Whoomp, there it is

Ah the white stuff is on the ground at last and a middle aged man`s mind turns to one of his more masochistic pursuits. The Mad Trapper Snowshoe series!

http://www.synergyark.com/mad-trapper.html

The running man and I did this last year and it is buckets of fun. Highly recommended. Especially if you are one of those people who enjoys occasionally coughing up a lung. There are four races this year with the first being December 13th so I`m going to have to start my training program right away.

Snowshoeing is a lot like hiking but much harder. The big shoes mean a wide leg stance which means discovering muscles you didn`t know you had. So for snowshoe running last year I worked out a program to help create stability and hit those `new` muscles in the gym. Nothing complicated really - wide stance squats and leg presses. Lunges and the ever hated core work focusing on the stabilizing muscles of the lower abs and obliques. The snow is not a very stable running surface so you have to make up for that with your own muscles. And yes, that is as exhausting as it sounds.

This year I am adding `barefoot` treadmill running. I`m not actually barefoot I`m running in these:

http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/

Yeas it hurts the feet. Well, tires them out anyway. I`m up to about 20 minutes now before my arches get tired.

You might be wondering what all this madness has to do with the AT. The Mad Trapper Series gives me motivation to keep training in crappy weather and I think in the long run it will make me stronger overall therefore decreasing the physical adjustment period to the AT.

Check it out!

filebox.vt.edu/users/wdickhan/

This is an awesome site IMO. No fluff, nothing over the top, very informative and interesting.

In the pics you`ll notice Bill has one piece of gear I really want - a good set of trekking poles. I have read that trekking poles can reduce the strain upon the knees by as much as 25%. I am presuming that would be when going downhill when the knees are under the most duress. In any case for a gimp like me good poles would appear to be a wise investment. Maybe I'll get fancy ones with a camera mount on top... and blackjack. and hookers. Forget the blackjack. and the trekking poles...

http://search.mec.ca/?N=10&Ntt=trekking+poles&bmUID=1227140003170

Trekking poles are expensive. I guess the manufacturers figure they are one of those non-essential extras so people who buy them are just looking to spend money. Or maybe they have huge R&D budgets? I guess they have a point though. If you don't need lightweight yet durable shockabsorbing telescoping carbon fibre poles and ergonomically moulded grips you could just pick up a couple of sticks on the ground for free...

I have some snowshoe poles already. I think the only real difference is the basket. I could get some small trekking baskets and maybe rubber tips and then only the word "snowshoe" written down the side would give me away as the cheapskate I am. Of course my snowshoe poles were like $30 so they probably aren't as uber as actual trekking poles.

Wolf loop

After attending the Rememberance Day Ceremony Downtown today I zipped over to Gatineau Park to take advantage of the mid-week day off and hit the trails. There were a lot more people than I expected on the trail today.

My goal this afternoon was to do the 10.5 km Wolf Loop Trail in 72 minutes. To some people 72 minutes may sound like a lot of time to do 10.5 kms but in my defence the park map claims Wolf Loop takes 4.25 hours (that means it should take an active person about 3 hours to walk).

Why 72 minutes you ask? My Voyage into Trance (Paul Oakenfold) mp3 is 72 minutes of the best running music I`v ever heard. Trance music is the shiznit for running as far as I`m concerned. I guess the trance beat is my ideal running cadence.

My goal looked ambitious after the first kilometre which was mostly ankle deep mud - a trend that continued on the flats for the whole trail. Mud and wet rocks with cold, wet, heavy, feet is not condusive to fast times - just good times! In the end I managed to finish in 68 minutes 34 seconds.

I very happy with my time especially considering the trail conditions. I might not be so happy when I wake up sore and stiff tomorrow...

Gearhead 1 - the Stove

Stoves - Everywhere I read I see the MSR pocket rocket ( http://www.msrgear.com/stoves/pocketrocket.asp ) as the pinnacle of the lightweight food heating implement and the fuel canisters are readily available along the trail. The running man owns a Pocket Rocket and we used it in the ‘Dacks. It is an impressive piece of equipment - small, lightweight and very effective. The MSR Superfly also looks like an option albeit heavier and more expensive because it will accept a variety of fuel canisters reducign the chance of being caught without fuel. Plus it`s called the SUPERFLY!

It’s only real competition in my mind is this: http://www.zzstove.com/sierra.html . I’ve never seen one of these things so it would be a bit of a gamble but it sounds super cool. It’s more economical in ther long run as it only requires an occasional battery and on a forest trail I would not have to be concerned about fuel usage. Sustained damp weather might present a problem as the fuel is scrounged off the ground.

Weight: Cooking time: Price:
MSR Pocket rocket with fuel: 7 oz. 3.5 mins $38.00
Spare fuel canister: 4 oz. 36 mins $4.75
ZZstove with battery: 16 oz. 4 mins $57.00
Spare battery (D-cell): 1 oz. 2100 mins! $2.00

The SUPERFLY is $44.00 and weight 4.6 oz. One real drawback (for me) to the MSR stoves is that the fuel canisters are not refillable and I don`t want to be lugging around empty fuel canisters until I find a place that will recycle them...

The way I see it the MSR stoves are easier lighter and in the long run more expensive for me and mother earth. The ZZ stove is heavy and I can envision fuel issues. There is a titanium version of the ZZ stove that weights only 10 oz. but then costs $129.00.

I’d be interested to hear from the peanut gallery.

Pine Grove

First things first - despite the photo it wasn't very piney. As expected it was flat with a broad clear trail. More like a soft top road than a trail really.

Not really the best place for hiking but it is an excellent place for running. No traffic, nice soft ground to run on, quiet, lots of ridiculously friendly people (dog walkers mostly with a fair portion of runners). Even through it's technically a trail the broad flat surface disqualifies it as "trail running" IMHO. I didn't do all three loops as had I planned as a poor choice of socks left me with a heel blister and, quite frankly, it was kinda dull. Did I mention it was all flat all the time? No scenic views or wildlife to speak of either, too many dogs for the wildlife I guess.

So about the blister, one pair of loose hand knit wool socks was not a good idea. Yes, loose even on my size 12.5's. I think I'll either have to stick with the lightweight sock and a sock liner plan which has worked well in the past or maybe I just need to soak my feet in tea. I prefer to drink my tea but I read that soaking your feet in tea will make them tough and leathery therefore helping to prevent blisters.

In closing, sock liners and technical hiking socks can start off Ken's Christmas wish list.
(notice how I seamlessly slipped the sizing into the narrative above!)