I know that plane!

Came across this blog post today, about an Otter airplane operated by Osprey Wings in Missinipe. I've flown in this Otter on the way in to the Paull River a few years ago. I find it interesting to learn the long history of a plane I've flown in. This summer I'll again be flying in a Turbo-Otter to the Cree River, though I'm not sure if it'll be the same one.

Open House Time Again

It's time once again for the Saskatoon Canoe Club's annual Open House at the Boathouse. This coming Sunday, May 3rd, from 12:00 to 4:00 pm we will be hosting an open house and barbecue in Victoria Park along the river near the docks. Come and see what membership in the Saskatoon Canoe Club can bring to you and your family. Whether you are interested in quiet paddles down the river, marathon racing, kayaking, solo trekking, improving your skill level, or just want to have fun on the water… our club may be the one for you. Meet a few club members and our sponsors. See what we have to offer on May 3rd at the boathouse along the river in Victoria park near Riversdale.

That, more or less, is the blurb that has gone out to various local media announcing our upcoming open house. This is usually a pretty busy day for us and fair weather will likely mean we have hundreds of people visit our boathouse bay. At least I hope so, since I'll be picking up 200 hamburgers on Friday. By the way, we'll only be serving burgers until they're gone so don't show up at 3:45 and be disappointed if we can't feed you!

World Book Day

It was World Book Day today apparently, so it seems like a good time to update the "What I'm Reading" feature.

Building Strip-Planked Boats, Nick Schade. Another boatbuilding book has been added to my library. This just-released book was written by the author of The Strip-Built Sea Kayak, the host of the Kayak Building Bulletin Board, and the designer of the Guillemot kayak I built. To be honest, I haven't really started to read this one, though it is on my nightstand and I have paged through it (and this is supposed to be a somewhat boatbuilding-related blog). It looks good so far. It's about twice as thick as his earlier book, which I used to guide me through the Guillemot build. The photos and illustrations are all black & white. I look forward to see which techniques he has updated from the earlier book, published about 15 years ago. I have noticed that he uses a different style of stems, which is a good improvement. The new book covers the building of a very sexy looking kayak, the small "wee lassie" canoe, and a dinghy. After I have actually read through it, I'll try to post some comments.

The Russlander, Sandra Birdsell. This book tells the story of a Russian Mennonite girl in the early 20th century. Katya is living through turbulent times, and there is tension growing between the wealthy Mennonite farmers and the Russian peasants. Currently, I'm about halfway through. The book occasionally makes reference to Katya as an elderly woman in Winnipeg and it appears that the story is her recollections. It's an interesting book so far.

The Unicorn's Secret: True Heart, Kathleen Duey. I've been reading this series of books with my 6-year old as bedtime reading for the past several months. Picked from the library as a chapter book that looked simple enough for her to understand, and featuring unicorns it was sure to have her interest. I am really enjoying the time spent with my daughter reading these books. This evening we finished the 6th book in the series and my daughter is eagerly anticipating the final two books.
The Egg In The Hole Book, Richard Scarry. I also read with my younger daughter today, and this is one of those we read. I asked her what she likes about this book and she said "the egg".

Bike For Sale

I have a bike for sale, a really big bike. That's the problem see, it's too big for me since I'm just a short guy at 6'3". This bike deserves someone that's better than 6'4".

The bike is a Kuwahara Apollo, Prestige XL. It seems these bikes were pretty ubiquitous in Vancouver once upon a time.

It's about 30 years old so it knows it's way around the streets. It's familiar with both Vancouver and Saskatoon. Gord used to ride this bike over the Lions Gate Bridge on a regular basis. The height of this bike, combined with the considerable height of Gord, put Gord well above the low railing of the bridge. Combine that with the height of the bridge, and Gord commented that it was always something of a precarious feeling crossing hundreds of feet above the barges and freight ships below.

Have a look at the length of the headset!

The bike is in decent shape but is definitely well-used. One of the tires is just about new, the other maybe a year or so old. The rear wheel is about 3 years old or so (replaced after I bumped sideways against a curb with the back wheel and it tacoed) and I think the front is original. The wheels are true. It has never been (Saskatoon) winter ridden, but this was my foul weather commuter. It likely needs a bit of TLC. I have done some of my own maintenance, but mostly it has been done at the local bike shop (not every shop knows what to do with a bike of this vintage but Doug at The Bike Doctor does). It has a certain amount of heft to it, but it beats my winter beater by a long shot in speed and weight.

