Walking and Running

With the snow and ice almost gone it's time to get back outside on the roads and trails for those regular runs and walks. I know most serious walkers don't let the winter stop them but it's always more enticing when the weather improves. I went for a run yesterday on the trail along River Valley Drive. It was in surprisingly good condition for this early in the season. There were a few muddy patches in low lying areas to watch for but on the whole the trail was dry and in pretty good shape. The town usually does some maintenance on it every spring including adding new gravel in spots so once that is completed the trail should be great. It sure is a well used and appreciated addition to the community.

However I did notice some ATV tracks on the trail. I hope motorized vehicles don't become a problem. They aren't allowed and either are bicycles but kids ride them along there all the time. I can't blame them for wanting to but really it's a safety issue as more and more people walk along that path.

I've posted some pictures of the trail. I shot them on a tiny digital camera I picked up at Guardian Drugs for under $20. It looked interesting so I had to give it a try and to my surprise it actually worked, not very well but it does take pictures.

The local runners group is getting into high gear with regular runs on Saturday mornings. More about that later. In the meantime, the River Valley Drive Trail awaits. Enjoy!

Last Snows of the Season

We made it back after 6 days of backcountry skiing in the Chic Choc Mountains of Gaspe. The trip this year was as wonderful as in past years although the snow wasn’t what we expected. Even late in March in these mountains, you can find powder. Not this time. Warm temperatures and rain made it’s way even up to the 4,000-foot level and created hard packed and icy conditions. But the warm temperatures, sunshine, fabulous vistas and companionship of good friends made up for it.

As I mentioned in the last post, we stayed in a hut that used to be part of a mining operation. It’s about 2,500 feet up and surrounded by mountains. We skied the 12 kilometres into the hut while a snowmobile brought our food and most of our gear. The accommodations were basic but comfy. Unlike most huts in the park, this one had electricity so that meant a fridge and stove and most important, a hot water heater. The shower was appreciated by all of us.

When you go on these trips you basically ski, eat and sleep. Our days were full. One morning we headed off on a trail to another cabin 10 km away. A bit of new snow had fallen overnight and that made the trail conditions better than expected. There was a lot of up and down and the return 20 km trip tired us all out. Being in the mountains the idea is to ski up to the top and the hard pack snow known as ‘boiler plate’ made it a challenge this year. We used skins on our skis to get a grip on the snow but often needed to dig in our metal edges to stop from sliding off the trail. The trip along the switchback, up the headwall surrounding our hut takes about 45 minutes. We went up twice and spent part of one day playing in the plateau at the top. It’s a vast area of rolling hills and snow covered stunted trees that remind me of a fairyland.

Another highlight of the trip was an avalanche chute we discovered near the cabin. From top to bottom it provided us a ski run about the size of Poley Mountain. We skinned up part way and skied down on our heavier telemark skis. The warm spring sun softened the snow nicely every afternoon. The avalanche team came by every couple of days to check conditions and told us the snow around us was stable and safe. The burning sun was probably the most dangerous thing we encountered and had to repeatedly smother out faces with sun block. We all came back with a tan.

I could go on about the trip but suffice it to say that the Chic Choc area of Gaspe is a special place and one that I return to every winter. We left winter and snow behind when we came home. The skiing is over for another season. It’s time to move on to other things and there is plenty to do here in the River Valley.

Backcountry in the Chic-Chocs

The blog is going to be quiet for the next few days. I'm giving winter one last kick at the can by going to Gaspe for some real backcountry skiing. The Chic-Chocs Mountains as they're called are the closest thing we have here in the east to real big mountain terrain. They are the northern end of the Appalachian Range and these are huge mountains. Mount Jacques Cartier is the highest peak in the Chic-Chocs at 1,268 metres elevation. This range offers above tree line skiing with the chance, if you're lucky, of skiing past a heard of caribou on the way up. Over the last few years the area has become very popular with telemark skiers and backcountry snowboarders. There are no chair lifts in the Chic-Chocs. Every vertical foot you enjoy on the way down you have to earn by climbing up. We have synthetic skins we stick on the base of our skis to help us climb the real steep trails.

