Passing down lessons

I finally got to go fishing earlier on the weekend. I actually took my son to my parents place and we fished the small brook that I learned how to cast on. It was a thrill for me to be able to pass down to my son the lessons my father taught me while fishing almost the exact same holes I did when I was a kid. The water was still high so I was not expecting a lot of luck but I was hoping to catch at least. My biggest fear was that Seth would quickly lose interest if we weren't catching anything. As it turned out I had nothing to worry about. On the second cast I hooked a small trout and handed the pole to Seth and helped him reel in his first catch. We actually managed to hook 5 brookies in a little under an hour. We didn't actually keep any, although, atleast one of them was worth keeping for a meal. I told my son though the only way we could keep it was if he could hold it. Being only three though he was a bit apprehensive and needless to say we threw the fish back. It was fun to watch him light up though everytime we hooked a fish. He caught on to reeling the fish in real quick, but was not quite ready to hold the pole and set the hook yet. I am sure that will come in no time. After almost an hour it was time for him to go in and get ready for bed. I had to laugh when he started fussing saying "I want to catch another one. I'll hold him so we can keep him and show Grammy." I snickered as I thought to myself "Seth you're your fathers son for sure." I never wanted to go home when fishing either and I always wanted to show my mom the catch, despite the fact that she doesn't like fish. My fears ended up being unfounded and I found a new way to enjoy fishing and my fishing trips have started to take on a whole new angling.

On another note, today is earthday, so I hope everyone is able to pamper the earth a bit today. I know we all like to be pampered on our birthday so why not treat the earth the same way. Maybe you can bike to work today or walk to the corner store for milk tonight. Maybe you can sit with the lights off at work today or maybe buy some locally grown products for your lunch. If everyone makes an effort maybe the only earth we have will last a bit longer. Happy Earthday everyone.

The photo by the way is courtesy of my wife Michelle. Thanks honey. Before long I'll have you casting a line and baiting a hook too :)

First Day of Fishing Season

WOOOOHOOOO!!!!

It's here. Fishing season is upon us. Okay so maybe that was a bit of false excitement. I'm happy the season is open but right now I look out my window and still see snow sitting in the fields and the waters are still quite high. My species of choice is Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and I have found they tend to be sparse in these conditions and I usually have to wait until the first weeks of May before I have any solid outings. I can remember as a kid, not having any responsibilities such as work, getting home from school and dashing to the brook behind my parents place and casting that first line on the first day. It seemed back then I could always catch one or two trout on opening day.

Most local research will tell you fewer and fewer people are fishing and I struggle with this. Why would anyone not want to fish? Fishing can be a sport, a profession, or a past time. It can be exciting, relaxing, frustrating, and calming. Like life, fishing is what you make it so how can you not like it. You don't have to adhere to any strict schedule, you don't have a time limit, you don't have to worry about team mates or opponents. How can an activity get any simpler? I can't wait to cast my first line out into deep pool and feel that telling tug. I'll hopefully set the hook and reel in my prize, not knowing what it is until it breaks the waters surface.

Hope to see you on the water.

A Warm Feeling in an Icy Valley

The weather looked promising, the plan was in place, and I was packed and ready to go. Ken and I started our adventure off at the St. John's United Church men's group breakfast in Sussex Corner (http://www.sussexcorner.com/). We needed some good fuel for the challenge we had laid out before ourselves and thought their breakfast would suit our needs. After a big feast of bacon, eggs, hash browns, toast, donuts, and of course all the tea or coffee we could drink we were set. We loaded the gear into the car and headed for Millbrook. We had no trails to follow for the first leg of this trip, instead we were going to bushwhack our way along the west ridge of the Mill Brook valley to a small cirque. This proved to be more difficult than anticipated as we struggled on our snow shoes due to the hard, slippery, crust on the side hill. Even our crampons couldn't keep us from sliding down the slope from time to time. Eventually we made the cirque and from here enjoyed the view and watched as a large deer browsed in a logged clearing just above us. From here we dropped down into the valley and crossed a bridge before heading up the east ridge toward Misty Mountain.