If you are tall and want a fast commuter bike, this might be the one for you. I'm asking $100 but am open to offers.

A Night Out

Last weekend I went on an overnight snowshoe excursion with two friends. Mark has already blogged about the adventure, including pictures and video, and Rob has some of his pictures up too. Prior to heading North, I prepared my pulk using a $20 plastic 60" sled from Canadian Tire (the Pelican Mega Snow Glider is currently on sale for $9.99). I added rope loops along the length of the sled to aid in tying the gear down, and in order to aid in traversing hilly terrain, I added rigid poles. The rigid poles that Rob & I both used (he on his wooden toboggan) are simply 3/4" PVC conduit from (about $5 for a 10' length). I cut the conduit to 6'2" and threaded the towing ropes through, then tied the ends tight with caribiners. The caribiners can then be clipped to a towing harness, or in my case a beefy MEC fanny pack. When towing the sled uphill or on even ground, all of the towing force is on the ropes, but when going downhill, the conduit stops the sled from running forward and maintains some control. I tested towing the sled with the poles crossed and uncrossed, and found it worked much better when they were crossed. Uncrossed poles had the tendency to tip the sled as soon as I turned a corner.

From Nesbit Snowshoe

The back of the sled has loops of rope with additional caribiners in order that a second (shorter) sled can be clipped to the first. I fully expected to need another couple of feet worth of sled to get all my stuff into the bush, but in the end I didn't need it. I had a short sled ready and with us for this purpose.

We parked at the south parking lot for Eb's Trails, a set of cross-country ski trails maintained by the Saskatoon Ski Club. The trails are well-maintained and in the beautiful setting of the Nesbit Forest near both the North & South Saskatchewan Rivers. We then headed across Highway 11 and into the bush to the East, towards the South Saskatchewan River. We snowshoed following skidoo trails for about 3/4 of the distance, with the last stretch toward the river being un-snowmobiled.

From Nesbit Snowshoe

The last descent towards the river was short and steep, and on my snowshoes I skied, slipped and eventually tumbled in a graceful arc down the slope. Initially, it was supposed to be a controlled slide, but oddly enough I somehow failed to maintain control going over that rock outcrop. Mark was able to improve upon my technique by bringing his sled down in front of him and lowering it down.

From Nesbit Snowshoe

Once on the riverbank, we stopped for snacks then continued south until we came to an island to explore. After ruling out the island as a camp spot, we continued to explore the area and found a few interesting sights and sites. Our weather through the day was very bright, sunny, warm, and windy. Our temperatures peaked during the day at around +1C, with the wind 30km/hr and gusty.

From Nesbit Snowshoe

On the ice in a few spots we noticed slush. The feel of the snow underfoot would be quite different, then looking back you could see the slush seeping into our snowshoe & dog prints. For that reason, we generally stayed fairly close to the shoreline.

We followed a skidoo trail back up away from the river until we came to a hilly meadow and a protected copse of trees that would serve well as our home for the the next 20 hours or so. The meadow had a great view out over the river valley, yet the campsite was nestled in a bit of a treed gully which kept us well-protected from the winds, a factor that would prove to be very important later.

After setting up camp, we took advantage of the nearby slopes to play on the adjacent toboggan hill (well, actually it seemed to be a playground for snowmobiles but we took it over for a while). There are a bunch of pictures and some video of that activity from Rob & Mark so I suggest checking out their sites. After our fun on the main hill, I decided to attempt the short but very steep drop into the backside of our camp site. I managed not to break anything so Mark decided to follow me down. He got in a fight with a nasty branch and now has the scar to go along with the story. Below, he is using the lcd screen on his camera in lieu of a mirror to check out the damage.

From Nesbit Snowshoe

Initially, Kaya went and found a small pine tree to dig in a nest underneath. However, I created a bed for her nearer the fire. Here she is lying on a tarp, 2 foam pad pieces, and a heavy wool blanket which wraps over her, all topped with my heavy fleece & nylon sweater. She comfortably slept off the day's activities near the fire.

