Yesterday I had the snowshoes out and have conducted some minor repairs. My backpack is packed and ready for some winter camping along the Bruce Trail next week.
With this much snowfall, creating my shelter will be effortless. I have not gone winter camping in years, I can not wait to be out in the scenic woods overlooking Georgian Bay.
I have garbage on the back balcony that I was going to take out. I kept missing the recycling time, which is no big deal, but the garbage is more of a big deal.
Anyhow, last week, the squirrels got into my garbage, and I thought, okay, I'm going to clean that up and take it down to the garbage bins out back of the house. And, I thought, I'm going to make sure I don't miss the recycling this week.
So I just went out to the balcony and discovered that all of my recycling and garbage are frozen in about a foot and a half of snow. And I have no shovel.
So I guess I'll just hope for some mild weather soon. It's safe enough while frozen, I guess!
No squirrels this far north, there is about three feet of snow and ice.
I have a few shovels to spare, you can never have enough shovels.
Most of the streetcars were theoretically running, but there were lots of delays from all the accidents. I would have taken the 504 south on Roncesvalles then the 501 east on Queen, but I walked the full length of Roncy without seeing a single streetcar. Ditto Queen, though on the way back I'd walked about two-thirds the way when one came along, though I still had to walk all the way back up to Bloor from the lake (off of which the wind was just screaming).
I couldn't just wait for my husband to come home, as his gigs go very late; ie, 1-2 am. Part of my distress was related to being silly enough to lock myself out. At least, despite all the snow, it wasn't that cold, not dropping below minus 15, I think.
During my long trudge along Queen West, I was amused by all the lousy drivers. There was the guy in the low-slung sports car who tried to crash through a snowbank two-thirds the height of his car and got hopelessly stuck. He got out of his car and looked at me, and I walked past quickly in case he asked me to help him push out his car (not to be mean, but I'm a tiny person and not of much use when it comes to budging large metal objects). And there were lots of people who would spin out on what looked like totally bald tires before they'd continue careening at top speed along Queen.
quote:
Originally posted by Webgear:
[b]Yesterday I had the snowshoes out and have conducted some minor repairs. My backpack is packed and ready for some winter camping along the Bruce Trail next week.With this much snowfall, creating my shelter will be effortless. I have not gone winter camping in years, I can not wait to be out in the scenic woods overlooking Georgian Bay.[/b]
Do you have traditional wood snowshoes, or the steel (aluminum?) kind used in the military? I ask because when I've been on the Bruce Trail in summer, it seems to me that the terrain, what with the rocks and small sink holes and the like, would be a great place to break snow shoes. But then, I am no expert....and after walking away from the computer for a moment, it strikes me we may have had this conversation before...
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That's quite the ordeal, Sineed. It's been a while since I've done a long trudge in the cold. Yesterday, after I dropped my van off at the mechanic, I was accompanied by my 22 year old daughter. She walks all over, in all weather. We had to walk five minutes from the mechanic's to a corner store so I could get some cash. ( Debit means I am frequently without cash-- perhaps a bad habit) We talked about walking the rest of the way home, up Quebec street and up our street a bit-- probably less than a mile all told-- but I declined. I was already cold, and I knew the sidewalks over the Quebec street overpass wouldn't be plowed.
So we got a cab.
But, after a brief discussion with my mechanic, it seems I will be without vehicle today while they await delivery of a new alternator. So to make up for yesterday's wimpostity, I will walk up to Highbury and Oxford to the sad little mall there, to do some urgent mailing.
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Ah. Just as I completed yesterday's final cleaning up of the snow, I jammd and broke the drive belt for the auger on the snowblower. I've replaced this one before-- It's a big huge pain in the ass. And this time I will have to do it in the cold.
I feed the birds and chipmunks every morning. I like having wildlife around, just not the two-footed kind.
You hanging out in Assissi, Boom Boom? [img]biggrin.gif" border="0[/img]
Caissa: [img]biggrin.gif" border="0[/img]
I also carry dog biscuits in my pockets to feed to the neighborhood dogs when I'm out for a walk. Cassie - the German Shepherd I looked after last year, often joins me for a walk.
Tommy
I use an old set of aluminium snowshoes, which are very difficult to destroy in my view. The terrain is not that bad for the most part unless you are a novice or inexperience hiker.
My shelter is a simple Lean Too (spelling ?) and a wind breaker. I travel lightly while out hiking, I have no need of big city items like tents and fancy jackets.
I stopped in at MEC today in Ottawa and had to laugh at the people spending large amounts of money on camping equipment.
