Training Log Archive: danfosterIn the 7 days ending Aug 14, 2021:
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Saturday Aug 14, 2021 #
Paddling 20:00:00 [3] 50.0 mi (24:00 / mi)
Spent the work week "working" on my navigation skills in the fog. 4 night sea kayaking trip to Jonesport, ME, perhaps the foggiest place in the US. (OK, in researching this, it turns out that the lighthouse we paddled to on Mistake Island on Thursday is listed as the 5th foggiest place in the US by Farmer's Almanac)
I was the 7th member to join a group trip that had permission for 6 people to camp on a new MITA island off Jonesport, so I was accepted on the condition that I sleep solo on nearby Mouse Island, a tiny, treeless acre of rock just a few minutes away. It turned out to be the highlight of the trip for me, as I found a small patch of sand just above the high tide line with just enough room for my tent, and had a sweeping view of the ocean around me while my friends lugged gear across a foggy, boggy, buggy field to their spot on the larger island.
We had three long days of paddling 9-5, almost entirely through dense fog with less than 1/4 mile visibility. Crossing between islands meant knowing exactly where we were departing from, calculating a bearing and distance, offsetting the bearing for drift from the tidal current, and then religiously following a compass bearing off into the gloomy void, keeping a watch out for lobster boats and any sign of our destination ahead. Most islands wouldn't appear out of the fog until we were about 30 seconds away from reaching them. It was pretty surreal, but strangely beautiful, and a high-stakes application of all of the navigation skills I've developed over years in Scouts, working with maps, and adventure racing.
I was the 7th member to join a group trip that had permission for 6 people to camp on a new MITA island off Jonesport, so I was accepted on the condition that I sleep solo on nearby Mouse Island, a tiny, treeless acre of rock just a few minutes away. It turned out to be the highlight of the trip for me, as I found a small patch of sand just above the high tide line with just enough room for my tent, and had a sweeping view of the ocean around me while my friends lugged gear across a foggy, boggy, buggy field to their spot on the larger island.
We had three long days of paddling 9-5, almost entirely through dense fog with less than 1/4 mile visibility. Crossing between islands meant knowing exactly where we were departing from, calculating a bearing and distance, offsetting the bearing for drift from the tidal current, and then religiously following a compass bearing off into the gloomy void, keeping a watch out for lobster boats and any sign of our destination ahead. Most islands wouldn't appear out of the fog until we were about 30 seconds away from reaching them. It was pretty surreal, but strangely beautiful, and a high-stakes application of all of the navigation skills I've developed over years in Scouts, working with maps, and adventure racing.
Sunday Aug 8, 2021 #
Gravel/Mixed Terrain Ride 4:43:00 [3] 53.8 mi (5:16 / mi)
Mixed-terrain ride with the Cisco gang from Stone Cow Brewery in Barre to Hardwick, Quabbin, Petersham for lunch, and then up into some crazy abandoned woods roads where things got very mountain-bikey, very fast. On the way back south, we had another woods road to deal with, this one with a long, deep flooded section that surprisingly failed to immerse anyone. The sun came out just in time to roast us as we pedaled back to a victory beer at Stone Cow.
Spent the rest of the evening frantically packing for 5 days of sea kayaking in Jonesport, ME.
Spent the rest of the evening frantically packing for 5 days of sea kayaking in Jonesport, ME.