A group of us have made this trek to Gaspe for the last few winters. On the last couple of trips we took advantage of the network of trails in the Park de la Gaspesie and skied hut to hut for five or six days. A snowmobile brings your gear along to each hut and that leaves you with only a daypack to carry on the trail. There is no electricity or running water in the huts. That's part of the charm of the expedition.

This time we're doing something different. We're staying at a place called Mines Madeline. It's a full day ski uphill to our hut which is actually an old bunkhouse left over from the mining operation that used to be there. The camp sleeps eight and the place has all the comforts of home, including power and showers. I can get by fine without electricity but it's going to be really nice to be able to have a hot shower at the end of a long day of skiing.

Because of the elevation the snow comes early and stays late. You can usually find plenty of powder in the higher bowls even at this time of year. This is also avalanche country so you have to listen to the daily bulletins and ski with care whenever you're in the open areas.

I'm packed and ready to go. I'll be back with another post when I get back.

River Valley Rambler - Kite Skiing

Kite skier Rob Campbell was giving me a demonstration of his sport on a windy and bitterly cold day in Millidgeville. We were out on the ice of the Kennebecasis River. We both had our skis but Rob felt it was too windy, especially for me as a first timer. Instead Rob brought out one of his smaller kites to show me how it works. He anchored the kite on the ice with a sandbag as he unwound the lines. With a pull of the line he launched the kite. It shot straight up in the air and lifted Rob a few feet off the ground and dragged him about 50 feet over the ice before he managed to dig in his heels and stop himself. That was my first introduction to kite skiing.

As the name implies, it combines a kite and downhill skis or a snowboard. The kite pulls you over the snow or ice, sometimes at breakneck speeds. Rob says the fastest he’s gone according to his GPS is 44 miles per hour. He knows of skiers who have exceeded 60 miles per hour, over 100 km per hour behind a kite. That’s just crazy.

You don’t have to go that fast though. Rob says a 20 km per hour wind is perfect, especially for beginners. I tried to meet up with Rob a couple of times to give it a try but every attempt was just too windy. I’m hoping to go before the ice becomes unsafe.

The generic name for this sport is traction kiting. You can do it on the snow with skis or snowboards. On the water it’s known as kite surfing or kite boarding. On the land you can use a modified skateboard or as Rob has, a three wheeled buggy contraption. In short, if it rolls, slides or sails it’ll work behind a kite. Rob Campbell and some of his fellow kiting enthusiasts were hoping to set a world record a couple of weeks ago by kiting on land, water and snow all on the same day. They started out at New River Beach where they ran their buggies over the sand. Then they were supposed to put on wet suits and try kite surfing in the Bay of Fundy but again it was just too windy. Then the plan was to finish off the day by kite skiing on the Kennebecasis. Unfortunately it didn’t happen but Rob says he still intends to do it.

New Brunswick is a great location for traction kiting with our access to the sea, the rivers and lakes and of course snow and ice in the winter. Rob Campbell says enthusiasts from other places would be envious of the opportunities we have here in this province. Come summer I’d like to give kite surfing a try too.

