Okay, I know, I know. This hasn't exactly marked a high-point in my blogging career! I apologize for the total lack of communication, but I hope I can earn some bonus points for posting on a Sunday afternoon for the first time since I announced that I'd be posting on Sunday afternoons. Now it's time for some catch-up...
First things first: the trip to Brucedale! That was a fantastic bit of nice, easy camping. Obviously a conservation area just off Highway 21 isn't going to hold a candle to the isolation and beauty of Killarney but there's something to be said for being able to store sensitive equipment in the truck when it's looking like rain. Also, showers. There's a LOT to be said for showers.
We really lucked out with the weather and it stayed clear for us for most of the trip. We got a few rumblings of thunder early in the morning on Saturday while we were still safe it our tents, and it rained for about 10 minutes on Saturday afternoon, but aside from that we had great weather. Actually, that led to us spending the majority of the trip on the beach. Anyone who looks at Brucedale on a map and thinks "Wow! That's right on the water, we can hang out on the beach!" may be making a slight calculation error. It's right on the water, yes, but do not count on a beach. That said, it's a pretty short drive up to Port Elgin, which has a lovely stretch of beach to sun yourself on.
Short of any sand-based lounging we just engaged in the usual camping activities of sitting around a campfire, roasting wienies, and regaling each other with tales of our past victories in battle. Well, two out of three ain't bad...
Since then I've been keeping fairly busy with work. There's been a lot of excitement around the office lately. Unfortunately I'm not in a position to go into any details, but I can say that the company I work for has been bought by Zynga. I'm sure that any of you who use Facebook will be familiar with the name, and if you're not I strongly suggest you take a look at their website. For the official press-release on our acquisition please have a look here:
http://zyngablog.typepad.com/zyngacom/2011/07/zynga-acquires-toronto-based-five-mobile-team-creates-toronto-mobile-studio-.html
Like I said, I can't discuss the details of the move except to say that I'm incredibly excited about it and that I think on a personal level that this is going to be amazing for my career. I'm really happy to be a part of the Zynga family!
In martial arts news Kai-sensei has come from Japan to visit us. Unfortunately we haven't had much time to study with him. Brahmjot has formed his own dojo called Tendokan which I am a member of, and during Kai-sensei's visit he has officially closed Seibukan Canada. It's been a pretty tough time for those of us who started studying under the Seibukan name, but I have been assured that this move was entirely necessary, and not taken lightly.
So, that's where I'm at right now. A lot has been shaken up in both my work and personal life, but the future looks rosy! I'm pretty tired at the moment, but feeling pretty good about what's to come. In the short term I don't have much planned, but I'm in the very early stages of trying to put together a trip for Euphemia and I to go visit her family in China. I'm really hopeful that I can arrange to get 3 weeks off work to turn this into an epic trip on par with the great voyage to Japan that originally spawned this blog. Right now we're aiming for Spring 2012, so it's still in the very early planning stages, but just like any of my trips I'll keep you all posted as things start to take shape.
My apologies again for making it so long between posts. I hope that I can get back in to the rhythm of writing regularly again from this point forward.
Sunday, 17 July 2011
Sunday, 19 June 2011
Camping Prep
Good evening all, and Happy Father's Day to all those of you for whom that is applicable. I know I was going to try to write on Sunday afternoons, but I suppose it's better late than never.
We're less than two weeks out from our Canada Day camping trip and things are starting to come together. I'm taking a much more hands-on role in the preparation this time... can't count on Dad to just provide me with a list of everything I need. Of course, he's helped out with that; I just called him today and he reminded me of a few things that I would have forgotten about. It's funny how easy it is to forget something as simple as a camp chair, and it's also funny how big an impact that could have on your comfort at camp. In the end though this is a pretty stress-free camping prep since we're not going into the deep woods. Knowing that we'll have a vehicle handy for quick supply runs is pretty comforting.
It looks like we'll be getting an addition to our camping crew as well. Euphemia's friend Bing has expressed an interest in joining us, and since we've got a reservation for six people and only three of us scheduled to go it was no problem. Now we are four. The closer it gets to Canada Day the more excited I'm getting! This should be an easy, relaxing camp and I'm really looking forward to it.
In totally unrelated news I've purchased a new motorcycle! I went out today to visit my friend Mike and took his Kawasaki ZZR600 for a test drive. That was, without question, the most fun I've ever had on a motorcycle! I've really enjoyed my little CBR125, but the bigger bike was a whole different world. There was way more power on tap than I needed, but it was very comforting to know that the power was there when I needed it. We toured around for a couple hours and at the end of our run I made the purchase. Mike's going to hang on to the bike for me while I sell my current one and then I'll try to get some pictures up.