Through the evening the temperature remained pretty steady at about -2 to -3C. By the end of the evening, I was wondering why I had brought so much for warm clothes as I simply didn't need much of it. We whiled away the evening sharing stories of adventure (mostly Mark's), and trying to put a small dent in the pile of food which Rob & I brought (Mark thinks we travel a tad heavy).

We eventually stayed up late enough that we wouldn't be in bed earlier than our young kids at home. We used my 3-season, 4-person MEC Wanderer 4 tent for just Rob, Kaya & I, while Mark used his own small 4-season tent. When setting up the tent I used some of the pegs buried in snow, and also some sticks buried in the snow. Although initially this has absolutely no holding power, once the snow sets it becomes extremely strong. The tent site was prepped by thoroughly tramping the area with snowshoes. The tent was then set up in an adjacent spot and moved onto the flattened area in order to prevent us from wrecking the flat but soft snow (thanks to Mark for that tip). In the tent I used a single sleeping pad (I often double them up in the winter using a 3/4 length blue foam pad with my thermarest) while Rob & Kaya each used doubled up sleeping pads. In addition, I put the camp seat unfolded flat underneath kaya to keep her away from the ground. I have a -12 (?) rated MEC down sleeping bag which I use together with a thin overbag. Rob used a similar down bag together with a summer-weight down bag. Kaya used an army-surplus wool blanket, two fleece sweaters and my winter jacket. I also used a candle lantern and left it burning all night for the extra degree or two warmth that it might provide. We all went to bed very warm and were soon opening bags and removing layers.

One thing I found is that a 4-person tent (which fits four in a pinch in the summer) is just the right size for two people and a dog. Yes, we could have stored more of our gear in the vestibule for a bit of extra room, but winter bags take up a lot of room and you do want to be away from the walls which frost up.

At 4 am I awoke to some fierce winds blowing through camp. I grew concerned about the sled blowing away so got up and secured everything (Mark had the sense to tie his before bed). Although it was windy all night, at 4 am the gusts came up suddenly, recorded in Prince Albert at 78km/hr. It was then that the temperature started to drop quickly, reaching -20 sometime after 8 am. That was at least 10C colder than originally forecast. (There is some debate on this , Mark & I swear we saw forecasts of about -9C for overnight lows while Rob swears -18C was predicted. We think that Mark I were checking the PA forecast and Rob the Saskatoon forecast. The Saskatoon forecast must have been updated on Saturday morning before PA, as we were all checking at close to the same time.)

With the chilly morning, I remembered why I had brought the previously unused fleeces, and the jacket. I don't think Kayak appreciated the cold very much either and she was loathe to move from her bed near the fire.

After a big breakfast of bacon (precooked at home and re-warmed on the fire) and oatmeal (lots of nuts, raisins, cranberries, etc.) we went on a trek around the neighbourhood. We snowshoed south for a couple of kilometers, exploring some additional trails. Once back to camp and nicely warmed up, we packed up camp, loaded the sleds and began making our way home. The trek out proved arduous. The rolling hills were tough and I quickly began to dread the downhill sections because the uphill portion that followed would be twice as high. We had another day of bright sunshine, but this time the temperature stayed close to -20C all day, with winds again around the 20 - 30 km/hr mark. Our trek out to the car took us on some new trails (though one wasn't exactly as intended) so that added to the adventure. One thing we didn't do much of on the 5.4 km out was eat or drink. It's funny how when I am tired I don't take the time to do the things that would help keep some fuel in the tank. We had plenty of food to be sure, and I should have forced myself to lighten the load by eating some of that food.

The following images (click for a larger version) show the gps-recorded elevation profile for the trip. The first image shows the trek in, descending to the river then back up to our camp site.

The next graph shows the trek out. The circled region shoes an area when I might have been cursing the hills of the river valley just a bit.

Our total trek in 4.9 km and the way out was 5.4 km. Although most of the way out seemed more direct than our route in, I wonder if it was actually any easier than descending to the river, travelling on the flat of the river for a couple kilometers, then ascending up the trail we came in on. We seemed pretty consistent both days in our average speed of 2 km/hr, including the GORP breaks.

I was pretty happy to have gotten out overnight in the winter for the first time in several years. I was also very happy with my new snowshoes and the new Faber bindings. It was great to "discover" this new area so close to home and I am sure to be back.

