The Magic Satchel

Prior to leaving work on Friday I spent some Google time looking for hikes in the area we would be camping in that had some elevation gain. The closest I could find was Plateau Mountain, and lacking a better knowledge of the area this is where we decided to go. We didn’t have a map, and only a vague idea of where to go once we got out on the road, but we somehow managed to find the start of the hike without any turning around.

You start out on a road that is blocked off by a locked gate, and walk up at a relatively easy incline… on the road. This continues for a while and I say “well, it is great to be out here walking but this hike better not all be on this road or this is going to suck”. We continue walking on the road and reach the top of the ridge with no difficulty at all. The road continues off to our left and directly across from us is our goal, Plateau Mountain.

Yeah, the road we were on took us up 90% of the elevation gain we were expecting to have to work for, and there wasn’t an obvious alternative to the road to continue on to the top of the mountain. At this point I think we agreed this hike was sitting in the 2 or 3 out of 10 category for challenge, fun, views… all the stuff you hope for when you go on a hike.
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Ahh camping, is there anything better than not being in the city for a few days to help get your head cleared out and things back on track?

This past weekend was a late change of plans (from none to hmm.. camping? to getting invited to camp with friends) but thanks to “the list” and the fact that camping gear is always easy to get out and throw in the car, next to last minute planning is no problem. I got off work early-ish and we headed out to Chain Lakes Provincial Park and had a pretty casual first night, sitting around drinking and listening to a couple of friends play guitar and banjo.. yeah, banjo!

The only complaint was no firepits at the individual sites. Seriously… camping without a fire is like chocolate chip cookies without the chocolate chips. Sure, the cookie is still good, but it isn’t as good as it could be with that missing element.

Anyway, we made it through the evening without fire and Saturday morning Josh and I decide we are going to go hiking before the heat made us not want to move. That post is coming up next, but needless to say after a dusty hike in near 30 degree heat the first thing we did when we got back to the campsite was change in to swim trunks and went to jump in the lake. Glorious is the word I choose to use to describe the feeling of the cool water, and it definitely saved me from being a total zombie for the rest of the night. I still had a nap after dinner, but I think I’d have had serious heat stroke if I didn’t have the lake to take the edge off.

Saturday night was more of the same as Friday… drinking and guitar / banjo playing, and that was just fine by me as I relaxed in my chair with my new favorite fruity drink – Blueberry vodka and sprite. mmmm, tasty.

Sunday was pack up and return home, and let me tell you this – I knew I had too much sun when the first thing I wanted to do when I got home wasn’t have a shower, it was go to sleep. The shower I had later just let me know I had burned the top of my head, and I think from now on I’ll have to be a hat wearing hiker.

“Camp more this summer” is already a success, and I know there are at least 2 more trips planned so I’m pleased with this.. I just need to work on the “hike more”.

Yes, the new season is almost upon us and I’m ready to actually follow through on the “we should hike and / or camp more this summer” we say every year.I don’t see it happening every weekend, but I need to get out and see more stuff like this on a regular basis:

I’ve got myself some fancy collapsible trekking poles which should help distribute the load off my older than they should be knees and ankles. Also, for the first time in a number of years I’ve actually bought myself some real honest to goodness hiking boots.
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I know it’s not as much fun to predict when our team is out but anyone got some predictions for Round 2?

Uh yea… that’d be an error.

April 4, 2009: David Moss signs a 3-yr contract with the Calgary Flames. TSN has this:

Correct!

April 29, 2009: Flames players clean out their stalls and the everyone contemplates who will be back next year. TSN notes some of the “key forwards headed for free agency” and who’s that listed after Cammalleri and Bertuzzi?

Incorrect

and then I joined a playoff pool and made predictions to show just how much I knew.
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feces. turd. b.m. crap. shit.

This weekend I decided it was time to chisel off the winter dirt and get my bike ready for spring.

I took everything I could off the bike and scrubbed for over two hours to get everything back to an acceptable level of clean. All winter I wanted to wash my bike (and I did take it through a car wash once or twice), but for the most part I had to just add more chain lube and keep riding because it was always too cold to really clean it.
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and the heart, and the clutch players, and the fan support.

After the first two games in Chicago in the Hawks vs. Flames series it didn’t look like we were going to be in for a very long playoff season. We couldn’t hold a lead, we couldn’t play for 60 minutes, we didn’t seem to have everyone on the same page. Apparently all the Flames were needing was some good home cookin’.

With another 2 games in the bag the Bulin wall has definitely been showing signs of weakness, and the Hawks as a whole can’t seem to do much to slow the Flames down once they get rolling. Jokinen (finally!) had a monster of a game, and Iginla definitely stepped up to answer some of the yapping from the Hawks big talkers. Nystrom’s goal in the 3rd was absolutely huge, and emphasizes the importance of the secondary scoring the Flames have been getting so far in this series. Nystrom, Glencross and Moss have all been very noticeable when they are on the ice (in a good way), and it is paying off on the scoreboard.

The biggest enemy of the Flames? complacency. Don’t stop hitting, don’t stop the pressure, don’t stop shooting every chance you get. You’ve already seen what happens if you take your foot off the gas… a 4-1 lead evaporates in a very short period of time.

I’m not saying the rest of this series is going to be easy, but it is now a best of 3 and the Flames would appear to have all the momentum. Yes the Hawks managed to come back last night and tie the game with 3 straight goals, but to me that was more us breaking down than them being better than us and asserting dominance.

The best sign of the night made it on to TSN’s highlights, with Jarome’s head pasted on the incredible hulk’s body and “don’t make me angry, you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry” written on it. classic.

“It’s always a good thing for us when Jarome gets that fired up. When he’s on that edge, that’s when he’s playing his best hockey.”
– Craig Conroy on Jarome Iginla

NHL summary

What are your calls for Round 1? I don’t follow the East teams much, so I’m pretty much guessing. And don’t hate me for my Flames prediction… they did the opposite of what I thought in all 4 rounds in 2004, so I’m hoping that trend will continue this year. We need Regehr back!

Boston vs Montreal – Boston in 6 (sorry Al)
San Jose vs Anaheim – San Jose in 6
Washington vs NY Rangers – Washington in 5
Detroit vs Columbus – Detroit in 7
New Jersey vs Carolina – Jersey in 6
Vancouver vs St. Louis – stupid Vancouver in 6
Pittsburgh vs Philadelphia – Pittsburgh in 5
Chicago vs Calgary – Chicago in 5*

*As usual, this depends on which Flames team shows up. This could go to 7, but there would have to be a complete flip of how they played out the last part of the season. Go Flames!