Training Log Archive: Bash

Trekking (Trail) 22:25 [1] 2.02 km (11:07 / km) +62m 9:38 / km
shoes: Salomon Speedcross Pro - Red

I did a Spring Scavenger Hunt challenge where I had to roll dice and use the answer in some way to plan a run or hike. I decided to roll two dice and go that distance in kilometres. I rolled snake eyes so that was easy - and convenient because I'd actually wanted to do a strength workout so this was a perfect warm-up.



I stopped at Thinker's Hill to check out the view.



I saw something shiny on the ground and burst out laughing when I recognized it. In the Winter Scavenger Hunt, we got points for finding a fork in the trail and for finding a spoon in the trail. Some of us carried a spoon to make that happen. Apparently I stuck it in the snow, took a photo and completely forgot about it. :)

Strength & Mobility 30:00 [3]

Mountain Biking (Rail Trail) 1:07:55 [3] 20.4 km (18.0 kph) +179m

Note

Note

Paddling (Canoe) 2:26:01 [1] 11.22 km (4.6 kph)

Easy paddle on the Beaver River with 'Bent, heading upstream from Epping until we felt like turning around.





The Beaver Valley is flooded so we weren't limited to paddling on the river. We could go exploring in the forest and catch up with the river later on! Our GPS track shows us paddling happily through the woods in a few places. :)



It turned into a nice day - a little chilly heading north into the wind on the way back.



We saw a bald eagle but it took off before I could get a good photo. This was the nest; the bird waited on a nearby tree in hopes that we wouldn't notice the nest, I guess. A little difficult when it was 2 meters in diameter.



We saw a couple of muskrats and several pairs of trumpeter swans.



There were plenty of Canada Geese too but they were better at social distancing than they usually are.

Nobody else was on the water, which was nice since this is often a busy stretch of river.

Note

Power Yoga 30:00 [1]

Note

Running (Trail) 1:20:57 [2] 7.64 km (10:35 / km) +187m 9:26 / km
shoes: Salomon SpikeCross - 2nd pair

Run-walk around Palgrave East for the Street Artistry challenge in the Spring Scavenger Hunt. I don't spend much time on roads - especially not urban roads where artists might paint murals or cool graffiti. I thought about driving to Orangeville to run around their Art Walk of Tree Sculptures.
https://www.orangeville.ca/en/living-here/resource...

But that didn't seem Covid-friendly and I'm still testing whether my injured right foot can run so I decided not to pound it on concrete.

Instead I pounded it on ice. There was also mud and even a few dry sections but there was a surprising amount of ice.





Palgrave Forest has plenty of Mother Nature's art.



It is also decorated with painted rocks and a large community of fairy houses.









My right heel was mildly painful when running but it's also mildly painful when I'm walking around the house. It doesn't seem that short runs make it worse but it's the long runs that I really miss. I hope I can get back to them.

Power Yoga 23:00 [1]

Trekking (Trail and Off-Trail) 1:22:08 [1] 5.18 km (15:52 / km) +91m 14:35 / km
shoes: Salomon Snowcross1 2nd pair

Bruce Trail hike with 'Bent and the pooches. The snow has softened enough that it's really unpredictable now. Sometimes it holds you up but every 3-4 steps, you plunge in - sometimes knee-deep. Parts of the forest were still mostly snow-covered - perfect for snowshoes if we'd thought to wear them but it would have been too difficult for the dogs. Other areas were mostly bare, including the hillside in this photo, which I've entitled, "Spring Skiing Conditions". Yes, that's the trail.

Trekking (Trail) 1:10:03 5.38 km (13:01 / km) +111m 11:48 / km
shoes: Salomon SpikeCross - black

'Bent, BazingaDog, AdventureDog and I hiked around 3 Stage, the upper part of Pretty River Valley Provincial Park. It's still quite snowy up there but some bare ground is beginning to show. The dogs went crazy with all the new smells.

Trekking (Trail) 2:38:25 12.01 km (13:12 / km) +297m 11:45 / km
shoes: Salomon Snowcross1 2nd pair

Amber and I wanted to have an Orienteering Ontario discussion so we decided to talk while hiking to Duncan Escarpment Provincial Park on the Bruce Trail. It was a bluebird day but there weren't many people out.

I decided to kill two birds with one stone by doing the Waterfall Wonders badge in the CMTR Spring Scavenger Hunt. This loop passes near the top of a pretty waterfall. We needed to do a steep, icy scramble in Kahtoola Microspikes to see water actually falling.