Well, that's all for now folks. I've got one more post to go up before the camp, so I'll provide details then. See you all next Sunday.
We're less than two weeks out from our Canada Day camping trip and things are starting to come together. I'm taking a much more hands-on role in the preparation this time... can't count on Dad to just provide me with a list of everything I need. Of course, he's helped out with that; I just called him today and he reminded me of a few things that I would have forgotten about. It's funny how easy it is to forget something as simple as a camp chair, and it's also funny how big an impact that could have on your comfort at camp. In the end though this is a pretty stress-free camping prep since we're not going into the deep woods. Knowing that we'll have a vehicle handy for quick supply runs is pretty comforting.
It looks like we'll be getting an addition to our camping crew as well. Euphemia's friend Bing has expressed an interest in joining us, and since we've got a reservation for six people and only three of us scheduled to go it was no problem. Now we are four. The closer it gets to Canada Day the more excited I'm getting! This should be an easy, relaxing camp and I'm really looking forward to it.
In totally unrelated news I've purchased a new motorcycle! I went out today to visit my friend Mike and took his Kawasaki ZZR600 for a test drive. That was, without question, the most fun I've ever had on a motorcycle! I've really enjoyed my little CBR125, but the bigger bike was a whole different world. There was way more power on tap than I needed, but it was very comforting to know that the power was there when I needed it. We toured around for a couple hours and at the end of our run I made the purchase. Mike's going to hang on to the bike for me while I sell my current one and then I'll try to get some pictures up.
Well, that's all for now folks. I've got one more post to go up before the camp, so I'll provide details then. See you all next Sunday.
Monday, 13 June 2011
Introducing Euphemia Zhang
Good evening ladies and gents! Big news for this particular post. I've been spreading the word through my various forms of social media for the last week, and I thought I might as well make things official on my blog for those of you who don't follow my merry adventures on Facebook.
Long time readers will recall that I've had reason to lament a lack of travelling companions in the past. My trip to Iceland in particular comes to mind as a fantastic trip that would have been elevated even further if I'd not been flying solo. This is not in anyway belittling the massive contributions made by Graydyn, Jay, and my parents in providing company on my travels, but still, I've found myself looking for a more constant form of travelling companion. I dedicated several lengthy years of research in trying to determine a viable and effective solution to my obvious problem. After countless months of browsing all the scientific literature I could come across I discovered a solution often employed by the Adult Human Male: if you stop playing video games and leave the house every now and then, maybe you'll find a girlfriend. I'm happy to announce that I've found a beautiful young lady who has expressed a keen interest in seeing this vast world of ours by my side, and I present to you, my loyal readers, Miss Euphemia Zhang!
Took that picture myself with my new phone! The lovely backdrop is the Rouge River Valley, which will be the subject of a post in the very near future.
Admittedly I think most of you know that Euphemia and I have been going out, but I know she's going to be coming up in this blog in the very near future, as she's already agreed to accompany me on my next camping trip (more on that very soon) and I felt that a formal introduction was important to maintaining a steady narrative in this blog. Also it gave me a terrific opportunity for that lengthy, self-deprecating introduction to this week's post.
Okay, I'll attempt to stop being a clown now and get into the details. Euphemia was born in Zhuhai, in the province of Guangdong, China, where she lived until moving to Canada at the age of 15. She's fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English, and just recently graduated in Honours Applied Mathematics from the University of Waterloo. Those factors combine to make her much, much smarter than the humble author of this blog.
I'm going to refrain from getting into any more of my girlfriend's life story, but I just wanted to provide a brief introduction. She's likely to be a major contributing character in the story of my travels, and I wanted to make sure everyone knows who I'm talking about before I start dropping her name throughout the course of my blogging adventures.
I'm wrapping things up for the day here. Tune in later in the week when I plan on popping in a special report that I've been wanting to write about, and then keep updating every week as we're starting to get the details of a camping trip hammered out (as those of you who follow Jay's blog will already know) and I'm sure to be reporting on the preparations for that as we approach the July 1st departure date. Thanks for reading everyone, and I'll talk to you all again soon.
Long time readers will recall that I've had reason to lament a lack of travelling companions in the past. My trip to Iceland in particular comes to mind as a fantastic trip that would have been elevated even further if I'd not been flying solo. This is not in anyway belittling the massive contributions made by Graydyn, Jay, and my parents in providing company on my travels, but still, I've found myself looking for a more constant form of travelling companion. I dedicated several lengthy years of research in trying to determine a viable and effective solution to my obvious problem. After countless months of browsing all the scientific literature I could come across I discovered a solution often employed by the Adult Human Male: if you stop playing video games and leave the house every now and then, maybe you'll find a girlfriend. I'm happy to announce that I've found a beautiful young lady who has expressed a keen interest in seeing this vast world of ours by my side, and I present to you, my loyal readers, Miss Euphemia Zhang!