PS: Ottawa drivers are horrible after a heavy snowfall.
With the odd exception, I find London drivers at their best in adverse conditions. The time in London to be on your most defensive are the clear sunny days. Minds tend to wander.
London used to have a really neat store called "Knovacs" when I was a kid. Army surplus stuff, good stuff for camping. But they went all boutiquey years ago, and now they sell all those down filled jackets and wonderful hiking boots and such. A friend of my eldest used to work there, so I have an idea of the mark up. Yikes.
I shop for stuff mostly at "Forrest City Surplus" which is more like the old "Knovacs" used to be.
Saw a really neat trick on "Survivor Man", the episode where he was in Labrador. A little vaseline rubbed into a cotton ball makes a pretty nifty fire starter. A few sparks from his flint and steel had it going just like a zippo. I wouldn't have thought vaseline was that inflammable.... probably came close to becoming a human torch more than a few times when I was a young teen..... [img]wink.gif" border="0[/img]
I have a pair of snowshoes made the traditional way, here on the Quebec coast. I think I'll use them on a hike tomorrow. [img]smile.gif" border="0[/img]
By the way, I have as much snow in my driveway in the middle of December as I had at the end of winter last year in March. [img]frown.gif" border="0[/img]
Light snow tonight.
Rain tomorrow... a good day perhaps to get the belt on the snowblower. I haven't looked at long range forecasts, but it's not a bad bet that another significant snowstorm will be on the tail end of it when the next arctic air mass moves south.
When I was using the snowblower, I thought it kinda slow and tedious, a bit underpowered. But today, when I looked at the amount of snow I actually moved, and what that would have meant if I shoveled it, I was actually impressed.
It's a rickety old thing.
Tommy
I use an old wool jacket for hiking and hunting. I use a Gore-Tex lining under the wool to keep dry now.
An old camping buddy and I were talking about “Survivor Man” a few weeks ago and we have decided that he is a dangerous person because of some of his actions especially in regards to novice hikers watching his show.
Anyways about a year ago he was hiking in the deep in backwoods of Newfoundland
and he came across this poor, and nearly dying novice hiker. This hiker (a university student) had watched a few episodes of the “Survivor Man” show and went to MEC, bought a 1000 dollars worth of gear and decided he could hike out into the woods with no trouble at all.
Well if it was not for my friend this poor chap would have died in the woods and he was pretty deep into the woods.
Boom Boom
I would like a nice pair of wooden snowshoes.
A Gore-Tex lining [i]under[/i] the wool? What an ingenius way to isolate the warm insulating properties of wool so they never reach your body.
*Ahem* Busted. *cough*
[ 18 December 2007: Message edited by: arthur ]
I only wear during the Gore-Tex wet periods and the suit is pretty thin, there is no lining, it is just a shell and quite breathable in all weather conditions.
[url=http://www.cpgear.com/default.asp?mn=1.19.56&f=pd&pid=354]CP Gear Gore-Tex Suit[/url]
Gore-Tex under wool. Right, buddy. Whatever.
What would you recommend?
Did you even bother to look at the link? The suit is very thin and is designed to be worn under a thicker outer jacket and between layers.
This is an effective piece of clothing for the cost. I am only speaking from personal experiences.
I would like to hear your experiences.
quote:
Originally posted by Webgear:Boom Boom
I would like a nice pair of wooden snowshoes.
Mine were made by an old guy in Old Fort Bay here on the Quebec coast. I think the Hudson's Bay Company used to carry wooden snowshoes. There's probably a store in every city across Canada that still carries them. The smaller metal snowshoes are gaining in popularity here with the younger crowd.
Save it Rambo.
Boom Boom
I like the classic style; I am not sure how the new style performs in deep snow.
I would speculate the new metals snowshoes are not that difficult to maintain.
quote:
Originally posted by arthur:
[b]Save it Rambo.[/b]
WTF???
I saw a pair of those metal snowshoes back in the late 1980's in Northern Quebec. I think they were called Sherpas and made out of some kind of alloy. The webbing, I think, was kevlar or some tuff material like that. I did notice they were significantly lighter than the wooden snowshoes I was using at the time.
Deep snow - I would only use the traditional snowshoes. Most other snow, the new, lighter metal snowshoes are fantastic, and I'm ordering a pair. I'll have both on the back of my skidoo when I travel in winter.
quote:
Originally posted by Boom Boom:
[b]Deep snow - I would only use the traditional snowshoes. Most other snow, the new, lighter metal snowshoes are fantastic, and I'm ordering a pair. I'll have both on the back of my skidoo when I travel in winter.[/b]
ETA: by the way, here, where folks use snowshoes often when out hunting, trapping, and cutting firewood, I've seen broken metal snowshoes every winter - I've yet to see any broken snowshoes of the traditional model.
