2012. I also hope to motivate my friends to do a backpacking trip or two so I could even have a better year hiking.

Coyote scat on a map

View Larger Map
This is just a little test of what I could be doing with ArcGIS on-line. I've gone into the river valley twice now with Peter as he volunteers his time to help with a coyote research project at the University of Alberta. I walked along with my camera and GPS so I could geotag any interesting photographs I might happen to take along the way. Also, for a bit of fun, I'd take a picture of Peter as he collected a sample. I've used the GPS track and the location of each photo to create this little map of where Peter collected a sample. If there's great demand, I can configure the pop-ups to show the image of Peter bending over taking poop. It's your call.

I did get one interesting picture of a woodpecker.

Ribbon Lakes Backpack

I was able to close out this summer in style! Peter, Rod and I were joined on the Labour Day long weekend by James and Simeon for a backpacking adventure. For probably the last time, the campsite decision was left mostly up to me and, with quite a bit of consultation with Peter, Ribbon Lakes was chosen as the destination.
We had decided to do something in either Banff National Park or Kananaskis. I consulted the lists of backcountry sites in Kananaskis again and checked the routes in. Tombstone, which three of us did three weeks prior, seemed to have been a good warm-up so I wanted to pick something a bit longer. Ribbon Lakes promised a few different options for getting in and out so I thought it would be great. We decided against going in and out over Buller Pass and only going out that way meant a long, long car shuttle. If you come in along Ribbon Creek, you have to tackle a rock face with the help of some chains. All descriptions said that way was tougher to come down and, since I thought a loop would be more exciting, we decided on a small car shuttle which allowed us to go in along Ribbon Creek and out along Galatea Creek. On the way out, we would have to cross Guinn's Pass.
Ribbon Creek turned out to be an easy walk in perfect weather. With James in the lead, we set a fast pace up to Ribbon Falls. We passed a few groups and encountered a park ranger, with whom we chatted at length. After the falls, the trail rapidly started to gain some altitude to the rock face. Our quick pace up the creek left us a little tired going up towards the chain section but we made it after some frequent rests. James and I charged ahead up the chains and were soon at the top. Peter, Rod and Simeon were a little slower up the last of the trail before the chains and had to wait a bit more as Rod experienced some cramps in his calves. The chain section wasn't as difficult as on-line guides had led me to believe but one section was probably a bit more difficult than anything I had scrambled before. It was definitely doable without the chains but they were helpful since I wasn't so nimble with a large pack on. I ended up going back down without my pack and lugging Rod's up as he suffered with his cramped legs; his gamer energy drink might have left him lacking some electrolytes. Peter and Simeon didn't mind lightening their packs at this point and sharing their water and snacks with Rod to help him out. Once at the top, it was again an easy walk to the lake and our campsite.
The next day was supposed to start out tough but would be downhill from the top of the pass. After a short walk through the trees, we took the turn up to Guinn's Pass and really started to go uphill in a hurry. The path was well-packed on the scree slope so walking wasn't difficult. Again, James set the pace and I stayed right on his heels. Rod was a ways back with Simeon and Peter a little further down the trail. It was a good grunt up Guinn's Pass but the view was definitely worth it. The other side proved to be another scree slope but not as well-packed so I was glad I was going down it. Again, James and I led the way with the others following at their leisure. After gathering together on the south side of the pass, we were off down Galatea Creek. James and I got into a nice rhythm and we flew down the path without any breaks. It was an overcast day and nice to put in a long, uninterrupted walk like that. The sun came out just before we hit the final parking lot and we had 40 minutes of lying in the warm sunshine before Rod appeared, followed quickly by Simeon and Peter.
After having the heaviest backpack during the Tombstone trip, I think I was the lightest on this one. I had pretty much the same equipment except James was carrying my tent poles and Rod's Grand Stew and I had forgot my camera. The stew would be even heavier this time since three of us would be sharing it. Peter weighed his pack once he had returned home and found he was carrying 16.6 kg, or nearly 30% of his body weight. My pack weighed 12.8 kg in the end or just 16% of my body weight. It's no wonder Peter struggled up the pass and I was on James' heels all day. As I took Rod's pack up the chains the first day, it felt like it was definitely a little heavier than mine.
We're all looking forward to more adventures like this next year and we hope a few more friends will join us.

Tombstone Backpacking

I got out for my first backpacking trip in a long time on 15 and 16 August. I went with Peter and Rod up to the Tombstone backcountry campground near Tombstone Lakes in Kananaskis. It was about ten years after Jesse, Rod and I got lost in David Thompson Country so it was about time to get back out. My little Edmonton gaming group is a good collection of outdoor adventurers but only three of us were able to find the time to go.

After a bit of debate, it was decided that we needed a fairly short, in and out, one-night trip that wasn't too far from Calgary. A little searching the web and talking with some of the hikers in my office led to picking Tombstone. It lies on the junction of the Little Elbow – Big Elbow loop and a trail in from Elbow Lake. The short route is to park on Hwy 40, just north of the summit of the Highwood Pass and hike the 6 km or so past Elbow Lake. We watched the weather all week as it was cloudy and rainy but the forecast for the weekend suggested some improvement.