Took that picture myself with my new phone! The lovely backdrop is the Rouge River Valley, which will be the subject of a post in the very near future.
Admittedly I think most of you know that Euphemia and I have been going out, but I know she's going to be coming up in this blog in the very near future, as she's already agreed to accompany me on my next camping trip (more on that very soon) and I felt that a formal introduction was important to maintaining a steady narrative in this blog. Also it gave me a terrific opportunity for that lengthy, self-deprecating introduction to this week's post.
Okay, I'll attempt to stop being a clown now and get into the details. Euphemia was born in Zhuhai, in the province of Guangdong, China, where she lived until moving to Canada at the age of 15. She's fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English, and just recently graduated in Honours Applied Mathematics from the University of Waterloo. Those factors combine to make her much, much smarter than the humble author of this blog.
I'm going to refrain from getting into any more of my girlfriend's life story, but I just wanted to provide a brief introduction. She's likely to be a major contributing character in the story of my travels, and I wanted to make sure everyone knows who I'm talking about before I start dropping her name throughout the course of my blogging adventures.
I'm wrapping things up for the day here. Tune in later in the week when I plan on popping in a special report that I've been wanting to write about, and then keep updating every week as we're starting to get the details of a camping trip hammered out (as those of you who follow Jay's blog will already know) and I'm sure to be reporting on the preparations for that as we approach the July 1st departure date. Thanks for reading everyone, and I'll talk to you all again soon.
Monday, 6 June 2011
Nexus S
Hey, sorry to everyone who has been trying to get into my new routine of posting on Sunday! I guess I'm not 100% used to that routine yet! Oh well, hopefully this is better late than never...
I've wanted to do a quick product review on my new phone, just because I've mentioned it a couple times already, and also because I consider it to be an essential piece of my travel gear. I'll try not to dwell on the technical aspects too much... if I wanted to talk shop I'd be at work right now.
First of all, the reason for the switch: my BlackBerry was getting really, really old. I'd had it for almost three years, which doesn't seem like a lot, but it's an eternity in Cell Phone Years. The rate at which we are advancing it technology is staggering, and as someone who works in the industry I feel the need to keep up. Also, I love my gadgets, and I've been very excited by some of the new phones that have been coming out lately.
My new phone is a Google Nexus S, sometimes called a Samsung Nexus S because, while it was built for and marketed by Google, it was Samsung who provided the hardware. Google just requisitioned this piece because they wanted something to really show off Android, which is the mobile operating system that they've developed. Anyone familiar with Samsung's Galaxy S phone will notice a lot of similarities.
One of the many really cool features of this phone is that it's got a very slight concave curve to the screen, just subtle enough that you don't really notice when using it as a touch screen, but it fits against your face a little better when you're using it as a phone. Also it makes it look really cool. The screen itself is one of Samsung's new Super AMOLED screens; again, I won't get into the tech details, but just rest assured that it's bright, the colours are beautiful, and in my opinion it's the best screen on the market right now.
Something I've been having a lot of fun with is the multimedia capabilities of this phone. That big, beautiful touch screen allows for a really great display and interaction with games, and with social networking applications. I've found that I'm getting back into using Twitter, I'm on Facebook more, and I'm taking my phone out purely as an entertainment device now. All around it's just getting a lot more use than my old phone. It's also got a tight integration with GMail, so for those of you with my GMail address I'm still getting those e-mails as soon as you send them.
From a travelling perspective, this phone has quad-band GSM, as well as an HSPA radio, so just like my old phone I should be able to use it anywhere in the world.
One of my big concerns with this phone is that the entire front of the phone is one big touchscreen, and that's the only way to interact with it. That means that when I'm typing out messages I'm doing it by hitting buttons on a virtual keyboard displayed on the screen. Without the tactile sensation of a physical keyboard I wasn't sure if I'd be able to handle typing out some of the lengthy messages I've been known to pound out on my BlackBerry. Turns out that I'm adapting to it pretty quickly. I'm not sure if I'm at the same speed as I was on my BlackBerry, but I certainly feel like I'm close. The phone tries to guess what you're typing, and that can be really helpful sometimes too.
Anyone who read my Killarney wrap-up has already seen one phone from the camera built into this phone. I'll be the first to admit that when they started putting cameras in phones I thought it was ridiculous. Now I love it! In my defence, when they first started putting cameras in phones they were about 0.1 megapixels, which genuinely was ridiculous. I've got a 5MP camera in my new phone though, and sometimes it's just really convenient to be able to take a quick photo with your phone. I'm pretty sure that I left my photo that I took with my phone at its full size when I uploaded it to the blog, so if you click on it you'll see the full image in it's uncompressed glory. Honestly I'm pretty impressed with it for something that's not a dedicated camera! I'll try to get some more examples up later.
