Training Log Archive: Bash

I was totally exhausted last night - barely able to keep my eyes open after dinner. It wasn't just this week; it's been a busy summer. It was so nice to sleep so long - mmm.

'Bent and I ran the Mizzy Lake loop plus a little extra to get to/from our van. It was drizzling for part of the run, otherwise just humid and damp.



The forest was beautiful anyway. This is known as a wildlife trail but we only saw homo sapiens. And fungus.



The trail is very rooty with occasional rocks; luckily, my Speedcross Pros do a good job in those conditions although caution is still required. We had to rush to get back to lunch on time so the final rail trail section went quickly.

'Bent and I went for another pre-dinner paddle at Arowhon Pines, this time to explore the twisty creek that feeds Little Joe Lake from the north.

'Bent and I rode the Minnesing Trail in Algonquin Park. The farthest loop is closed so we repeated one of the inner loops. It's been awhile since we've ridden here because parts of the trail had become severely eroded and often very muddy. Some improvements have been made but the sign at the trailhead said they are actively seeking ideas and assistance to rehabilitate the trail. Regardless, it was surprisingly fun! There are still some slippery boulder fields that are hike-a-bikes for us but a good portion of it was challenging without being ridiculous. I earned my lunch buffet today. :)

'Bent and I paddled a couple of plastic pig-kayaks to visit our wedding location on Joe Lake. It's a popular canoe campsite so we're rarely able to step onshore but it's nice to paddle by and remember.

On our 10th anniversary, we paddled over with a few family members who had joined us. That time we were brave enough to ask whether we could visit for a few minutes. The campers were delighted to hear our story; the older gentleman was a justice of the peace who officiates weddings.



L to R: Dad, Mom, Mimi ('Bent's sister), Bash, 'Bent, 'Bent's Mom, Frank (Mimi's husband)



This year we got chatting with canoeists as they arrived at their campsite. The five women immediately invited us to pull up our kayaks, then one of them asked, "Wait a minute! Are you the people who got married?!" I laughed, "I don't know how to answer that!"

As we continued talking with Toni from North York, we discovered that she had been camping nearby with her daughter on our wedding day 22 years ago; she had seen us and our guests as we went by, and she was one of the many strangers who waved at the bride from shore. It has been one of her standard camping stories ever since, so all the women were as wide-eyed as she was. They asked us to show them where we stood, and we gave them the full tour: "The string quartet was over here", "We walked up the so-called aisle here", "Our guests sat on their lifejackets on this rock", etc.

This has undoubtedly improved her story for future years and it has given us a wonderful story of our own! The campers insisted on pouring small glasses of wine for all of us, and we toasted our improbable meeting along with our anniversary. Awesome. :)

I’m an inefficient swimmer! It’s way too much work the way I do it.

'Bent and I drove up to Arowhon Pines lodge in Algonquin Park for an early anniversary celebration. We were married at a canoe campsite on nearby Joe Lake and our reception took place at the lodge. It's a good excuse to return most years to play outside and eat way too much good food.

We went for a pre-dinner paddle although it wasn't super exciting for me after spending 8 hours in a canoe yesterday! The dusk view from the deck was lovely.

Bob and I tested a Wilderness Traverse paddle section. It started out chilly but turned into a warm, sunny day.



We saw lots of beautiful Canadian shield scenery, of course.



We also saw three Massasauga rattlesnakes within 20 meters on an overgrown trail, including these two, who were mating and rattling at us to go away.



We also enjoyed an excellent concert from a local man we'd stopped to chat with.



Course testing is never boring!

WT Testing
Canoeing Moon River to Pete's Place on Aug. 30, 2018
36.7 km
155 m climb
8:08:05

Wilderness Traverse course test

Bob and I tested part of a Wilderness Traverse trek. The forest was beautiful and there were lots of slippery, rocky scrambles after last night's storm. We'd expected a little rain but got totally drenched! And that's about all I can say about that.

Mmm, that was a really good, refreshing sleep for once. Then I was awakened by the dog care place confirming our arrival tomorrow for Wilderness Traverse weekend. Turns out they'd entered the wrong date in their booking system and *fortunately* still had space left on the right weekend. Then Mom called on her way to Emerg (all turned out OK after 7 hours). So it was a true Monday.