The walk up the east ridge took us along the Cotter Holler Stream. I always enjoy this walk as this is a picturesque area. The walk up this ravine is steep and tiring and we are rewarded when we reach the top with the sight of approximately a dozen deer. As they scattered we stop and catch our breath and take in the view back across and down the valley, before heading towards Misty Mountain. This is a frustrating portion of the trek as we can see into Hidden Valley but the steepness of the valley walls here prevent us from just going over the side. We were forced to continue our walk along the ridge until we reached a logging road that now provides easy access into Arnold's Hollow.

After a short walk on this road we jumped off into the woods again and I was able to find the old trail that used to serve the old settlement in the area. We walked along this small stream further into the valley. As we neared our destination we became excited as the sun was shining bright and the weather was clear and warm for a March day. We went through the two upper meadows with a plan of going into the "amphitheater" to view the ice walls. Neither Ken or I had seen them before and were eager to view this wonderous, natural, locale. The ravine was somethimes treachorous to negotiate as you were always walking on the ice. We were not climbers and therefore had no crampons to provide good footing with. Really it was quiet humorous as we laughed at each others mis-steps. Once at the ice walls though it was silent as we gazed at the immensity of it all. I'm sure there was enough ice there to fill the Montreal Forum at least 50 times. There were climbers on the wall as well as a couple resting. We chatted briefly and I decide that I need to look into climbing a bit more seriously. One of the climbers provides me with a group to look into. (http://www.unbf.ca/clubs/climb) I think I will try to at least attempt to wall climb a bit more in the future. I have done so in the past and enjoyed it but other priorities have meant that I don't have the time to put towards it. After seeing this place I may need to change my priorities.

The walk down this little ravine was also very entertaining as we do our best to ski or skate down. Ken proved to be much better at this than I as I slipped and fell a couple of times, once gliding awkwardly down the ravine with my feet pointing up while on my back.

Once back into the main valley we stopped and found "the bubbletree" geocache we planned to find. (http://www.geocaching.com/) This is another great way to provide yourself with an incentive to get out there and explore. I signed my trail name to the small register and restashed the cache along with something a little extra. Geocaching has become a way for me to give back to nature in an odd manner of looking at it. Everytime I leave something with a cache I always feel like I'm paying homage to Mother Nature herself. I'm weird like that I guess.

We decided to head back towards the middle meadow in the valley to make camp as it offered good open water, lots of sunshine, and flat, though snow covered, ground. We quickly set up our tents and had supper cooking. Ken had actually made chili on Thursday night. He bottled up about 3lbs of it and now was reheating it on his "Apex" stove. I went off to find some dry wood for our fire, and take some pictures and video with my camera. We finally sat down and ate around 6:00 with the sun still shining brightly into the valley. We were humbled by the honest consideration the good Lord gave us on this day, it was a truly sensational feeling to be in such a beautiful valley under such wonderful weather conditions. I should state that this is not the only time I have felt like this. I get this humble feeling alot when I'm wandering.

That night just before sun down a fox strolled past our campsite to check out our small fire. We sat and chatted idly about the days events, about life, about the joys of being a parent, and how lucky we were to be able to still get out and enjoy the wild areas in the Atlantic Provinces. The fire burned quietly and eventually we ran out of wood and decided it was time to crawl into our tents. Now some people may think "Tenting in the winter time is nuts" but I disagree. In winter time there are no bugs, you don't have to worry about bringing dirt into your tent, and your sleeping bag is ten times more inviting. I lit and hung my candle lantern, changed into my sleeping clothes, and then quietly wrote in my journal. I have really come to enjoy this aspect of hiking. The quiet solitude just before going to sleep is peaceful and even on a cold night in March it is warm.