So that's my early thoughts on this new piece of hardware that I'm carrying around. I know it's not very travel oriented, but you know how excited I get about my gadgets, so I can hope you can all forgive the indulgence.
I've wanted to do a quick product review on my new phone, just because I've mentioned it a couple times already, and also because I consider it to be an essential piece of my travel gear. I'll try not to dwell on the technical aspects too much... if I wanted to talk shop I'd be at work right now.
First of all, the reason for the switch: my BlackBerry was getting really, really old. I'd had it for almost three years, which doesn't seem like a lot, but it's an eternity in Cell Phone Years. The rate at which we are advancing it technology is staggering, and as someone who works in the industry I feel the need to keep up. Also, I love my gadgets, and I've been very excited by some of the new phones that have been coming out lately.
My new phone is a Google Nexus S, sometimes called a Samsung Nexus S because, while it was built for and marketed by Google, it was Samsung who provided the hardware. Google just requisitioned this piece because they wanted something to really show off Android, which is the mobile operating system that they've developed. Anyone familiar with Samsung's Galaxy S phone will notice a lot of similarities.
One of the many really cool features of this phone is that it's got a very slight concave curve to the screen, just subtle enough that you don't really notice when using it as a touch screen, but it fits against your face a little better when you're using it as a phone. Also it makes it look really cool. The screen itself is one of Samsung's new Super AMOLED screens; again, I won't get into the tech details, but just rest assured that it's bright, the colours are beautiful, and in my opinion it's the best screen on the market right now.
Something I've been having a lot of fun with is the multimedia capabilities of this phone. That big, beautiful touch screen allows for a really great display and interaction with games, and with social networking applications. I've found that I'm getting back into using Twitter, I'm on Facebook more, and I'm taking my phone out purely as an entertainment device now. All around it's just getting a lot more use than my old phone. It's also got a tight integration with GMail, so for those of you with my GMail address I'm still getting those e-mails as soon as you send them.
From a travelling perspective, this phone has quad-band GSM, as well as an HSPA radio, so just like my old phone I should be able to use it anywhere in the world.
One of my big concerns with this phone is that the entire front of the phone is one big touchscreen, and that's the only way to interact with it. That means that when I'm typing out messages I'm doing it by hitting buttons on a virtual keyboard displayed on the screen. Without the tactile sensation of a physical keyboard I wasn't sure if I'd be able to handle typing out some of the lengthy messages I've been known to pound out on my BlackBerry. Turns out that I'm adapting to it pretty quickly. I'm not sure if I'm at the same speed as I was on my BlackBerry, but I certainly feel like I'm close. The phone tries to guess what you're typing, and that can be really helpful sometimes too.
Anyone who read my Killarney wrap-up has already seen one phone from the camera built into this phone. I'll be the first to admit that when they started putting cameras in phones I thought it was ridiculous. Now I love it! In my defence, when they first started putting cameras in phones they were about 0.1 megapixels, which genuinely was ridiculous. I've got a 5MP camera in my new phone though, and sometimes it's just really convenient to be able to take a quick photo with your phone. I'm pretty sure that I left my photo that I took with my phone at its full size when I uploaded it to the blog, so if you click on it you'll see the full image in it's uncompressed glory. Honestly I'm pretty impressed with it for something that's not a dedicated camera! I'll try to get some more examples up later.
So that's my early thoughts on this new piece of hardware that I'm carrying around. I know it's not very travel oriented, but you know how excited I get about my gadgets, so I can hope you can all forgive the indulgence.
Sunday, 29 May 2011
Air Mattresses
Hello everyone! Are you all excited about today's post after seeing the title? AIR MATTRESSES!!!
Okay, I know, not the world's most interesting subject, but I wanted to do a gear-review post after our recent camping trip since I've had an epiphany in regards to what I sleep on. For years now whenever we go camping we make use of one of Dad's self-inflating air mattresses. I've been a big fan of these products for awhile now; they provide a soft, comfortable sleeping area and require zero effort to inflate. It wasn't until I'd talked to Dad a bit about the concept of saving space in regards to my proposed motorcycling tours that the concept of a manually inflated mattress came up. He'd been reading about some particularly small mattresses and I thought it might be worthwhile to check in to the matter.
