March break get a way

Took a couple of days off work and headed to the cottage.

There is no road access in the winter but the ice is still good and thick so it was an easy walk down the lake.

A couple of days of doing nothing…reading, eating and drinking wine.

Went for a nice walk on Friday. The only thing skidoos are good for is building a good base to walk in the woods. The skidoo trial was as wide as a road. I googled earthed it when I got home and it looks like an old logging road that goes way back into the crown land….looks like a spring mtn bike trip to see where it goes.

Even had a very rare March thunderstorm on Thursday night!

On the way home, we dropped in and had dinner with friends in Parry Sound and we to the Stockey Centre to see Joel Plaskett.

A little scare....

Just a little scare…..We spent a couple of days in Collingwood skiing this month. The house we stayed at was brand new…even had that new car smell. While we were there, I wasn’t feeling all that great. Couldn’t sleep and was having a hard time catching my breath.


When we got back to Bracebridge, I thought I should go to the clinic and see what was wrong. I do have allergies and get shots on a bi-weekly basis so I thought I had a lung or sinus infection. I just couldn’t get a full breath….didn’t feel like I had any capacity in my lungs.

Doctor says…”any stress in your life?”

I say,” Well…I work in a prison so there is always an edge”

He says…and I am not kidding here…”maybe you had a heart attack.”

If that doesn’t raise you stress level, nothing will.

Next thing I am at the hospital all wired up, chest x-rays and blood taken.

A couple of hours later…they find nothing and send me home. But I had a follow up appointment with a heart guy.

A week later I am all wired up again and riding a bike in the doctor’s office. Riding a bike is no big deal for me so I passed with flying colours.

So what caused all this?

The doc thinks (and I agree) that is was caused by all the toxics and other crap that comes with new carpeting. The place we stayed at had brand new carpet throughout so I was having a reaction to that.

Thank goodness we have hardwood floors in our house!

The Frost

Neil's Lunch

It’s Canadian Marathon weekend in Quebec. Steph, Pam and Anne are there kicking butt I am sure. Didn’t go to Quebec so today we skied the Frost.

The Frost Centre has 20 odd km of groomed trails through hardwood bush and cedar lowlands. It was a prefect day for a ski. Minus 8 and the sun was shinning.



Sugar Shack





The Front has a couple of cabins along the way where the very friendly volunteer staff start the fires in the morning. These volunteers are happy to have visitor and are knowledgeable about trails and terrain.

This is also an oppertunity to plan a hot lunch. Neil brought a loaf of bread filled with cheese, raspberry jam and chocolate! We brought along some pulled pork. Each cabin has a wood stove so a perfect place to warm up your lunch and have a rest.

The trails were in great shape thanks to lots of new snow and a good groomer. Sugar Shack and icefalls along the way.

We really have had a good cross country season. The weather is going to turn warm this week with a threat of rain….hopefully that is just weatherman talk.

 





Cross Country and Kolapore

When I first started cross country skiing in Ontario, I was living in Meaford. We had some local favourite places to ski…Owen Sound at the falls, the Lorri Trails on top of Georgian Peaks…but the best place was the Kolapore Forrest.
There are 50 km of bush trails. Hardwood forest, cedar wetlands and forgotten farm land that has returned to bush. We skied there quite a bit. I use to take the kids from Blue Hills Farm there every Saturday. We had old three pin binding, some had fish scales and others waxed. Skis were wider and shorter.

Since I moved to Muskoka, my skiing has changed. We have track set groomed trails here. Provincial Parks and other private operators have changed the skiing terrain. Track set trails mean that the snowplow technique is rarely used. If you want to slow down a bit in track set, you just need to step out with one ski. On track set corners, you just lean into them. Stay in the tracks and don’t loose speed. Skied are narrow and longer now too.

A trip back to Kolapore was a trip to old school skiing too. Shorter, wider skies would have worked much better. Because there is no groom track set, you need shorter skies to snow plow and get your back tips out wide enough. Consequently, I had a few big falls. Back country skiing is not for speed. That isn’t the point of back country at all. I do love Kolapore but will have to get a hold of some slower, wider and shorter skies next time.

On top of Red Death!

After a day of cross country, we went to Osler. Major snow strom in Ontario so there was a foot for fresh powder and only 100 people on the hill.

Christmas

Grandma made every grandkid a scarf to match their school colours!

Happy New Year!

The Royal...where Country meets City

Went to the Royal Winter fair last weekend. Pigs and chickens, Cows and goats and a whole lot of things I don't understand.

For example....butter sculptures!

This guys job is to clean the cows ass...nice work!

The Raithby Plate for best Jersey herd.

The Cowgirls

Sketeton Season

It’s Skeleton Season. Not so much because of Halloween. It’s all those bare trees.
November is that dull month. Darker, wetter and with little colour. The snow that does show only hints at what is to come and doesn’t last but a few hours.

This is a good time of year to start planning for next summer adventures. I am usually a way ahead of that game but in some cases, you need to be in order to get the spots you want. We have already booked into Silent Lake Provincial Park for a weekend of Yurt camping in March. If you are not prepared to plan ahead for this kind of booking, all the sites will be gone.

I am going to get my Mariposa Folk Festival tickets too. The early bird weekend pass cost the same as only the Saturday pass on the weekend of the show. At this point, no one is even booked to play but I have never been disappointed.

The Loppet weekends are all booked too. The Muskoka Loppet, Parry Sound Sounder and the Blue Sky Loppet in North Bay are all on the calendar. Not going to Quebec for the Marathon this year….next year I guess.

Well…cheers to snow that stays and the promise of a deep white winter.