The next day we decided that we weren't going to have enough time to tackle Friar's Nose and so left it for another day. We had both been there before but never in winter time, so we were a bit dissappointed not to have the time to go but Ken had an engagement in Fredericton that evening so what were we to do. That just means we have to go back next winter and tackle it. The walk out of the valley was smooth and we made good time as we pushed ourselves up the steep hillside. We then crossed the ridge between Misty Mountain and Aiton Hill as we had done the day before. Today though it was quieter as we both felt a regret about having to leave the wilderness behind. We sat along a groomed skidoo trail, below the top of Aiton Hill, to have lunch. As we ate a light snow started falling and we snickered at how quickly the Maritime weather can change. We tagged Aiton Hill and looked down into the Trout Creek Valley, the landscape a sullen gray tone that matched my mood. It was a beautiful scene with the Piccadilly Mountain in the distance, the bluff, and the vast farmland, all making it look like a painting. It almost seemed "old" like the old foundation that was in Hidden Valley, and I wondered to myself "How long will this all stay like this?"

The rest of the walk was along a wooded trail I know well. I have been using it since I was a little kid. Many of the trees here have been the same since I can remember while others have toppled and fallen over. We watch as two deer jump off to our left, the white tails blending with the snow that is now falling quite heavily. This is the last leg of the trip and now our thoughts are shifting to our families and we once again are excited to see them.

For me this trip spoke of time and the changing of seasons, life, and history. It also reaffirmed my belief that in this portion of New Brunswick we have some amazing scenery and natural landscapes that we need to look out for. Places such as Hidden Valley are rare and it is currently being threatened by logging impacts which are segregating the valley ecosystem. We can only hope that it can survive on its own. I am confident that it can, as I know in the past it was home to farming, and that the plateaus of this valley have been logged before, so with some good management I will be able to get there again.

See you in the woods or on the water.

Planning a trip into a Hollow

I got the itch real bad. Now that I am supposed to be a professional, and by that I mean I have a full time job, I do not have as much opportunity to get out and explore anymore. Don't get me wrong I love my life, but I'm missing my good friend mother nature right now. Luckily I have set aside a date to get out and hone my cold weather (hopefully winter like) camping skills. I will be heading into Hidden Valley and the Parlee Brook watershed to explore nature and myself. I hope to find something I have never found in there before. I have spent a great deal of time in the area in summer and fall, but this will be my first foray into the Valley overnight in winter time.

Cold weather camping is difficult, especially in March, due to the temperature fluctuations. You never want to be sweating, but you don't want to be shivering either so packing the right clothes and knowing when to wear what is important. I can't give you any advice here really because it is different for everyone. I go with what works for me which is likely the reason why all my winter camping clothes are worn and tattered. I can't part with what works so I wear it till it falls off me. I have a good friend of mine joining me for this hike and it was he who suggested we head into Hidden Valley (or Arnold's Hollow). I had led him in there once before in the fall and he loved it. We may take some ice climbing gear and try our hand at that, although I am very much a novice when it comes to climbing on anything let alone ice.

I have looked over my topo maps, even though I have that area pretty much memorized, just to look at where I have been and where I can go. I am going to try a hike around the Valley's south east ridge as I am confident there are some rock faces and ravines in there that I haven't yet explored. Being winter I likely will only find hardships and snow, but the scenery from that side of the hill will likely be amazing too as I will be able to look up the Parlee Brook and Purtill Brook valleys to the Trout Creek Watershed divide. I now on the north side of Parlee Brook the ravines are steep and full of some great bouldering locations so I bet I find more of the same here on the south side.

The picture with this entry is from the trip my buddy and I took in the fall of 04. Trust me it shows nothing of what we really saw that day, but I always save my best pics for me ;)

Bing a kid is so fun

Acting like a kid is so fun, and watching your kids act like you is terrifying. The other day I witnessed both of these first hand. The day started like any other Saturday morning. We got up and had our cereal for breakfast. He likes "fruit loops" while I ate warm oatmeal. We took his Mom into work and then headed back home. "What are we gonna do today?" I asked him. "Build a race track." he yells back happily. I think to myself....how can I make it different and better for him today. I was bored of the same old race track we'd been playing with.