Just before our recent trip to Killarney I stopped by MEC to pick up a few things and decided to have a look at the camp mats. As usual there were a number of options for self-inflating mats, going right down to something that folded down quite small, but only inflated to about a centimetre thick of padding. Not very useful. Then I saw another batch of pads that needed to be inflated manually and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Huge, luxurious looking pads that my eyes had likely glossed over in the assumption that they would fold down to something the size of a Volkswagen, but on closer inspection were in the tiniest of packages when deflated. The greatest problem that we've encountered with the self-inflating mats is that a single mat will take up something to the tune of half of a hatch in a kayak. That's a significant portion of your total storage space. I ended up buying two mats: one for myself and one for Dad as a birthday present. Here's the links if you'd like to examine the specs:
Mine: http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442592739&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302701679
Dad's: http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442629244&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302701679
We both took our new camp mats out for a test-drive on this recent trip. The first thing we noticed? All of our gear fit in the boats! It's not uncommon for us (especially when we're packing lots of food, which we did) to have loads of stuff mounted on to the decks of our kayaks, which makes them a bit unpleasant to paddle. Not this time. I just measured my pad, deflated and in it's carrying bag, and it's a cylinder about 28cm long and about 14cm in diameter, and that's after I've re-rolled it, so it's not the usual situation of something being much smaller when it comes from the factory. For the first time ever my camp pad wasn't in it's own drybag; I just tossed it in with my clothes.
Now for the fun part - getting set up. My little guy just unrolls and has a valve that you can blow in to. Old-school. Honestly it was about 5 minutes of huffing and puffing and I was done. Couldn't be simpler. Actually, wait, it could. I could have got what Dad had. If you've followed the link to MEC's website for the Exped mat that I got for Dad you'll see that there's a white strip (not very clearly visible in the picture) along one side. That section of the tube is self-inflating through a one-way valve, and when you push down on it the air in that chamber is forced into the rest of the mat, and then that small chamber re-inflates. Essentially it's a built-in pump. A few minutes of giving your mattress CPR and it's inflated.
What really amazed me about my mat though was the comfort. The MEC page lists it as being 6.3cm thick, and when it's 6.3cm of pure air underneath you, you aren't noticing any little bumps or rocks on the ground. By comparison the ultra-light Therm-a-Rest self-inflating pad that MEC lists as being a similar size to mine when rolled is 3.8cm thick. Looking at some of the self-inflating pads that we've taken in to camp previously, I'd say that my new one easily rolls down to a quarter of their size and is twice as comfortable. For a little bit of effort to inflate them? Yeah, I think that it's a worthy trade-off.
I think this lovely new piece of equipment is going to make a huge difference to me when I'm trying to get some over-night gear packed on to a motorcycle. Sadly, no new news on that front, but I'll keep you all posted and let you know as soon as I've got a bike that's capable of some light touring. At that point I hope to regale you all with tales of my motorcycle-based camping voyages.
Okay, to all my readers who aren't camping enthusiasts, I apologize for what must have been an incredibly dry read. I wish you all a lovely week, and I'll talk to you again next Sunday.
Okay, I know, not the world's most interesting subject, but I wanted to do a gear-review post after our recent camping trip since I've had an epiphany in regards to what I sleep on. For years now whenever we go camping we make use of one of Dad's self-inflating air mattresses. I've been a big fan of these products for awhile now; they provide a soft, comfortable sleeping area and require zero effort to inflate. It wasn't until I'd talked to Dad a bit about the concept of saving space in regards to my proposed motorcycling tours that the concept of a manually inflated mattress came up. He'd been reading about some particularly small mattresses and I thought it might be worthwhile to check in to the matter.
Just before our recent trip to Killarney I stopped by MEC to pick up a few things and decided to have a look at the camp mats. As usual there were a number of options for self-inflating mats, going right down to something that folded down quite small, but only inflated to about a centimetre thick of padding. Not very useful. Then I saw another batch of pads that needed to be inflated manually and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Huge, luxurious looking pads that my eyes had likely glossed over in the assumption that they would fold down to something the size of a Volkswagen, but on closer inspection were in the tiniest of packages when deflated. The greatest problem that we've encountered with the self-inflating mats is that a single mat will take up something to the tune of half of a hatch in a kayak. That's a significant portion of your total storage space. I ended up buying two mats: one for myself and one for Dad as a birthday present. Here's the links if you'd like to examine the specs:
Mine: http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442592739&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302701679
Dad's: http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442629244&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302701679
We both took our new camp mats out for a test-drive on this recent trip. The first thing we noticed? All of our gear fit in the boats! It's not uncommon for us (especially when we're packing lots of food, which we did) to have loads of stuff mounted on to the decks of our kayaks, which makes them a bit unpleasant to paddle. Not this time. I just measured my pad, deflated and in it's carrying bag, and it's a cylinder about 28cm long and about 14cm in diameter, and that's after I've re-rolled it, so it's not the usual situation of something being much smaller when it comes from the factory. For the first time ever my camp pad wasn't in it's own drybag; I just tossed it in with my clothes.
