Training Log Archive: Bash

We made the Caledon news for our La Cloche Silhouette loop! The article was adapted from my AP log entry so you may already have read a longer version.
https://justsayincaledon.com/a-rugged-hike/?fbclid...

I squeezed in the City Scavenger Hunt badge on a busy day including errands like: "Buy milk, bagels, fruit, house". Well, not quite. I transferred the funds to the lawyer today. We buy the house on Tuesday.

I had to be in Orangeville, which is the only full-fledged city within a short driving distance. Unlike the Trail Scavenger Hunt, there was very little on the list that I knew how to find so it really was a random scavenger hunt. There was a long list with different point values for different items: Hose, Public library, Basketball hoop, Bridge, Horse, Boat, BBQ, Flag, House with red front door, House with decorative outdoor lights, etc. You can be awarded a maximum of 65 points but the list is longer than that, and you can keep going for as long as you want.

As I meandered around Orangeville's downtown, it seemed to take forever to get to 30 points. I didn't expect to get full points. There were things I knew I wouldn't find - like a train - and things I didn't expect to find, like a phone booth or a person wearing a cowboy hat. But my luck started to turn when I found their park, where I got points for swinging on a swing and sliding on a slide, and for finding items like a soccer net and a tennis court.

Then I got *really* lucky. There is a vague item on the list worth 10 points: "Hold a rainbow in your hand." I remembered Kissy holding her neighbour's rainbow flag during Pride month - but this is September. Then I saw this telephone pole - yahoo!!!



After holding the rainbow, it got too easy. A full-sized tractor was parked in someone's driveway in a residential neighbourhood (ka-ching!), a motorcycle was tucked in the corner of a parking lot (ka-ching!) and a cat crossed the road (a big one - 5 points!) I stopped at 81 points so I could go buy groceries. More fun than I'd expected.

'Bent and I have been watching Le Tour de France, which isn't easy in Canada this year - especially in rural Palgrave. It's expensive but we figure it's less expensive than going to France like we did last year. It's the closest I'll get to an international vacation in 2020 so I'm really enjoying the beautiful landscapes and historic buildings. It makes life feel semi-normal at a time when cases are rising in Ontario and life is definitely not normal.**

**The race director of the TdF, Christian Prudhomme, tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday so he'll need to isolate. The riders, who wear a mask in the start corral but not while they're riding, all tested negative. Some team support staff tested positive yesterday and were sent home. The rule is that a team will have to leave the tour if two people in their bubble (riders + support staff) test positive.

With 10 days remaining in the Coast Mountain Trail Running Summer Scavenger Hunt, I still had 6 challenges to go as of this morning. I'm managing a move in Collingwood next week so I probably won't get much training in. We're only allowed to do one challenge per day.

This seemed like a good chance to do the Double Double - two sessions in one day of at least 30 minutes each. Since I have two unemployed dogs at home thanks to Covid-19, this challenge was made for me.



I took AdventureDog first - thank goodness I did it in that order. There was a fox ahead of us in Mad Dog Meadow. A-Dog didn't see it but for the next 5 minutes, his hackles were up and his nose was vacuuming the ground. Then the three farm dogs appeared on Raspberry Hill, having slipped out of their fence. One of them behaved aggressively. He didn't care when I yelled but he left when I picked up a thick branch. A-Dog wanted to chase after them and demonstrate his superiority. That wouldn't have gone well so it's fortunate that he's obedient off-leash.



We also had some other sightings in the woods. Yes, it's a cow.

Later in the day BazingaDog and I went out into Palgrave West, doing the same route as this morning with the lollipop reversed. Luckily, we didn't see major wildlife so I didn't have to perform any heroics to keep him from pulling the leash from my hand.

24 years ago today...
And the adventures continue!



PFDs were mandatory gear for all our wedding guests. We had lunch on this campsite during a canoe trip last summer.



The traditional 24th anniversary gift is Opal. The modern gift is a Musical Instrument. 'Bent gave me some paint repairs, packed several boxes of kitchen stuff and made a yummy pizza. It was a wild celebration!

No time for training today. The next time we're at Tree Hugger ABC, it will be for moving day.

'Bent and I rode a loop at Kolapore after a short walk around Tree Hugger ABC 2.0. Nine more days!



We couldn't resist hiding our bikes in the forest and bushwhacking to the back of our property-to-be from the trail. We hadn't planned on this, so we didn't have map or compass other than our phones.



If anyone is interested in some really heinous bushwhack training, have we got a place for you! The nasty, thick wetland slog took us right to our back fence, which we followed west until the forest opened up. Then we snuck in for a brief look at the back of our future property. If we had been 100 m further west, the bushwhacking would have been OK, as we learned on our way back. We're getting some better ideas on where our new trail should go.

This was the part where we were bushwhacking in bike shoes.

Another Summer Scavenger Hunt challenge:

"Support Local Small Business - Run to a local merchant and purchase something from within... Avoid big box chains, if at all possible, and support the family run businesses. Bonus points are being offered up for the craziest items we see purchased and carried along on the run."

I hiked to a local plaza via the Georgian Trail as quickly as I could and managed to go a little faster than yesterday. I'd much rather be running but at least it's something. 'Bent and I have often talked about running or biking to this plaza for lunch or dinner but it took this challenge to make me do it.

Because of the potential for bonus points, I *really* hoped I would find something in the consignment store that I wanted. It takes some effort to earn bonus points in a race with 2200+ participants since they limit the number of points they allocate across the field each week. But today there was nothing I liked that I could carry 3 kilometres.