Boom Boom
I am wondering which snowshoe performs better in deep snow?
I have only used the classical style however I have my doubts about the modern style.
Arthur
I see myself more as a young James Fitzgibbon or Edward Teach.
Do you see me as the “First Blood” Rambo or a later period Rambo?
No one here uses he modern small steel snowshoes in deep snow - only the traditional style. The small metal shoes are good for working in the bush where there's lots of trees in the way.
The big traditional snowshoes have an advantage in that they can be used as a shovel in deep snow in case of emergency.
Too cold to go anywhere today, I'll wait until it warms up a bit before showshoeing.
I think it depends a lot on climate.
In the north, where there is deep snow and it rarely ever gets warm, I would think the traditional wooden ones would be good. My brother had a pair that I used a few times. He got them when he took forestry up at Cambrian college eons ago. While they were good there, they are not so good down south in wet, granular snow-- it's hell on the webbing.
quote:
An old camping buddy and I were talking about “Survivor Man” a few weeks ago and we have decided that he is a dangerous person because of some of his actions especially in regards to novice hikers watching his show.
I would agree in that he doesn't always mention everything one should know in every episode. And in every episode, he (it is entertainment, after all) decides to hike out of emergency situations instead of staying put, which under "normal" emergency situations is the best thing to do.
Even taking walks on the Bruce, I have always stressed with my daughters about staying put if lost. And if you have to move, it's only to find water. And, Snarfy the Wonder Girl gets the same lecture, and gets a stern review when we go out for a walk.
But, "Survivorman" can't help it if people don't listen. Starting a fire with unconventional means, for example, isn't something you try to learn when you are lost, weak, and probably not thinking straight, in weather that doesn't care if you live or die. And he's said as much, more than once. You can have a "survival kit" with you, but if you've never practiced, and don't know how to use the stuff, your setting yourself up for disaster.
I don't think the series is long for the networks, though. I heard an interview with the guy on CBC radio back in the fall, and he's tired of doing it.
I've never used snowshoes. It has always looked like such fun to me, though!
(Could've used some on my street at the beginning of the week, when no one had shoveled the walk, and no snowploughs came along our street.) I guess that's one of the disadvantages of living on a residential sidestreet, as opposed to a main street. No snow service!
That's the one thing about Toronto I just don't get, all the on street parking that's allowed.
Yesterday, on CBC radio, they were asking people [i]not to park on the street car tracks[/i].
If I was mayor dictator for life and last king of Whitby, I wouldn't be asking. I'd be towing those cars to a scrap yard.
We already have upwards of 1m of snow cover, and we're expecting rain tomorrow. So I spent a couple of hours shoveling snow off our roof today - and it's still only [i]December[/i]. That's a job that usually comes up in March, and some years (such as last winter), it's not even needed.
I have a four foot snowdrift in my driveway - it's okay, because all of us are using skidoos now until April (this is an undeveloped, isolated territory - no snow plows). However, Monday we're expecting warmer weather and rain. I like the warmer weather, but we don't need rain. We usually don't have as much snow as we have this month until late March.
Boom Boom, I remember hearing stories last year about how people were having trouble maintaining the skidoo trail along the Lower North Shore last year, because there wasn't enough snow. Is the trail up yet?
quote:
Originally posted by Stephen Gordon:
[b]Boom Boom, I remember hearing stories last year about how people were having trouble maintaining the skidoo trail along the Lower North Shore last year, because there wasn't enough snow. Is the trail up yet?[/b]
Generally the trails last year were excellent, because they were packed firm. I don't recall hearing many complaints. I don't think the trails are officially opened yet this year - but people are travelling, regardless. I used to travel between Kegaska and St. Augustine River - not any more, just too hard on my back.
quote:
Originally posted by Tommy_Paine:
[b]If I was mayor dictator for life and last king of Whitby, I wouldn't be asking. I'd be towing those cars to a scrap yard.[/b]
Yeah, like that game show...I forget what it's called. I think it might be British or something. Anyhow, I remember seeing this game show where someone tries to get a prize by answering a question before time runs out. The prize, when I was watching it, was a car. But over the car was a gigantic heavy something or other that would drop on it as soon as the time runs out. (Or perhaps it was the contestant's own car? I forget.)
Anyhow, when I read your post, I immediately had visions of towing cars that are parked on streetcar tracks off to be demolished by a similar device. [img]biggrin.gif" border="0[/img] Personally, I would support that for anyone STUPID enough to park on streetcar tracks!