Now for the fun part - getting set up. My little guy just unrolls and has a valve that you can blow in to. Old-school. Honestly it was about 5 minutes of huffing and puffing and I was done. Couldn't be simpler. Actually, wait, it could. I could have got what Dad had. If you've followed the link to MEC's website for the Exped mat that I got for Dad you'll see that there's a white strip (not very clearly visible in the picture) along one side. That section of the tube is self-inflating through a one-way valve, and when you push down on it the air in that chamber is forced into the rest of the mat, and then that small chamber re-inflates. Essentially it's a built-in pump. A few minutes of giving your mattress CPR and it's inflated.
What really amazed me about my mat though was the comfort. The MEC page lists it as being 6.3cm thick, and when it's 6.3cm of pure air underneath you, you aren't noticing any little bumps or rocks on the ground. By comparison the ultra-light Therm-a-Rest self-inflating pad that MEC lists as being a similar size to mine when rolled is 3.8cm thick. Looking at some of the self-inflating pads that we've taken in to camp previously, I'd say that my new one easily rolls down to a quarter of their size and is twice as comfortable. For a little bit of effort to inflate them? Yeah, I think that it's a worthy trade-off.
I think this lovely new piece of equipment is going to make a huge difference to me when I'm trying to get some over-night gear packed on to a motorcycle. Sadly, no new news on that front, but I'll keep you all posted and let you know as soon as I've got a bike that's capable of some light touring. At that point I hope to regale you all with tales of my motorcycle-based camping voyages.
Okay, to all my readers who aren't camping enthusiasts, I apologize for what must have been an incredibly dry read. I wish you all a lovely week, and I'll talk to you again next Sunday.
Saturday, 28 May 2011
Picasa
I've recently created a Picasa account and downloaded their software for uploading pictures to the web. I've started the experiment by uploading all of my photos from the recent Killarney trip and it seems to be a fairly smooth process. So far, so good. The next big test will be to see how it works for all of you! Please follow this link and let me know how it goes:
https://picasaweb.google.com/103388161460296980507/May_2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCNiKl4Ld2b2JcA#
https://picasaweb.google.com/103388161460296980507/May_2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCNiKl4Ld2b2JcA#
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
The Big Killarney Recap
Good evening everyone!
As previously stated I spent this past long weekend in Killarney. I brought my netbook with me, with the thought that I might post from the lodge on Monday evening, but decided to just chill out and lick my wounds instead. Anyone who witnessed my grand display of camping skill this weekend would have thought it was my first weekend in the woods. I managed through a total lack of foresight to get a rather spectacular sunburn on the tops of my hands, and a healthy array of black fly bites on my hands, behind my ears, and on my scalp. Coupled with a bruised hip from a slip on some wet rocks and I managed to get myself fairly well battered on this particular voyage, and am feeling a bit embarrassed about my display of general woodcraft.
All that we shall come to in time. Let's get on track though and tell this tale chronologically. Dad came up to Toronto on Thursday night. It's a nice way for him to cut the drive to Killarney in half, and also a chance for a nice meal in Toronto. We went with Gray and Susan to Cava, a local tapas restaurant which was a new experience for both Dad and I. What a meal! The entire affair consumed the whole evening, but it was just a constant parade of great food and wine. I can think of few better ways to pass an evening.
Well fed and well rested Dad and I set off on Friday morning for Killarney. We made a planned stop about half way up, just outside of Parry Sound, at White Squall. This is a huge Canoe/Kayak store and we spent a good amount of time perusing the wares. The nice thing about White Squall is that they are on the shores of a substantial lake and this provides to opportunity to "test drive" any boats that you have the intention of buying. I got a picture of Dad in the boat that he eventually ended up deciding on:
As previously stated I spent this past long weekend in Killarney. I brought my netbook with me, with the thought that I might post from the lodge on Monday evening, but decided to just chill out and lick my wounds instead. Anyone who witnessed my grand display of camping skill this weekend would have thought it was my first weekend in the woods. I managed through a total lack of foresight to get a rather spectacular sunburn on the tops of my hands, and a healthy array of black fly bites on my hands, behind my ears, and on my scalp. Coupled with a bruised hip from a slip on some wet rocks and I managed to get myself fairly well battered on this particular voyage, and am feeling a bit embarrassed about my display of general woodcraft.
All that we shall come to in time. Let's get on track though and tell this tale chronologically. Dad came up to Toronto on Thursday night. It's a nice way for him to cut the drive to Killarney in half, and also a chance for a nice meal in Toronto. We went with Gray and Susan to Cava, a local tapas restaurant which was a new experience for both Dad and I. What a meal! The entire affair consumed the whole evening, but it was just a constant parade of great food and wine. I can think of few better ways to pass an evening.