Elgaard Your Grill

Herohill.com has undertaken something they call The Great Canadian Mixtape Project. Today, they have released the Saskatchewan mixtape, wittily named "Elgaard Your Grill." It's a collection of 21 songs by new artists from our humble province. The list looks good & I look forward to listening to their selections. It's a slow download so you might as well get started now.

I'm Gettin' Old, But I'm Not Old Yet

I heard this song this morning on the radio and felt compelled to share it. I like David Myles' music and his songs have been on my CBC Radio 3 Playlist for some time.

David Myles

Some Frosty Pictures

On Tuesday evening when I arrived home from work my wife was outsided taking the dog for a (very short) walk. She took a couple of pictures of me in the -30C temperatures.

Merry Christmas!

Nice Day for a Ride

I rode my bike to work this morning. Here's the weather stats pasted from Environment Canada at about the time I was on the road early this morning:

Time (CST)	Conditions	Temp (°C)	Humidity (%)	Dew Point (°C)	Wind (km/h)	Pressure (kPa)	Vis (km)	Wind Chill
23 December 2008
6:00	Clear	-35	65	-39	SW 13	101.9	24	-47
5:00	Clear	-35	70	-39	W 13	101.9	24	-47

It turns out that with the windchill Saskatoon is apparently the coldest spot in Saskatchewan right now.

The ride itself wasn't bad, albeit quite slow. My goggles started to fog up after a kilometer or so, and I took them off for the last 1 km (6 km ride). My outfit included polypro liner socks, merino wool socks, long underwear, cotton pants, army surplus wool pants, rain pants (as a windproof shell), two fleece sweaters, Helly Hansen parka, winter boots, polypro liner gloves, army surplus mitts with wool liners, Carhartt helmet liner balaclava, fleece scarf, toque, ski goggles and, finally, a helmet. With all that stuff on my upper body was a bit too warm (I could have stopped to open up my zippers, including the pit zippers, but didn't), my legs were just right, my head & face were warm, and certain other parts were a tad cool (I need to find fur-lined boxers!). At -35C the bearings and rubber are stiff and the extra clothes help to slow the pace. Add to this the fact that I don't want to push too hard & overheat and it means the ride that takes 15 minutes in the summer, takes half an hour or more. It also takes a considerable amount of time to get dressed up.

It's too bad nobody was here to take some pictures of the frost which covered my head quite completely by the time I got to work.

Now I'm at work toasty warm while my grizzly bear samples incubate in a labelling reaction (hence the reason I had time to post).

Getting Ready for Snow!

I've been thinking quite a bit lately about snowshoeing and winter camping. In fact, I'm quite anxious for a good dump of snow. The perfect winter is one that transfers quickly from paddling season to winter with some cold weather to sart (to yield thick ice), then lots of snow and mild temperatures of -10 to -20C. Temperatures of higher than -10C are not good for cycling as the packed snow surface gets soft and turns to a loose but dense mess that is bad for biking through. To get a good base for skiing, a couple of decent snows is required, so the sooner that occurs after the lakes have frozen, the better (from a recreational point of view).

I haven't gone winter camping in quite a few years, but I want to get out there again this year. In the past I have traveled by ski and snowshoe. My experience snowshoeing with a load (sled or backpack) has not gone all that well. The worst experience was on rented shoes of the "modern" style, small but light with crampons underneath. The sales pitch for these snowshoes is that the solid decking gives more surface area to support you on the snow than the open weave webbing "babiche" of a traditional pair of snowshoes. That is a load of hooey. It's not the immediate surface area that counts, it's how far across the snowbank your weight is dispersed. I weigh 200 pounds, a snowshoe that is 8" x 25" is not going to support me on anything softer than a well-traveled skidoo trail. I had gone into Prince Albert National Park in order to travel the "Freight Trail". The snow was about 3 feet deep and covered in a crust. The crust would not support my full weight and I would crash through the crust with each step. I recall the icy crust beating against my shins and thighs. Then, as I stepped forward, I had to pull my foot and the snowshoe back up through that same crust. It made for a frustrating experience. Traveling on a moderately wide ski was a bit better. Then on a later trip, I borrowed a pair of "Sherpa Snow Claw" snowshoes. These were still of a design using a vinyl deck and aluminum frame, but were much larger. I don't recall the exact dimensions, but they were probably 10" x 36" or so. On that trip I headed again to Prince Albert National Park, but into the Fish Lake region. That time, my success with the snowshoes was better, but still not ideal.