I saw someone on McCaul St, having blocked a streetcar track, actually get all huffy when a cop gave her a ticket. A few streetcars were lined up, and she got back before the tow truck came. She acted like she was the aggrieved one.
(note: If you don't know where McCaul St is, you must be one of those Canadians from out in "The Regions" so don't worry about it. Go back to watching your curling tournament or whatever.)
ETA: Say Michelle, you're up early!
[ 26 December 2007: Message edited by: oldgoat ]
Yeah, I am up early! I haven't been sleeping that much over the holidays. I did have a good sleep though - just not overly long!
People like her (the woman who parked on streetcar tracks) need a little tap from DrConway's cluebat. [img]smile.gif" border="0[/img]
Contrast that outraged motorist in Toronto to this.
I'm visiting in Calgary, and a few days ago my sister-in-law took us down to look at the sights in Calgary's "old part".
We parked on the street in trendy Inglewood and were ambling through some shops. Looked outside at one point, no car. No cars period.
"Oh right." she asys "After 3:30 and a major road."
With the tribe of people and meeting times to keep, we were inconvenienced. And the fine and towing charge and taxis hurt. But my sister-in-law still laughed about it.
The scene at the city impoundment lot was quite something.
Tonight and tomorrow night, here: Wind chill minus 40. [img]frown.gif" border="0[/img]
Same thing here. [img]frown.gif" border="0[/img]
The 14-day forecast gives us a warming trend at the end of the month, around -2C or so. Wonder what Fenruary will be like? Usually we have monster snowstorms that month, and we've already had a fair amount - most came in the past two days, huge snowdrifts.
quote:
Originally posted by Boom Boom:
[b] Wonder what Fenruary will be like?[/b]
I don't know, exciting I am sure, as I, for one, like those alive today, have never experienced the birth of a "new" month before. [img]wink.gif" border="0[/img] It'll take some getting used to 13 months after having 12 for so long. [img]biggrin.gif" border="0[/img] Do you think there will some confusion as to the similar spelling to February? [img]wink.gif" border="0[/img]
Not flaming you, just teasing, as I was actually tryinmg to prounce fenruary, it is hard.
But I too am interested in what February will bring. After having 400% more snowfall, last year, than normal, so far this year we are under average, and the rivers and creeks are still open in some places. And if this continues, and if we get no rain in the spring the dead pine forests will burn.
Now it is supposed to get cold which means no snowfall for a week at least.
The winds were so bad last week, that trees, dead ones were being blown over, across roads and hydro lines. We had to actually cut down a big pine, it was almost dead from pine beetles, when there was a lull, before it blew over and took the house out.
quote:
Originally posted by remind:
Not flaming you, just teasing, as I was actually tryinmg to prounce fenruary, it is hard.
[img]tongue.gif" border="0[/img]
Presumably we're safe from the pine beetles here, as our trees are mostly spruce. Is that a safe assumption to make? [img]confused.gif" border="0[/img]
The temperature dip isn't as dramatic in Ottawa, but it still feels plenty cold at -20 (without the wind chill). It bodes well for the canal of course, which should be open well time for Winterlude this year if the weather keeps up.
quote:
Originally posted by Boom Boom:
[b]Presumably we're safe from the pine beetles here, as our trees are mostly spruce. Is that a safe assumption to make? [img]confused.gif" border="0[/img] [/b]
uh no, seeing as how they have proof that the pine beetle is adapting to the different chemicals that spruce trees produce that was a barrier to their attacking them before. Moreover, there is also a spruce beetle that appears to be, like the pine beetle, becoming more prolific because cold temps are not there to kill them off in sufficient numbers.
In the BC thread on pine beetles, evidence was given that if all things stay as warm as they have been because of climate change, the pine forests across Canada will be devastated within 15 years.
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/franctasy/2209214421/]Winter Rainbow at Sunrise[/url]
I took this picture Sunday morning at sunrise, 8 am ish, on highway 10 just south of Dundalk.
We went to the Metro Toronto Zoo for her 18th birthday.
Windchill was -20C but we're made of tough stuff
You know you're not from Toronto when....your car's the only one in the parking lot/on the 401 with snow on it.
[ 21 January 2008: Message edited by: rural - Francesca ]
Nice shot.
We don't really get wind here but it was [url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/93056675@N00/2209471351/]-15C this morning[/url] nonetheless.
Closing for length. There's a new winter thread [url=http://www.rabble.ca/babble/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=33&t=000347&p...