On another note, I’ve given this blog a try at rivervalleyrambler.blogspot.com/. It’s been a lot of fun so far and I want to thank the people who have commented on it. I get the sense there have been quite a few visitors already. I’ll try to post new content as often as I can. Ideally I’d like to do it on a daily basis but that may difficult, at least initially. You can also read this column on the site about a week before the newspaper comes out. In addition I’m trying to include photos with the stories as often as possible and even video on occasion. For example this column about kite skiing will have some pictures accompanying it on the blog. Eventually I’d like to post schedules for planned outdoor activities by various groups in the area and around the province. I’d like to see it become the place to go online to find out what’s going on and to publicize outdoor events and outings. If you have a hike planned for example, you could use the site to invite others to join you. So if you have any story ideas or suggestion or coming outdoor adventures you want to share, post a comment on the blog or email me directly at MidwoodMedia@gmail.com. And if you haven’t done so already check out River Valley Rambler online at rivervalleyrambler.blogspot.com/

Bad Behavior in the Woods

If you’re out in the backcountry a lot you meet all kinds of people. Most are great, whether they’re skiers, snowmobilers or four wheelers. We all share that love of the outdoors. But sometimes you come across some real jerks out there.

A couple of weeks ago three of us took off for a little ski from what’s known as the four corners in Westfield. We parked beside the ball field where the Britian Road and the Campbell Road meet. It’s a busy place in the winter with trails leading off from that junction in all directions and plenty of snowmobile and ATV traffic. We skied for a couple of hours and on our return, as we got closer to the car we heard a group of ATV’s nearby. It sounded like one or a few of them were just spinning around in circles kicking up the snow. It went on and on. A short time later we saw the group from the top of the hill. There must have been about ten ATV’s most of them those racing models with rear wheel drive. They’re a lot noisier and faster than the four wheelers. We could see what appeared to be mostly kids driving them, spinning the tires and chewing up the trail as they went. When we reached the car the driver’s side was completely coated in snow. A moron on one of those machines had spun around in circles doing donuts a few feet from the vehicle, kicking up a spray of snow and pebbles on the car. It was on so thick I had to scrape the windshield. Thankfully it was my old car and not the new van belonging to a friend we were originally going to take.

About a week later I was skiing again with one of the same guys and we came upon a pile of empty beer cans and bottles and other garbage just tossed in the snow. It was at a beautiful spot where the Robin Hood and Little John Lakes connect. It is at the beginning of the trail to Turtle Mountain. No doubt a large group of riders were out for the day enjoying themselves and decided to leave their garbage behind for someone else to deal with. This is just thoughtless and selfish behavior. People using the trails should know better. Thankfully the kind of people who do these kind of things are in the minority.

Spring Fling at Poley

I know you’re probably getting tired of reading about skiing. But the season is almost over and locally at least much of the snow on the trails is already gone. We’re getting some new snow this weekend but it’s supposed to turn to rain. Spring in New Brunswick! That’s why earlier in the week I planned to go where I knew the snow was going to be good. On Tuesday, probably the nicest day of the week with 10-degree temperatures and sunshine, I packed up my downhill skis and drove to Poley Mountain.

The spring skiing was fabulous. All 23 trails were open although the rocks were already showing through on some of the back trails. Thanks to the courteous staff at the desk I even got a deal on the lift ticket. It was a ‘2 for the price of 1’ day and I ended up sharing the cost of the ticket with another fellow who like me, snuck away for an afternoon of skiing on a beautiful day.

I mainly skied by myself. It’s nice doing that sometimes. There were no lift lines and I got a lot of runs in that day on just about all the trails. There were some new steep ones cut through the trees that I hadn’t tried before. That was fun.

I got to meet some interesting people too. In the chairlift on the way up the hill I discussed the state of municipal taxes with a skier from Shediac. I rode up with a young couple from Halifax who were at Poley enjoying the Nova Scotia March break. They told me the skiing was much better here than at home. I also rode up with a couple of kids from PEI who were here on a school trip. They were first time skiers and both of them lost one ski while they were getting on the chair. Don’t ask me how they did it. All the way up they kept asking me how to get off the chairlift with only one ski. They did it successfully.