We search for things to make a big hotwheels race track out of and in the basement we found a gold mine. An old piece of eavetrough. This took me back to when I was a kid and we used to build tracks in the old barn at Stewart's, the family across the field. We would play for hours there. Up the stairs we went and we built a race track in the hallway using the eaves trough, some plastic tubing, and pieces of the old hotwheels track. He and I played for hours and I even videod some of it. You can easily hear in the video (sorry I don't like posting videos) that I am more excited than my son.

Shortly after playing he comes running up to me and says "Daddy I gotta go to the potty." I tell him to hurry down to the washroom and he heads off. Half way down he stops, turns around, and to my surprise says "I need to get a book." He goes and grabs "The Divide" by Nicholas Evans (a great adult read by the way), and runs into the potty. He gets up on the seat and opens the book. Now this scared me, becuase suddenly I realized how much of an impact I was truly having on my son. He could have only learned that from me and he reaffirmed this by saying "Look Daddy I'm reading your book on the potty just like you." I was oddly proud and yet terrified at the same time.

From now on I will be more careful about my actions around him and I will have to be highly consceintous about how I treat others as well.

Stayed tuned. I am planning a cold weather backpacking trip and I will fill you in and have some pics.

Winter Carnival report

Well the Sussex Corner Winter Carnival has come and gone. The pond hockey, sliding, skiing, fun and games are complete. I don't know about everyone else, but I had a blast. I was much to busy as an organizer to take photos but I hope there are some good ones floating around that I can share with you later. The Kings County Record has some posted this week too that you can look into. As an organizer of this event I was very happy with the way it all came out. We had an estimated 500 people there at our peak time on Saturday and likely close to 300 stayed around to watch the championship pond hockey game and fireworks. Judging from the ooohhhs and ahhs and the expressions on the kids faces I think everyone had a great time because lets face it, adults have fun when their kids are having fun.

For me this was a great experience and one that I hope we continue for many years to come. I gotta thank "Outdoor Elements" (http://www.facingtheelements.blogspot.com) and "Elmhurst Outdoors" (http://www.elmhurstoutdoors.ca) for helping me with the cross country skis and I have to thank the Sussex Regional High School's PhysEd department for providing some snowshoes. Also, a big thanks goes to "Adair's Wilderness Lodge" for providing the grand prize (http://www.adairswlodge.com). There are many others who should be thanked as well but I will leave that up to those who brought them on board with the carnival.

The championship pond hockey game was a rather one sided affair which saw a team from Sussex Corner take home the Corner Cup. The team donated their portion of the cash winnings to their charity as well resulting in $300 going to the Children's Wish Foundation. Hopefully all the teams who took part had a great time and will come back again next year. The contests were often fast paced with great puck movement and some great puck handling.

There were lots of treats to eat and some great entertainment to boot. Keep the Sussex Corner Winter Carnival in mind next year when making your plans for February.

See you in the woods or on the water

Simple Things Like Sliding

There is a great deal to be said about the simple things. This has become much clearer to me since becoming a father. Shortly after my son was born I really thought I was still going to be able to get out and enjoy lots of backpacking and camping adventures. This has turned out to be harder than I thought. I have learned though that the simple things can be just as fun as the longest hike into the toughest terrain.

Just the other day, we have been blessed over the last week with some great winter weather, I decided to take Seth sliding at his grandparents. They don't have a big hill in their backyard or anything exciting so I was aiming small. We got dressed and headed out with him talking 90mph about all the things he was going to do while sliding. The plowed up mound in my parents backyard was actually quite large, thanks to the snow we have gotten this winter. We took the flying saucer, a simple slide unlike the GT Racer's and such, and made a great path down the bank. In the end Seth was sliding more than 12m each trip, which for a 3yr old is plenty far. He was having a blast and so were his grandparents. We made snow angels together and even swung on the swing set for awhile. Before long he started thinking about going inside, and hot chocolate. You could see it in his eyes when he thought about hot chocolate and from that moment on it was all he could think about.