Because it was an orienteering discussion, naturally we missed our turn onto the Bruce Side Trail and ended up hiking back on 9th Sideroad, half of which is snow-covered and closed for the winter.

XC Skiing - Skate (Groomed Trail) 34:02 7.11 km (12.5 kph) +130m

Spring skate ski at Scenic Caves on a bluebird day. At this time of year, the snow changes texture and speed constantly but on average, conditions were fast. Remembering Hammer's crash on unpredictable snow yesterday, I kept my speed in check. Except for the areas closest to the chalet, the trails were almost deserted.





From the lookout, you can see there's no snow in town and no ice in Georgian Bay.



They're claiming a 50 cm base and it looks like that's accurate.

XC Skiing - Classic (Groomed Trail) 45:15 [3] 7.64 km (10.1 kph) +118m

I prefer classic so I switched but today was made for skate skiing. The tracks softened as things warmed up and got crusty in the shade. It wasn't bad - not by a long shot - but sometimes it felt like harder work than usual.

Trekking (Ungroomed) 1:11:51 [1] 4.64 km (15:30 / km) +80m 14:16 / km
shoes: Salomon Snowcross1 2nd pair

Note

Note

Note

I'm putting this here because AP is my journal more than Facebook is. We posted this on the Elm Tree Dental Clinic's page today:

One year ago today, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the Elm Tree Dental Clinic in Palgrave to close except for very limited emergency care. We donated most of our masks and gloves to Headwaters Health Care Centre in Orangeville and went home to bake bread and follow the news.

As more was learned about COVID-19, new provincial protocols were developed to keep dental offices safe for patients and staff. Infection control has always been a key part of dentistry so we already had a strong foundation to build on. We've worked hard to make the Elm Tree Dental Clinic one of the safest places in our community.

The clinic re-opened after 12 weeks with updated protocols in place. As the case numbers in our area have risen and fallen, we have continued to limit the patients we see and the treatments we do, focusing on preventive dentistry, essential treatments and emergency care.

Recently Dr. Ehrlich and Susanne, our longtime dental hygienist, received their first doses of the Moderna vaccine. The other members of our dental team all have their appointments booked. We're thrilled that some of our patients have already been vaccinated and that most will be offered their first dose by early summer.

We couldn't have imagined the events of the past year or the speed with which vaccines would be developed. We anticipate that many of our new clinic protocols will remain in place permanently. Although our lives won't return to normal in the near future, we are so happy to begin this new chapter. Like all of you, we can't wait to hug our friends and family.

Thanks for your support in these difficult times. Stay healthy and we look forward to seeing you.

Running (Trail & Country Road) 50:22 [3] 6.01 km (8:23 / km) +35m 8:09 / km
shoes: Salomon Speedcross 5 Red

Jill, Caron and I took on the PJ Party challenge in the Spring Scavenger Hunt today.

We warmed up in their driveway by dancing to "Pajama Time" from the Sandra Boynton book.



Here's the full song in case you ever want to boogie before bedtime - especially if you have kids.



We had a chatty run on roads down to the rail trail, which had some long patches of glare ice that made us tiptoe since we hadn't worn spikes. We waved at hikers, dog walkers and passing drivers.







Yesterday's challenge was a test of my portable speaker so I could make a playlist for today's run and play it at a decent volume.

Pajama Time - Adam Bryant
Dreamer - Supertramp
Mr. Sandman - Chordettes
The Lion Sleeps Tonight - Nylons
Dream On - Aerosmith
I Can't Find My Pyjamas - Al Simmons
Dreamin' Again - Jim Croce
Dreams - Fleetwood Mac
Sweet Dreams Are Made of This - Kevin Fox (I didn't have the Annie Lennox version on my phone)
Tired as Fuck - Tragically Hip



When I went home, I figured I should get a photo of my pyjama running outfit.



I went into the house. Two minutes later, the doorbell rang. WTF? Our doorbell almost *never* rings - especially since the pandemic started. I ripped off the pyjamas (long underwear underneath) and tore the elastics from my pigtails. I rushed to the door and just found an envelope on the ground after all that, lol!

Note

Running (Country Road) 40:26 [3] 5.57 km (7:16 / km) +92m 6:42 / km
shoes: Salomon SpikeCross - 2nd pair

This was my first run in 8 weeks. I've been skiing a lot so I don't feel unfit but it definitely uses different body parts! I've been hoping that my right heel pain might magically vanish if I took a break. I kept it short today and we'll see how it goes. The heel is sore but not that much worse than my usual day-to-day soreness. At least that's been "usual" since just before the pandemic - bad timing.