Peter and Rod showed up at my house on Friday evening so we could make final arrangements and head out the next day. We expected a short hike so we didn't rush through waffles for breakfast and had our packs ready around 11:00. The initial part of the hike is quite steep as it climbs away from the highway. It was comfortable walking because the skies were mostly cloudy and the temperature was cool. We met a few groups coming down from the lake but the trail was almost all ours from the lake to the campground. The trail also descended slightly all the way from the lake to the campground. The scenery was excellent as we walked along the open trail through a gap in two mountain ranges. The peaks were white as the rain in Calgary had fallen as snow at the tops of the mountains.

We were set up in our campground in the late afternoon so we decided to walk up to Tombstone Lakes. We only visited the larger, lower lake. The wind was calm so the lake was perfectly flat with ripples occasionally made by fish coming to the surface to snatch bugs. Rod decided to keep his mountain bathing tradition alive so he stripped down behind some trees and jumped in.

Back at camp, Rod and I enjoyed "One Grand Stew" even though it had leaked a little in my pack. We eventually got a fire going despite the wet wood and were able to sit around it, enjoying 56 herbs of medicinal goodness, and chat while night came. We got a little rain through the night but Rod was comfy in his new bivy sack and Peter and I were dry in my tent. The slope of the ground and lack of friction between his mattress and sleeping bag meant Peter spent most of the night sliding to the foot of the tent.

We woke to more clouds and lots of mist in the valleys. Again, we were in no hurry so we ate breakfast and packed up at a relaxing pace. The weather was a little cooler and we got a few more drops of rain on the way out but it was a pleasant walk. This day we encountered a few more groups on the trail although they were just there for the day. I was a bit surprised because there was no real destination between Elbow Lake and the campground. We even encountered a group out on horses and I spotted a moose who quickly went crashing back into the trees because of the noise of the horses.

All in all, it was an easy, enjoyable hike and good to get back out with friends. We hadn't even got back to the car before plans for our second hike were being laid. The actual trip ended up to be 7.62 km each way and the one-way trip up to Tombstone Lake was 2.2 km. It took us 2.5 hours for each leg of the backpack though we were only in motion for 1:40 each time. The elevation gain was just under 400 m.

Blown Away

Our first attempt at camping did not turn out so well. The day was quite nice and relaxing. We had an early start and got ourselves set up at a campsite on a reservoir near Bassano. The day was hot and sunny and there were even some other campers there with dachshunds! Unfortunately, just as it was getting dark, it got pretty windy. The Brooks weather station reported sustained 41 km/h winds with gusts of 62 km/h at one point in the night. It felt worse where we were. With these winds, threatening clouds and lots of lightning in the area, we decided to bail and head home. I had pegged the tent down but the ground was too soft and most of the pegs were ripped out of the ground when we went to pack up. I'm not sure how much blowing my tent can withstand and I prefer when it doesn't tumble across a campsite and float away on a lake. I think we got everything stuffed into the car before it blew away. Oh well. We'll try again soon. Maybe we'll even try a backpacking trip next.

ハイキング

Previously posted on 5 Aug 2006

Today we got out and about for a short hike. We went towards Chester Lake which is south of Canmore. My speed skating friend, Arcton, was going with his wife, Yukiko, and their two children. I say hiked towards Chester Lake because Ying and I didn’t make it all the way to the lake. Despite it being a beautiful day, we had to return home early in the hopes that our mattress would be delivered. I hope the rest of the hike was good for Arcton and Yukiko. Waiting for the mattress is trying my patience. Because we missed their call last week, we’ve had to endure days of incompetence by the delivery company. As I said before, last Saturday they couldn’t schedule a delivery because they were doing inventory, please call Tuesday. Tuesday they weren’t answering their phones. Wednesday they couldn’t schedule the delivery because their computers were down. Thursday, they phone to say they’ll deliver Saturday but they’ll phone me back on Friday to tell me what time. Friday, they call while while we’re out at a restaurant for Ying’s birthday dinner and they tell me our delivery is scheduled for 14:00 - 17:00 on Saturday; ergo, Ying and I turn around from the hike early and rush home to wait. And wait. And wait. At 18:00 I phone the delivery company. No answer. The store where we bought the mattress senses some hostility from me and decides to take action. The delivery guy just called to say they’ll arrive in the next 30 - 60 minutes. 他妈的! I’m considering demanding my delivery fee back because this is a joke. Especially, if you include the two weeks of shipping ‘cause the mattress started in Ontario. We paid for our mattress on 13 July! At least they’re faster than the Camera Store. I order my $8 part on 10 July and it arrived yesterday with only three calls by me to encourage speedy service. I’m interested in a Pentax SLR and looked at one again while I was in the store today. They only had the display one in stock. Like a fool, I put down my name to have them call me when they get their next shipment. I think I’ll not bother waiting on them and look elsewhere tomorrow or next week.