I have plotted the reserved campsites on the Killarney trail map. I based my reservations on quality recommendations from the dude at the Friends of Killarney site. The end result looks a bit uneven in terms of distances but apparently none of the early sites are very impressive. So I decided to check the distances for each day to help with planing and expectations.
The best way to measure trail distances on a map is to use a piece of string. You follow the winding trail with the string and mark it at each end. Then you can measure the string and compare it to the map scale. It`s still pretty rough but it`s better than trying to count squares.
So here are my results with some contour comments:
Day One: 22km that starts off with a bit of up and down but looks to have only one serious hill and the last half is flat and if time is running short I might brave some rapids to cut off 4 KMs. Although it will be May so the water will be cold and high... The site is out on a point of land.
Day Two: 18km that starts off flat and easy and then gets crazy steep in places. I expect this will be a harder day than day one as it has several big climbs and some steep descents.the topography of today is why I haven`t considered moving the day one campsite a couple of kilometres closer. The site is on a small lake at the base of a steep hill.
Day Three: 14km with a 6 km option that is a must if I want my hardcore badge. Short and with one big climb if the option is passed on. The option is a three kilometre hike up to Silver Peak at 539 meters. No problem, I`ve done worse in the `dacks. With no water. On a hot day. Anyway, toss the heavy pack into the woods and go to the summit in a flick. Easy day. Camp on a small lake, near another campsite that is already reserved so we can all share our summit stories...
Day Four: 12km of constant up and down. Not big hills but some rugged looking terrain. Camp on a small lake.
Day Five: 14km one last hill and out to the George lake Campground for a shower and to put those beers I hid in the car on ice!
I think it looks like a good training hike, days one and two to cover some ground while you`re fresh and then days three to five to work on campsite routines.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Reservations are made
Next up on the training schedule is La Cloche Silhouette. A majestic 79 km loop through Killarney Provincial Park. The route is considered difficult and looking at the topo map I believe it. some places it looks like you are walking up cliff faces! Another stretch looks to be 20kms of constant up and down.
The loop features beautifully rugged white quartzite cliffs that are older than dirt! Dirt being the stuff that used to sit on top of the quartzite when they were mountains taller than the Rockies. So now you know why there is so much dirt. The name of the trail comes from the painting by Franklin Carmichael, a group of seven artist. Here is the painting:
The loop features beautifully rugged white quartzite cliffs that are older than dirt! Dirt being the stuff that used to sit on top of the quartzite when they were mountains taller than the Rockies. So now you know why there is so much dirt. The name of the trail comes from the painting by Franklin Carmichael, a group of seven artist. Here is the painting:
I would say one of the better efforts from the group of seven but then I'm not a very good Canadian - I don't care for the music of Rush, hockey is dead to me (murdered by Garry Bettman) and I'm not a fan of the group of seven. At least I've still got a love of beer (mostly UK beers) and that special skill where I can always find something to whine about and blame on someone else even when things are going awesomely well. And let's face it, that last one is what really defines Canadian.
I will be doing this hike in mid-May while things are still cool and damp. Considering my planned February 15th start date for the AT I'm going to want to test all the gear in cool and wet weather. The plan is to pack for Killarney as if I was starting out on the AT and at the end of the week re-evaluate all my choices.
It will also function as an evaluation of my fitness. The pace of the Killarney hike will average 16kms per day which is the suggested starting pace for the AT. Based on how difficult I find Killarney I will know how hard I will have to work all summer. (Here's hoping it's beer and nachos on the patio hard!)
A 16km per day pace would be about 219 days of walking to complete the AT. Considering one of the things I learned on the cross Canada bike trip is that a weekly rest day is invaluable that ramps it up to a 256 day trip. Or about 8.5 months. Now where did I put that 11 tons of food...
Sunday, March 8, 2009
End of the season
Another Mad Trapper season is done. I came in last again with a time of 1:27:26. This time I can defend my placing by mentioning I`m only last because I went out on the second lap. Overall I came in 9th out of 10 men to do at least 3 10k races this year. Not last! More importantly it was challenging and fun again this year. with excellent after race food! Saturday I ate two bowls of delicious chili, a big chunk of delicious hot casserole, a handful of potato chips, 3 cookies and three mini croissants. When I got home I ordered a pizza for supper and ate the whole thing. Then I woke up early this morning hungry again. Nuts.
So what does this tell me? It tells me that I might be fat and slow but I`m no quitter and that`s how I`m going to thu-hike 3500kms of Appalachian Trail. I just hope it doesn`t take 9 months and 11 tons of food.