Based on these experiences, and other experiences with aluminum-framed snowshoes, I decided I wanted to go to a much larger shoe, probably a traditional wood framed design. I had considered purchasing traditional or "hybrid" snowshoes from a variety of sources (GV, Faber, Country Ways, Snowshoe Sales & Repairs), and had settled on a long and narrow design like the "Ojibwa", "yukon", or "elongated bearpaw" styles (as opposed to the more familiar wide "huron" style). I was also seriously considering building my own snowshoes, a process that involves first building a jig to form the steam-bent wood, then after the frame has been built, lacing the webbing with babiche, nylon cord, or heavy fishing line. I even ordered the highly recommended book by Gil Gilpatrick, Building Snowshoes and Snowshoe Furniture, and while I was at it I got his book Building Outdoor Gear too.

I had been looking for used snowshoes, but did not think I was going to find them in good shape for a good price. Then, this week I came across someone selling 5 pair of snowshoes in the local kijiji advertisements. I called the fellow up and a couple hours later I was the proud owner of not one, but two pair of ash-frame and babiche laced snow shoes! Other than needing a coat of varnish, both pair appear to be in great shape.

The big ones are Ojibwa style which has the frame pointed on each end and quite a long toe. The overall length is just shy of 60", they are 12" wide, and they are marked as being the brand "Kabir Kouba." Of this general style of snowshoe, Dave Hadfield (canoeist, snowshoer, pilot, and brother of Chris Hadfield) says:

If you're hiking all day, going the distance, in unpacked snow, the longest, skinniest ones you can find are the best -- paticularly if you're punching through brush or crusty snow. You want something shaped more like a ski than anything. And a pointed tip helps a lot. I use a set like these for breaking trail.... But for campwork, like when you're setting up the tent in 3 ft of soft snow, or cutting poles, or getting firewood, a set of roundish bearpaws is best because it is so easy to turn around in them.... On a trip where I feel I can afford the weight of 2 sets, or if there are several people in the party and a spare pair is judged a good idea, I take along the first 2 types mentioned above. It's very nice to use the shoe that best does the job.

So here are my new 12" x 60" Ojibwa snowshoes.

The babiche (rawhide) lacing of both pair appears to be in good shape, with a bit of wear evident on the bottoms.

Here are the 10" x 35" elongated bearpaw snowshoes.

Again, they appear to be in decent shape with a bit of wear, but no manufacturer's mark is evident. This pair appears to have been more recently varnished. In the picture below you can see the profile of the snowshoe. It is not simply flat with an upturned toe but has a bit of curvature under the heel.

Both pair have simple leather bindings. From what I have read so far online, the bindings seem to be the main disadvantage of traditional snowshoes in that they don't prevent lateral movement as well as the bindings found on more modern snowshoes (which also often incorporate crampons). I may consider replacing a pair of the bindings. The Faber "Work" binding has been recommended, and my local retailer will have them in stock in November for around $50. However, the GV Snowshoes "3R" binding looks ideal. In the latter case, I'm not sure where to purchase them or how much they would cost (MEC was provided as my local dealer).

These two pair of snowshoes allow both my wife & I to go out at the same time, or for me to pick and choose my shoes based on the conditions. For camping, I could use the big Ojibwa shoes to break trail and haul the sled to camp, and the more maneuverable elongated bearpaws could be used around camp for setting up, collecting firewood, etc. I actually also have a third pair of snowshoes, one given to me by a friend several years ago. That pair is of a traditional racket-shaped Huron style, 12" x 45" including the tail, but they are youth's (teenager?) snowshoes and as such are too small for my overweight bulk. However, in a few more years they'll probably work well for my kids.

Friend and fellow canoeist and canoe builder, Mark Lafontaine started the Saskatoon Snowshoe Club last winter. Now that I officially own three pair of snowshoes, I guess I better join.

As I write, there is a 40% chance of flurries overnight, and a 30% chance for tomorrow. We're getting closer!