I noticed my realtor's office, which I hadn't realized was there. I said hello and wondered if it would be cheating to count our new chalet as a "Shop Local" purchase. Yes, probably.

So it had to be dessert then. I really didn't want to, but there was simply no other choice. I went to the Heavenly Cafe and loaded up on almond croissants and chocolate dip biscotti, which I carried home in a big bakery box. Mmm.

A tale of Detective Work, Mystery Solving and Looking for Bodies

'Bent and Tarno ran in Pretty River Valley Provincial Park this morning. They noticed an older, good quality Jamis mountain bike leaning against a tree just off the Bruce Trail beside a cliff lookout. They yelled a bit in case someone needed help but no one answered. They carried on.



Back home, 'Bent thought about posting the photo in a mountain biking Facebook group. I suggested that he phone the police in case it had been reported stolen.

We figured they'd just make a note but the officer was quite interested. 'Bent was the 2nd person to report this bike. As we thought about it, it was strange that the bike was easily visible from the trail.

- If someone had stashed their bike while they walked somewhere, they would have taken it further into the forest rather than leaving it near a popular trail.
- If someone had pushed their biking partner off the cliff, they would have thrown the bike after them or hidden it.
- There were two sad possibilities that would be consistent with a bike in a visible place: a clifftop selfie gone wrong or a suicide.

The police asked lots of questions about how to get to the bike and how to get below the cliff. We sent a photo of that part of the Snowshoe Raid orienteering map. They were talking about arranging ATVs. As we thought about it, if someone were injured at the bottom of a cliff, we might be able to get to them sooner. We decided to go for a hike.

First we went below the cliff. That trail has been closed so it was partly bushwhacking. 'Bent's memory of the bike's location was a little off so we weren't right below it when we turned back. Next we walked in on the Bruce Trail to see if the bike was still there. From that point, we thought we might be able to look around further. It's a beautiful area but it would be a long way down if someone slipped.



The bike was gone but we weren't sure where it had been. 'Bent had run from the opposite direction and he wasn't expecting to become part of a police investigation so he only had a rough idea of where he'd seen it. So we looked at branches and moss patterns on trees until we found the tree where the bike had been.



It was right beside the most exposed cliff along that part of the Bruce Trail.





We realized that the approximate GPS coordinates 'Bent had given the police were a little off so we got the real coordinates. 'Bent started to dictate the lat/long to Siri to email to the officer but I stopped him.

As we'd gone back and forth short distances on the trail, I'd noticed a middle-aged man with a pony tail who wasn't behaving like a hiker. He barely had anything with him and I'd seen him wandering back and forth to different lookouts but he didn't take photos or appear to enjoy the views. He had walked by us again as we stood at the "bike tree". 'Bent started talking about the police and I noticed the man turn back toward us from 20 meters away. Suddenly, the "foul play" theory seemed more plausible.

With a big, fake, nervous smile, I asked, "Are you looking for a trail?" In a strong Spanish accent, he said sadly, "No, I'm looking for my bike!"

Well, we had a great conversation with Fernando, who is originally from Argentina. Two nights ago, he rode in Pretty River for the first time. The riding is difficult, rocky and slow in places, and he didn't have a map. It got dark. When he realized the trail was running along the edge of a cliff, he abandoned his bike and walked out slowly. His phone had died so he had no light. The trail is rugged and there are deep crevices right beside it. He was lucky. He said he was saved by the white markings of the Bruce Trail, which he was able to see in the dim light. He turned the wrong way (east) on 6th Sideroad and went down the escarpment and through the knee-deep pond at the bottom. He eventually made it to a house where they phoned 911 for him. Paramedics, a fire truck and police came. He mentioned the bike but no one put the stories together - possibly because he isn't super comfortable in English.

Fernando asked if we could explain his story to the police. He pulled out his phone and showed us a photo of himself with the bike in case we had any doubts. We didn't. We relayed his name and phone number to the police dispatcher, who seemed more interested in getting 'Bent's address and birthdate and other information that he hadn't been asked earlier.

Then we all walked out together to our cars. We had no idea if the police had been there. Maybe Fernando's bike was taken by a hiker. At least he knew for sure that he had been looking in the right place and the bike was gone.

His phone rang. It was the constable who had spoken with 'Bent earlier. Fernando wanted us to speak on his behalf once again. The police *had* come out and picked up the bike and spent some time looking for bodies, just like we did. They had the bike at the Collingwood OPP detachment. We texted all the info to Fernando, ensured that he had the right address entered in Google Maps and wished him well.

He wanted to give us something but we said he'd already given us a great story. A while later, this text arrived. :)

Another Summer Scavenger Hunt badge in the final days of the challenge: the Distance Run. Thankfully, it doesn't have to be a run since my feet aren't in great shape right now. "You have 1 hour to run, hike or walk as far as you can!"

I thought of ultrarunner Charlotte Vasarhelyi, who trained her walking speed on a treadmill to get accustomed to walking with a sense of urgency in a long race, rather than treating it as a rest.

I walked to the Georgian Trail and did a hike in that area. 'Bent and the dogs took occasional sniff stops, then scrambled after me. I was aiming for 6 kph and ended up with 6.3 kph. That's probably not good enough for Charlotte but it was fine with me. Sadly, it made my right heel hurt.

This is our last weekend at Tree Hugger ABC. We'll do some packing and some vacationing. The next time we're up here, it will be moving day. It's been a great place for us. When I walked through the door today, I was reminded of how nice it has been, and I felt a bit guilty. I even said, "I'm sorry" out loud. But its next owners will love it too, I hope. On to new adventures. :)