Well fed and well rested Dad and I set off on Friday morning for Killarney. We made a planned stop about half way up, just outside of Parry Sound, at White Squall. This is a huge Canoe/Kayak store and we spent a good amount of time perusing the wares. The nice thing about White Squall is that they are on the shores of a substantial lake and this provides to opportunity to "test drive" any boats that you have the intention of buying. I got a picture of Dad in the boat that he eventually ended up deciding on:
That shot was actually taken with the camera on my new phone! The Google Nexus S takes a pretty nice shot for a phone! I'll have to do a more in-depth discussion on that piece of hardware in a product review post some other day. As you can see though it was a beautiful day, and it made for a really nice drive. Also, Dad managed to get a pretty cool boat! We actually left it at White Squall and picked it up on our way back through on Tuesday, so it didn't make it out for a paddle this past weekend. The boat is a hybrid of fiberglass and kevlar; combined with the fact that it's a short boat it makes for an unbelievably light kayak.
I also made a purchase there, though on a much smaller scale. I've been shopping for a PFD for awhile now, intending to get my own for the sake of comfort, and just because I go on enough boating trips with Dad that I shouldn't really expect him to have to provide a lifejacket every time. I ended up getting the same vest that Dad always wears, just in orange to distinguish myself a bit.
After our shopping spree we got back on the road and finished the trek up to Killarney. The rest of the day was spent lounging about enjoying the good food and hospitality of the Killarney Mountain Lodge, which was exactly what the game plan called for. It's unsurprising to see that Dad has become a familiar face at the lodge, but I was surprised to see how much recognition I'm starting to get by association. I guess I'm starting to become a regular up there!
We started the next morning with a good breakfast at the lodge, and then made our way down to the boat launch at the Chikanishing Creek. Here I was introduced to something I'd only really known in legend: The Bloody Black Fly. Black flies live in infamy throughout the North, but I've never had anything more than brief, mildly annoying run-ins with them. This weekend gave me a small taste of the menace that they can truly become. Any attempt to hold still and stay in one position causes the little buggers to land and proceed with the feasting, which made loading the boats an irritating task. One of the reasons that we tend to camp in the Spring and Fall is that the bug populations are significantly reduced, but apparently this was a good year for them and they decided to come out early. I've been informed that what I experienced in terms of black fly harassment is nothing compared to what can be encountered further North and down East, but I still can't recommend them as a thrilling experience.
The presence of the flies was entirely unexpected because the forecasts leading up to our trip indicated foul weather from beginning to end. This turned out not to be the case since Saturday was absolutely beautiful. This, however, brings me to my learning experience for the trip: the term "always be prepared" does not refer solely to being prepared for the worst. While packing for the trip I looked right at my bug shirt and thought "oh well, the weather will be terrible, there won't be any bugs." Yeah. That worked out great. Also, being caught totally by surprise by the onset of good weather I forgot to cover my hands. With the backs of my hands facing up for the entirety of the paddling voyage I managed to procure a fairly magnificent sunburn which persists to this day. Thus my feelings of camping inadequacy. I was beating myself up pretty good for my lack of preparedness on this outing.
Okay, now that I've explained my earlier self-belittling, let's get back to the story.
The Chikanishing Creek (really hope I'm spelling that correctly) leads by a short paddle out into Georgian Bay, right off the Western point of Philip Edward Island. Here's a picture of Dad on the Creek:
Once we were out of the Creek we quickly got into the channel between the mainland and the island and began an eastward journey along the North coast of the island.
That's Philip Edward Island on the right, Killarney Park on the left, and my backpack in the middle.
We made our way casually down the channel, always keeping an eye out for a likely camping spot. We even got out at one point to check out appealing prospect but decided against it for lack of level space for the tents. Our only real criteria was that we keep a reasonable amount of shelter to the South since the weather reports were calling for some storms to be heading from that direction on Sunday.
After a couple hours of leisurely paddling we settled on this point.
The water below that jutting point of rock to the left of centre appeared quite deep for the channel, and I think that our site would make a beauty spot for a swimming in the summer. You can't see it in this picture, but just to the left was a pre-built fire ring, which made the spot even more appealing. It's nice to know that we can have a fire without causing any additional scars to the landscape.
It didn't take us long from the point where we landed to turn this:
into this:
With the fire ring and our boats out on the rocks, and our tents tucked safely amongst the shelter of the trees we had ourselves a pretty cozy little spot.
The rest of the day was spent mostly in getting a fire going and then standing around in the cloud of smoke that it provided to discourage the relentless feasting of the flies, who took approximately a millisecond to be alerted to our presence.
