I wasn't eaten by a bear - Part #2

Ara and I have not been able to go camping in the past couple of years due to new jobs and broken ankles, so we were determined to go this year. We planned the trip along the Highlands Back Packing trail in Algonquin Park. 2 people - 1 dog - 4 days - 3 nights - 35 kilometres.



The trails were really gorgeous and we couldn't have asked for better weather (did you hear that Dad? NO RAIN!!). But unfortunately we didn't enjoy ourselves as much as we should have. We have come to the conclusion that it is completely unnecessary to push ourselves to the point of complete exhaustion. Pain should not be something to overcome, but rather completely out of the equation. The second day we hiked just over 12 Km from Provoking Lake (East) to Harness Lake. I realize that this sounds manageable but once you consider the additional weight that we were carrying and the fact that 1/3 of the hike was uphill, it really puts it over the top. We have vowed that from now on we plan these trips for pleasure and not bragging rights (which I am not even sure we get).

Anyway, here are a couple of pictures from the trip.











As far as wildlife goes, we spotted what is by far the most significant sight I have ever seen. (Melissa, pay close attention here!)...We had just come around a bend and there was a large fallen tree across the path and in order to cross over it we had to bend back some of the smaller branches. As they snapped under the pressure, we heard a rustling in the bush and there it was, for a fraction of a second, a full grown bull moose. no more than 15 metres back. If you had blinked you would have missed it, as it turned tail and vanished so quickly you really only saw it's silhouette. A sight of a lifetime.

On Friday, we were hiking out of the park on the very last leg of our journey. You can always tell when you don't have too much further to go when you start encounter families with small children and generally clean people carrying nothing more than a bottle of water. We knew we were only a matter of metres away from the parking lot but still every step was a small miracle. Ara was walking with the dog about 15 metres up ahead of me when all of a sudden he shortened Filbert's leash and stopped dead in his tracks. That's when I saw it, hunched over and bounding across the trail. It was big, it was black and it had it's nose to the ground. Filbert was pulling with all his might trying to tear after it and Ara is doing everything right...staying calm and keeping quiet. Then there is me...screaming inquisitive profanities from behind. "Is that a f-ing bear?!?!? Holy f-ing s*#t!" Then there was some meager religious rhetoric spewed and just as I began to contemplate my contributions to this world my thoughts were interrupted by the voice of a young girl..."Billy! Come here Boy! Billy!". And there came Billy bounding out of the woods, panting and wagging his tail. Billy was big, Billy was black and Billy was a dog.


And he didn't eat us.

I wasn't eaten by a bear - Part #1

Yeah, I know. I am not very good at this whole blogging thing. Well...I'm not sure if that is exactly true. I think it is more that I am not actually very good at this whole "training" thing. I have not been successful at maintaining any kind of regular training schedule and truth be told, I have been enjoying myself a little more than I should be seeing as my race is about 2 weeks away. Did you really expect any different from me???

With that confession out of the way, I would like to give myself a little credit as I have achieved some significant feats in the last month.

The weekend of August 7 we were invited up to our friends family cottage in Ladysmith QC. I pledged when we got there on Friday evening that I was going to swim across the lake. I was told that it was about a mile from one side to the other. That would have been if I could swim in a straight line. I apparently cannot. It was estimated that I probably swam twice the distance if you took all the zig zagging into account.

Here is the proof:


Here I am with my swimming partner in the boat on our way out to the dock.


Swim, Swim, Swim


Look Ma, no hands!


Yes...I'm okay...No...I am not about to drown...Thanks for checking on me though...


Look at that form!


Hallelujah!

Growing up in Toronto, there has never been much opportunity for me to swim in the open water. It is kind of scary; to tell you the truth. Every little flutter of light under the water and you are convinced that you are about to meet Nessie. There are no black lines clearly defined on a turquoise back drop to keep you on track and you can swim for 10 minutes, lift your head, and realize that you have veered way off track. And, unlike swimming in a pool you don't have the luxury of stopping and grabbing on to the side if you need to catch your breath or if you get a cramp. And as you can imagine, the other side always looks closer than it really is.

I paced myself well on this swim and all zig zagging included it took me about 40 minutes to get across. My original plan had me running back around the lake to the cottage, but my friend advised that it was not unlikey that I would be eaten by a bear, so I opted to be escorted back in the motor boat. Can you blame me??