It was a fantastic day and one of the few times I’ve downhill skied this year. It’s likely going to be my last too. It was a great way to end the season

Rutted Trails

Just a short post today… actually a bit of a rant. I attempted to go for a ski this afternoon. It was sunny and warm, about 6 degrees, certainly spring conditions. I drove to the Backland Road, probably the most used trail in the Grand Bay-Westfield area. Given the deep freeze and then the rain, I knew trail conditions weren’t going to be the best. They’ve been icy and crusty for the last week but the hard packed trails that have a lot of snowmobile and ATV traffic are usually passable. With the sun and mild temperatures I figured the snow would soften and maybe produce some pretty good spring conditions. Boy was I wrong.

That trail that’s been in great shape for the last month is now a rutted mess. Four wheelers tore it up so bad you’d have a difficult time walking on it let alone skiing. The tire ruts are deep and full of water. Even a snowmobile wouldn’t go down that trail now. It’s probably destroyed for the rest of the winter.

This trail in particular is really multi-use. People walk and snowshoe along it. Many of us ski it. The horseback riders use the trail as well. And yes there has been motorized use all winter too. Snowmobiles and ATV’s share the trail with everyone else and there hasn’t been a problem until now.

When it’s cold and the snow is hard and packed down everyone can use the trail without damaging it. But when it’s wet and soft, care has to be taken. A walker or skier or even a horse wouldn’t have much of an impact. A snowmobile would probably pack it down and improve it. But a four-wheeler makes a mess. I can’t imagine it would be much fun riding either. After seeing the damage, it’s too bad this person or persons didn’t stop and go somewhere else. There are plenty of places to ride besides the popular walking trails.
Thanks a lot.

Wax or No Wax

To wax or not to wax… that is a question that has plagued skiers since skiing began. I’ve always had waxable cross-country skis. When I first started skiing there were no such things as waxless boards. In those days the skis were made of wood and in addition to waxing we had to pine tar the base. That meant burning this black tar into the wood with a torch, a messy job but I still love the smell of it. It brings back happy skiing memories.

But back to the wax. In the spring or when the temperature is above freezing or if the snow is crusty or icy, waxing becomes difficult. The skis glide just fine but it’s tough getting a proper grip under your foot to propel yourself forward. It’s in these kinds of conditions where waxless skis excel. The raised pattern on the bottom of the ski gives you the grip especially in these hard to wax conditions. Many of the people I ski regularly with have no-wax skis and although they sacrifice a little glide in good snow conditions the things work great in the crusty crud kind of snow we get a lot of here.

I struggled up the hills today on my waxable skis while my skiing buddy Jim walked effortlessly up the hills. Another skiing friend who considers himself a purist who would never settle for waxless skis actually picked up a pair this winter. He would say he did it because they were such a good price he couldn’t afford not to buy them. But even he admits they work well in certain conditions. Most people who buy Nordic skis these days choose waxless. I think I’ll have to pick up a pair for myself.

River Valley Rambler - Guess I'm a Blogger

I guess with this column I officially join the ranks of internet bloggers. A blog is a web site where you post your thoughts and opinions in writing and share it with the online world. A true blog is interactive so readers can comment on your comments and you develop this kind of interactive community on the web. Blogging started back in the 90’s sometime and now there are hundreds of thousands of blogs on every conceivable topic imaginable.

My new blog is called… what else, River Valley Rambler. I figured since I’ve been writing this column in the River Valley News for longer than I can remember I may as well throw it out on the web as well. The blog will feature all the regular columns written for the paper from now on. In addition I’ll go back and look through some of the past 352 columns and post some of them from time to time, sort of a retro-rambler. I can also post photographs and other content on the site. For example I’ve included a column I wrote last summer after my wife and I became grandparents for the first time and I added a picture of our new granddaughter Ava. It’s worth checking out the blog just to view that photo of Ava, probably the most beautiful baby in the world. Well she is to us.

