I packed up and left before the other campers were up this morning. Lily Lake was calm as I padded to what looked like the entrance of the portage, which was logged with lily pads and reeds... https://www.flickr.com/photos/187104378@N07/50203107858/in/dateposted-public/ Not really packraft-friendly. I padded to the beach nearby, partially deflated my packraft and bushwhacked through the …
Anticipating shallow waters on the Bagwa Canoe Route, I positioned my backpack behind me in my packraft today to better see over the bow. The route heading SOBO begins with a paddle down the Bagwa Channel, which had beautiful scenery, calm waters, many weeds and some water lilies to push through. https://www.flickr.com/photos/187104378@N07/50203931377/in/dateposted-public/ Bagwa Channel https://www.flickr.com/photos/187104378@N07/50573343016/in/dateposted-public/ …
As usual, I got an early start today. The sunrise was beautiful over Bladebone Bay. https://www.flickr.com/photos/187104378@N07/50203126158/in/dateposted-public/ Remembering how quickly the packrafting went yesterday, I was in no hurry as I started down the west side of Kingsmere Lake, and I stopped for a long break at a solitary beach. https://www.flickr.com/photos/187104378@N07/50203159038/in/dateposted-public/ Beach #1 I left, paddled …
30 July 2020 My first day of packrafting! I woke up early and left camp by 7:00 AM, skipping breakfast to take advantage of the early morning period when Kingsmere Lake is beautifully still. Packrafts don't track nicely like a canoe or kayak does, but adding weight to the front of the boat helps, and …
29 July 2020 I ate breakfast on the beach this morning to avoid the mosquitoes. I never ended up meeting the people camped in the other site - they returned to the campground after I went to bed, and were still in their tent when I left. The walking between Chipewan Portage and Sandy Beach …
28 July 2020 Backcountry campsites around Kingsmere Lake and the Bagwa Canoe Route are reserved first-come, first-served on the day of departure. Never having booked sites in Prince Albert National Park before, I didn't know how crowded the campgrounds might be, but since most are small (some only have two tentsites), I was hovering outside …
26 July 2020 I'm ready (?) and raring to go on my first packrafting trip! A recount of me announcing this trip to my mother: Me: So I'm going to buy a packraft and go packrafting this summer... Her: THAT'S A TERRIBLE IDEA. Me: Do you know what a packraft is? Her: NO. Me: It's …
Continue reading Prince Albert National Park (2020): Introduction
The mosquitoes were thicker overnight than those in the Diamond Peak Wilderness during my 2017 PCT LASH, and that's saying something. Those that crowded into my vestibule were easy to kill by pressing my tent mesh against the doors, so Florida played witness to a bloodbath in the morning when the mosquitoes and a burst …
Continue reading Florida Trail (2019-2020) 5: Arrival At I-75
Beautiful weather today! Soon after the mile 27 marker (which actually marks 21 miles from Oasis Visitor Center), the route became 99% wading with a few sections of mud. The mud was more difficult than the wading, having incredible suction. https://www.flickr.com/photos/187104378@N07/49709185562/in/dateposted-public/ Muddy. The water level was below my knees most of the time, but still …
https://www.flickr.com/photos/187104378@N07/49703260252/in/dateposted-public/ The trail was suddenly dry this morning. I encountered no water until a notorious alligator hole located directly beside the FT, where a small amount of water was visible. Guthook claims that the alligator lives underneath a ledge inside the hole, so despite no alligators being in sight, I wasn't going to stick my …
Day two on the FT. Everything was misty and wet this morning and I felt little incentive to get up, but get up I did. The sun emerged just before I entered a section of wading. https://www.flickr.com/photos/187104378@N07/49702938816/in/dateposted-public/ 7 Mile Camp https://www.flickr.com/photos/187104378@N07/49702475783/in/dateposted-public/ I don't know what I was expecting from the swamp water, but I was …
Continue reading Florida Trail (2019-2020) 2: Still No Alligators
On December 21st, I flew down to Florida to hike the first thirty miles of the Florida Trail and engage in some touristing. Aside from my working holiday in Australia, I've taken no winter holidays since childhood, but this year the stars aligned with a work vacation and my antipathy towards facing another commercial Christmas …
Continue reading Florida Trail (2019-2020) 1: Escape to Florida
https://www.flickr.com/photos/187104378@N07/49682581693/in/dateposted-public/ Monday, March 14, 2016 Overland Track complete! I would recommend it to anyone in this part of the world, especially if you have a decent chunk of time to take advantage of side trip opportunities. The area is lovely and the trail less crowded than I thought it would be, probably because of a …
Tuesday, March 08, 2016 I woke up, dried most of the condensation off my tent, ate the dodgy couscous for breakfast, mulled over the possibility that the dodgy couscous had already been cooked, and set off towards Narcissus Hut. I had decided pre-hike to take the ferry to Cynthia Bay instead of walking around the …
Continue reading Overland Track Day 8: How Much Would You Pay for a Boat Ride?
Monday, March 07, 2016 It poured during the night and my tent floor soaked through below my air mattress. The sky still looked ominous in the morning, so rather than hanging up anything to dry, I propped up my mattress inside my tent and hoped that everything would dry while I was gone (my tent …
Sunday, March 06, 2016 I left the Overland Track at the Pine Valley junction and walked to Pine Valley Hut, where I'll spend two nights with a day trip to the Labyrinth. The walk was mostly flat, crossing suspension bridges through meadows and a mossy forest as silent as a crypt. https://www.flickr.com/photos/187104378@N07/49683399842/in/dateposted-public/ The trail was …
Saturday, March 05, 2016 After breakfast I said goodbye to the Belgians, Ontario Guy and the French(Belgians?), who were planning to walk further than me today. The French(Belgians?) pointed out that they were leaving earlier than I was. You win, get-up-early-kings. My quads felt like they had been skewered from descending Mt. Ossa. I thought …
Friday, March 04, 2016 Coincidentally the French(Belgians?) and I both got up at 6:00 AM, making us the best of roommates - almost. One of them snored and had a comically loud air mattress. I once received a complaint about my Thermarest Neoair, but his mattress sounded like a thunderstorm. I have no idea what …
Thursday, March 03, 2016 At dusk yesterday I walked with the Belgians to Lake Windermere to look for platypuses, but none revealed themselves in the dim light. The night was chilly and my new sleeping bag overestimated, so I kept getting cold, waking up and adding layers. The Belgians got cold as well and moved …
Continue reading Overland Track Day 3: Rocks, Rocks, Rocky Rocks
Wednesday, March 02, 2016 Everyone in the hut went to bed soon after sunset yesterday, but one man started talking to his hiking partner in the dark about Europe and train fares. I laughed silently. Eventually a woman asked him to stop and he said 'what? We're going to sleep already?'. No, we were lying …
BANE OF THE TRAIL 