Now that the snow is mostly gone in Caledon and it's too early for mountain biking, it's time to do more challenges in the CMTR Spring Scavenger Hunt. I did the Listen Local Musical Interlude badge, making a playlist of artists who live in or were born in Ontario: Bryan Adams, Barenaked Ladies, Tragically Hip, Les Stroud, Gordon Lightfoot, Coco Love Alcorn, Bruce Cockburn, Stan Rogers and the Cowboy Junkies. Yes, I am that old!

Based on the small amount of snow in our yard, I'd imagined that I could run along Finnerty Sideroad to the north entrance to Palgrave Forest and return home on trails. Ha! Not a chance. I bushwhacked up a hill to a trail, hoping it would be OK but it was rock-hard glare ice - a job for Kahtoola Microspikes, not Spikecross. So I bushwhacked back down and made it a gravel road run.

Trekking 1:07:24 [2] 4.43 km (15:13 / km) +84m 13:55 / km
shoes: Salomon Snowcross1 2nd pair

'Bent, BazingaDog, AdventureDog and I went for a hike to see what this week's high temperatures have done to the deep snow near our place in Kolapore. It was a proprioception exercise because mostly we stayed on top of the snow but there were occasional surprises when one foot would plunge shin-deep or twist sideways as the snow gave way.

The open fields are mostly bare now so crust cruising season will not be happening. On the bright side, maybe we'll be mountain biking sooner than usual.



In the forest, you could still see our ski tracks because they're sitting higher than the rest of the snow!



It's always tough for me to let winter go but this snowmelt happened so quickly that it's been like ripping off a bandaid. I'll happily take advantage of any late season blizzards but in the meantime, I'm officially welcoming spring.

XC Skiing - Classic (Groomed Trail) 1:24:17 [3] 14.64 km (10.4 kph) +292m

It's incredible how quickly winter turned into an early spring this week. Collingwood and Toronto have a lot of green grass now so we hoped the crowds might stay away from Highlands Nordic. They didn't.



But once we got past the first few kms of the trail system, it was just fine.



There was plenty of snow to ski on - no thin spots and almost no debris. Really nice.



Conditions were good starting right from the chalet and got better as we climbed higher.



The steep hill beside the chalet (not on the regular trail system) was a reminder that every day of skiing is precious in March.



A few sections of trail were clinging to the last bit of winter. (This is Quarry Loop.)



Glad we got out another time! Fingers crossed for a few more good snowfalls before muddy dog season becomes a full time thing.

XC Skiing - Classic (Ungroomed) 1:12:10 [3] 8.98 km (7.5 kph) +172m

Hockleycrest ski: It was great to be skiing on such a warm day but it was true spring skiing with all the good and bad that entails. Mostly, it was was nice, soft snow - not sticky or slushy, just slow. But there were also crusty sections, surprise ice patches and some trail sections covered with debris, including forestry around the Buddhist Centre. That said, there is still a good snow base; I only saw one exposed rock and one puddle mid-trail. Conditions are best suited to experienced skiers right now but if they get another good snowfall, it could be really nice again.

The view from the parking lot was scary but it got much better.











I did the Ageless Runder Scavenger Hunt badge where you have to do at least the number of minutes (or kms or miles) of your age. I did the minutes - and then some.

Note

XC Skiing - Classic (Ungroomed) 1:45:57 [3] 13.86 km (7.8 kph) +200m

XC Skiing - Classic (Ungroomed) 2:46:32 [3] 17.82 km (6.4 kph) +421m

'Bent and I did the Kolapore Middle Loop clockwise with a side trip up Mt. Dhaulagiri. We had 12-15 cm of fresh snow from squalls this morning, which revived the ski conditions nicely but got sticky as the temperature warmed up. I had to stop to scrape my skis five times but at this time of year, we can't complain. It's all good!

XC Skiing - Classic (Ungroomed) 1:38:40 [2] 7.03 km (4.3 kph) +100m

Shannon Miller's birthday party, Covid-style: a few women on classic skis in Castle Glen at night with a stop for shots on a hill top. It was fun and the hills were extra adventurous in the dark since some of the trails have branches and saplings that slap skiers in the face unexpectedly. Great chats with actual, live humans. The stars were gorgeous.



I thought one of my Suunto Ambit3 watches had a broken barometric altimeter so I switched to the other watch last weekend. It provided believable numbers until tonight when it said we skied 2800 meters of vertical. Now I'm back to blaming the stupid new Suunto app. One of the reasons I invested in multiple Suunto watches was the accurate altimeter but Garmin is looking better and better.