When you have a column your deadline is whenever the paper is published. So in the case of the River Valley News I come up with a new column every two weeks on average. But with a blog there is no publication date or deadline. You post something new whenever you want. I try to keep each column to about 500 words but blog postings can be any length you want. So for these reasons my blog at rivervalleyrambler.blogspot.com is going to be more than just the biweekly columns. I call it a collection of regular columns published in the River Valley News as well as thoughts, comments, reflections and ramblings about life in the River Valley area of New Brunswick with special emphasis on outdoor recreation and activities. That sounds like a mouthful but what it really means is if something of interest is happening in the area, chances are you’ll be able to read about it in the blog. This is especially true if it has to do with the outdoors and activities like hiking, biking, canoeing, kayaking, skiing and so on. This column has always had a focus on active living and outdoor adventure and the blog will build on that. I hope at some point the web site will be the first place for people to go to find out about outdoor activities happening in the local area.

So far you’ll see postings and photos about skiing, walking and snowmobiling on some of the local trails. Conditions by the way have been fabulous. There’s also a story about an annual ice climbing festival that occurred on a frozen waterfall on Ministers Face on Long Island in the Kenebecasis River. It attracted ice climbers from all over the Maritimes. By the time you read this in the print edition of River Valley News there’ll probably be other postings on the site. You’ll never know exactly what you’ll find there. That’s part of the fun of it. Down the road there will be information about other projects that are in the works that will include video and audio and other content online.

I invite you to check out my new blog and visit as often as you like. I hope you’ll leave comments and suggestions for stories and other content you’d like to see online and in this column. Bookmark the site. It’s easy to find at rivervalleyrambler.blogspot.com.

(Visit rivervalleyrambler.blogspot.com for previous columns and new content about life in the River Valley)

Ice Festival

It’s a surprisingly long way across the frozen Kennebecasis River from the Rothesay Yacht Club to Long Island. People packing climbing boots and backpacks were crossing on foot, headed for the hundred foot frozen waterfall on a cliff known as Ministers Face. I made the trip on skis and passed a number of the ice walkers on the way. We were all going to the annual Ice Festival, the walkers to climb the frozen waterfall and me to shoot some video of them doing it.

This gathering of ice climbers from around the region started about seven years ago. They do it every year if weather and ice conditions permit. It started out as a small gathering of friends who climb and has grown every year. Most of the climbers this year are from the Fredericton and Saint John areas and many of them are first timers. Experienced climbers go first and using foot long ice screws they attach the safety ropes to the frozen falls. Ropes are also looped over trees at the top of the falls. Climbers attach spiky crampons to their boots and with the help of ice axes, pick their way up and down the ice wall.

There were five or six climbing ropes dangling down the ice. Climbers attached themselves to the rope with the aid of another climber controlling the rope; pick their way up the face. The ice was a wall of climbers all day long. There were between 20 and 30 people taking turns while I was there and when they weren’t actively involved in the sport they were talking about climbing. It’s obviously a very social activity and after the climbing ends for the day the climbers all gather for a potluck and a slide show from previous festivals. That takes place at Steve Adamson’s house nearby.

Steve is known as the grandfather of climbing in New Brunswick. He’s only 47 but has been climbing for 33 years. And not just on ice. Steve has climbed mountains in the Rockies, the Alps, Andes and the Himalayas. He’s the guy who first climbed many of these frozen waterfalls in New Brunswick. Steve says this part of the province is pretty hard to beat when it comes to ice climbing. Besides Ministers Face there is good climbing in Welsford and in the Sussex area.

Steve pointed out to me that ice climbing could be dangerous. If something goes wrong you have to know what to do. Ice can break like glass and people can fall. Experienced climbers can tell how stable the ice is by the look and colour of it. All that being said the climbers out this day obviously love their sport. They say it’s both a physical and mental challenge. Steve Adamson says it would be unthinkable for climbers not to go ice climbing in the winter.

I was offered the opportunity to try ice climbing many times that day. I politely declined, preferring instead to capture the experience on video. When the shooting was over I packed my gear, put on my skis and headed for the mainland about a mile away across the river. I like my ice horizontal.