At one point I wandered down to the area where we'd taken the boats out. There was a long rock that was low to the water that I could stand on to wash my hands. As it turns out there was a particular spot, free of any visual indication to its difference from the surrounding rock, that became very, very slippery when moistened. As a motorboat had just passed and provided the necessary hydration I, quite without warning, found myself deposited on my backside. It has been noted that I'm hard as rock, but whatever rock that may be, it's clearly no match for Georgian Bay Granite. Thus the previously mentioned bruise to my right hip, and further embarrassment due to my clear inability to even walk about without injury.
We went for a walk later in the day, and as you can see the skies did begin to get cloudy as the day wore on:
Still, it was a lovely end to a day of unexpectedly beautiful weather.
Our tents didn't end up on perfectly level ground, and Dad and I both found that we were up frequently in the night pulling ourselves back up from whichever corner of our respective tents tended to be at the lowest point in the slope. Still, we were both using brand new and rather spectacular ground pads (which shall be the subject of their own glowing reviews in another post down the line) and got a great night's sleep. I awoke the next day with just enough time to get dressed and slip out for a few early-morning photos before the rain started.
Given that the forecast was calling for grim, rainy weather for the remained of the weekend we prepared ourselves for a rainy day. To be honest I was thrilled with the drizzling rain since I'd packed appropriate clothes for it and found it to be entirely more pleasant than the affections of the flies.
We spent most of the morning in the difficult lighting, and continued maintenance of a camp fire. The fire right was pretty soaked, so it was no easy task getting the fire going, but once lit a good camp fire takes a whole lot of rain to be put out. I carefully tended the fire for the rest of the day since it provided an excellent way to dry out, even while the rain persisted.
Surprisingly the rain didn't last past the morning and we were left with a dry (if cloudy) and bug-free afternoon. This gave us ample opportunity for a good lunch, and if there are any people out there who doubt our ability to make a good lunch at camp, I would like to refer you to Exhibit I:
Yeah, that's right.
One funny thing happened in the afternoon. Please note the presence of the substantial rock which Dad's hat is resting on. Please also note that it is entirely intact. Through the constant bombardment of fire on one side and rain on the other we apparently weakened this great piece of the earth so that, later in the day, when I just casually rested my foot on it, this happened:
I have every intention of spending the rest of my days claiming that I kicked a piece of granite in half.
The break in the weather gave Dad and I an opportunity for an exploratory paddle, the beginning of which I was able to capture through the miracle of the camera timer:
You will observe how the section of this rock directly under my elbow looks no different from the rest of the slab? Yeah, that was the "fun bit" that caused me to go hurtling through the air the day before. Just trying to justify my clumsiness here.
After dinner we started to get signs that the day's rain was not entirely finished, and as we sheltered under the tarps I even began to hear thunder. We ended up with some moments of heavy rain, some strong winds, and some ominously close thunder, but never a sign of lightning or anything that really made us feel threatened. Intermittent breaks in the cloud and rain also made for some great evening photos:
A brief respite from the rain. Followed by a lovely sunset:
You can just make out where the sun has dipped below the hills to the right of the photo. Interestingly I found that the sunset was much more spectacular in the Eastern sky:
With the help of our fine tents and a couple quality tarps we spent the night in dry comfort and woke up the next morning ready to pack up and make our way back in to town. It was a drizzly morning which made it pretty difficult to get things packed up without them ending up soaked. Unfortunately it also made things very slick, and just as I was rushing to get my boat packed up I forgot about the infamous stretch of our boat-loading rock. Yup, slipped again. This time I went right into the water, not catching myself until I was in right up to my waist. As I went down I managed to knock my kayak out into the channel as well, so Dad had to get his boat into the water to go retrieve it. Why not end the trip with further embarrassment I thought. Might as well make it a hat-trick. As it turns out we'd forgotten to grab the spray skirt for the boat I was paddling, and just as we were finishing things up it really started to pour, so my legs would probably have ended up soaked anyway.
Despite the rain it was actually a really still, beautiful morning and it made for a great paddle back to the Creek.
The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful. We made it back to the lodge without further mishap and enjoyed the comfort of warm showers and good food. It's always an excellent way to end a camping trip, and the promise of such reliable comfort always makes any amount of cold and damp tolerable. We got up Tuesday and headed back towards Toronto, pausing at White Squall to retrieve Dad's new boat.
That concludes my (rather lengthy) log of this trip. In hindsight I probably should have taken the time to write something on Friday when we arrived at the lodge so that I could have shortened this beast of a post up. I'm intending to really get a good start on my new tradition of Sunday posts (no pun intended there) this week. Sometime Sunday afternoon I'll get something posted, and I hope to continue the momentum and really get into that new habit. Until then, I hope everyone had a great long weekend, and I'll talk to you all soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)