XC Skiing - Classic (Groomed Trail) 1:43:24 [3] 17.52 km (10.2 kph) +346m

Attackpoint made my day by guessing this was skate skiing, lol! To be fair, I've barely skied on groomed trails this year so it's no wonder AP thinks classic skiing is *really* slow.

I felt I had to do the Rainbow Run challenge in the Spring Scavenger Hunt today after learning that a despicable person has been leaving homophobic messages on the property of a newlywed friend and her wife.



My closest family members are gay and many friends are LGBTQ2S. I'm shocked and heartbroken that they're still dealing with this $#!# in 2021. I'm going to make a donation to a relevant charity in "honour" of the perpetrator. Love is love is love, and it's much more powerful than hate.



I had a great time cross-country skiing on the Rainbow trails at Highlands Nordic. They don't have all the colours so I had to look for indigo and violet ski jackets, including my own, to complete the challenge. The Woolner Loop was open and it was fantastic to be down there although the wind was so strong that the tracks had partly blown in. It was a glorious day!







No, my head isn't really that pointy.



Another reason Highlands is great is that they have permanent orienteering markers.

Snowshoeing (Ungroomed) 45:30 [2] 2.76 km (16:28 / km) +49m 15:08 / km
shoes: Salomon Snowcross 2 Unspiked

Peaceful pre-dinner snowshoe with 'Bent and the dogs, who weren't impressed when we veered off packed trails. It was a *lot* of work with four feet and no snowshoes. The evening light was beautiful.







Exciting news! While we were driving, I stumbled onto an available Covid vaccine appointment for 'Bent on Sunday afternoon. Peel Region has just started vaccinating high priority health care providers who work outside of hospitals and we hadn't been optimistic that he'd get an appointment this month.

Other exciting news: We received homemade hamantaschen (Purim cookies) in the mail from our sister-in-law in Yellowknife.

Note

Trekking (Ungroomed) 1:28:49 [2] 6.03 km (14:44 / km) +118m 13:25 / km
shoes: Salomon SpikeCross - 2nd pair

The Coast Mountain Trail Running Spring Scavenger Hunt started this week. I assume any interested Attackpointers have already signed up but it's not too late if you'd like a pandemic distraction in March and April.
http://www.trailseries.ca/spsh21/

I hiked on ice and waded through heavy snow in Palgrave Forest as I did the Alphabet challenge. I had to find something that started with each letter of the alphabet. To make sure I stayed out long enough, I decided to find the letters in order, which was optional. I discovered how many things in the forest start with the same few letters! (Birch, Beech, Branch, Bench, Bark...) I regretted leaving my Dogs behind because "D" was a surprisingly tough letter to find. They had tried very hard to tell me that before I left.

Glad I didn't meet anyone because I talked to myself the whole time, naming everything I saw!

Ash (infested by Emerald Ash Borer - sigh)







Branch, Conifer

Do Not Enter sign



Excrement, Fence, Gate, Hat, Ice, Jacket

Kahtoolas



Log, Maple

Needles



Oak Ridges Moraine Trail



Puddle



Questionnaire



Road, Snow, Tree, Underbrush

Viewpoint



Woodpile

XC Skis



Yard, Zipper

Note

Note

This guy turned 10 today. Sort of. Richard and I rescued Brody (known on AP as BazingaDog) as a 4-5 month-old puppy. No one knows his real birthday but March 1 should be pretty close.

Black dogs have a harder time finding families, and it probably didn't help that his foster family nicknamed him Bazinga. In those early days, we told people Brody was a Lab/Demon mix. He grew up to become a big, handsome bundle of love, personality and occasional devious ideas. He is greying now - as am I - but today I'm remembering his first few months with us and hoping we have many more adventures to come.
________________________________________________

Taken this weekend - relaxing near his $200 dog bed to remind me that I spent too much on it.



Right after he joined our family. He eventually grew into his tongue. Look at that devilish face!



It was easy to crate train him - although he wouldn't go *inside* the crate for the first month or two.



We took Mocha to the rescue place to make sure she approved of this little puppy. They played happily but she was *not* pleased when we brought him home. After 10 days of icy relations, she carried over a tug-of-war rope and placed the other end in his mouth so they could play. I cried. They became very close for the rest of her life although Mocha preferred these early days before her little brother outweighed her by 50%.



One of many wonderful things about my Dad is that he was the kind of person who would photograph a puppy he found on his kitchen table before asking him to get down.



Poor Brody got 53 quills in his nose and mouth. And if Richard hadn't stopped him from lunging toward the porcupine a second time, there would have been more!



Even at 7 months old, Brody could take up an entire love seat.



Brody's first Christmas - 2011.