I think I`m going to sign up for the 5 peaks this summer too even though that means I will have to buy a new pair of trail runners. I know what you`re thinking - I can get by with old road shoes for trail running. Well another thing I learned this weekend is that when it comes to ankle support a half an inch is HUGE. I ran this race in my old road shoes and on the unstable snow surface the lower ankles were killer. I blame my poor time on it. Honestly. So if I do the 5 peaks I`ll have to budget about $400 - $100 admission, $150 shoes, and $150 for gas.
Today I tested the Vargo Triad Titanium Stove. It seemed hard to light but it actually wasn`t. It`s just that I couldn`t see the flame. It took a little over 10 minutes to bring my two cups of water to boil but it was near zero and a slight breeze. I figure if I make a wind shield for it it will boil a litre of water on one stove of fuel which would be pretty sweet. At one ounce I may have to get another one just to get two burners going - coffee and breakfast in the morning, tea and supper in the evening. Leave more time for hiking. I also need a better fuel container - something with a small spout. The bottle that paint thinner comes in is not so good for pouring fuel into the stove.
I figure a $4 bottle of fuel will fill the stove at least 25 times which is pretty sweet. So one litre of alcohol should cook all the food that will fit into the bear barrel.
So what does this tell me? It tells me that I might be fat and slow but I`m no quitter and that`s how I`m going to thu-hike 3500kms of Appalachian Trail. I just hope it doesn`t take 9 months and 11 tons of food.
I think I`m going to sign up for the 5 peaks this summer too even though that means I will have to buy a new pair of trail runners. I know what you`re thinking - I can get by with old road shoes for trail running. Well another thing I learned this weekend is that when it comes to ankle support a half an inch is HUGE. I ran this race in my old road shoes and on the unstable snow surface the lower ankles were killer. I blame my poor time on it. Honestly. So if I do the 5 peaks I`ll have to budget about $400 - $100 admission, $150 shoes, and $150 for gas.
Today I tested the Vargo Triad Titanium Stove. It seemed hard to light but it actually wasn`t. It`s just that I couldn`t see the flame. It took a little over 10 minutes to bring my two cups of water to boil but it was near zero and a slight breeze. I figure if I make a wind shield for it it will boil a litre of water on one stove of fuel which would be pretty sweet. At one ounce I may have to get another one just to get two burners going - coffee and breakfast in the morning, tea and supper in the evening. Leave more time for hiking. I also need a better fuel container - something with a small spout. The bottle that paint thinner comes in is not so good for pouring fuel into the stove.
I figure a $4 bottle of fuel will fill the stove at least 25 times which is pretty sweet. So one litre of alcohol should cook all the food that will fit into the bear barrel.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Gearheads
Me and the Boss went out to the stores this weekend to check out some gear she was interested in. The plan is to have the first draft of AT gear in place for Killarney. Killarney will be a practice hike as everything is put through the "is it tough enough?" and "is it worth the weight?" tests.
Anyways, we took a look at Trailhead, Bushtuka and MEC for bear barrels. In the end we decided on the Backpacker's Cache model from MEC. It was $4 more expensive than the one at Bushtuka but we preferred this barrel:
Pretty cool eh. The lid mechanism seemed the best and the barrel is smaller and feels sturdier. BTW the coffee you see in there is excellent. Much better than what you are drinking now.
Another piece of gear in consideration is the UV pen light. It`s $97 but it`s small and lightweight and ``cleans`` 2000 liters of water! All of which destroys my pump filter and in terms of volume comes out cheaper than the tablets.
Another piece of gear in consideration is the UV pen light. It`s $97 but it`s small and lightweight and ``cleans`` 2000 liters of water! All of which destroys my pump filter and in terms of volume comes out cheaper than the tablets.
Among some other odds and ends she needed the Boss also found a new stove. It weighs one ounce and runs on methylated alcohol (paint thinner). Yes a mere 28 grams of stove!
It claims to boil 2 cups of water in 6 minutes. I will be testing the veracity of these claims on the weekend.
Speaking of the weekend, the forecast for Saturday is 7 degrees Celsius. Saturday is the Mad Trapper finale. I don't see myself breaking 1:20 in warm weather. Mostly because by the end I'll be carrying and extra 15 pounds of water in my clothes. I checked out the trail runners in the stores as well. the new models don't have the plastic tabs of my shoes so I guess I'm not the only one to have this problem.
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