I had a hard time getting him out of his snowpants cause he wouldn't sit still. Snow was flying everywhere as I pulled them off. He danced over the puddles and up the stairs to get his hot chocolate. Now hot chocolate is simple enough but, it was the marshmellows he truly wanted and we had a giggle over this. In three hours Seth had a full day and tired himself out doing simple things and I come to realize that I too was tired out.

The hot chocolate drove the message home for me that day and inspired me to write this all down. Simple rewards are still rewards and nowadays I fill my self with a greater number of simple rewards as opposed to filling up with a few large rewards. Most of this came to me while I watched my greatest reward sleep on the couch. He just didn't have the energy to clean up his toys before bedtime.

Sussex Corner Winter Carnival

I have recently been helping organize a fun outdoor event and I am hoping that it is a huge success. It is somewhat nerve racking to be heavily involved in events like this. You can only hope that people come out and enjoy themselves, and you pray that the weather is favourable. Right now as I stare out my office window I see water dropping off the roof which means the ice at the local outdoor rink is likely melting as well. this does not fair well for a Pond Hockey Tournament and winter carnival in Sussex Corner.
http://www.sussexcorner.com/community.htm

The weekend should be full of fun and lots of outdoor recreation. We are hoping to provide a very family and community type atmosphere with music, games, food, and lots of friends. Come on out and have some fun. We have had some great media coverage and hopefully this will bring the people out.
http://www.ossekeag.ca/ossekeag/1238/Sussex-Herald

The pic came from Pearson Photography, thanks Pat
http://patpearson.ca/


I hope to see you all there.


Cheers

Frozen pond

The ice is dark, almost black. The cold wind blowing across the surface has kept it polished and smooth. Your fingers are aching as you pull the last loop on your skate laces tight. You struggle to pull your gloves back on and prop yourself upright again. You look across the large bare terrain, take a deep chilling breath, and then push off. You get a rush as the sound of your blades tear through the silence and then the ice creaks under the new pressure. You hesitate, now uncertain about the strength of the ice, but then can't resist the urge any longer and power your body to full speed. You turn and skate backwards and notice the powerful pattern of white arches on the dark ice, and a smile creeps across your face as your eyes water against the cold air. It feels like you are much faster today than what you might have been the other day at the local arena. Even though you realize that the wind whipping through your toque is creating this deception you swear its true and stride even harder until you feel like you are flying. Your lungs are now screaming at the cold air that you continually suck in and finally you make a sudden stop. Your blades catch true and shave a long white brush stroke from the pond's frozen surface sending a white mist which catches a breeze and blows back in your face. You wipe away the moisture and sweat and head back to your boots to pick up your stick and puck.

This is a Canadian postcard, one that will last as long as there is a frozen pond in January to play on. I love skating outdoors. Whether on a lake, pond, river, puddle, or a flooded outdoor rink there is nothing that compares to living the way they did in the "ole days" It is rewarding to be able to "simply" enjoy things the way they were when originally they came to be. Hope you are all enjoying your winter months. Dress warm wear a smile.

Fast pace fun and work

Well life for me is always going at a face pace. This is especially true over the Christmas holidays. I wouldn't have it any other way though. I work best when I know I am actually working...or play best when I am on the go :)

I love to play as hard as I work, and I love when my work feels like play...which lucky for me seems to often be the case lately. This allows me to do more and be more...I think anyways. If you take the time to build a snow fort or a pillow fort with your kids, you are being a good dad while playing. If you spend a few extra hours at work planning a community event or a way which your company can give back to the community you are being a good worker while also improving yourself. It sure makes those extra hours worth it. A friend of mine once told me "you can't be good at something unless you are having fun doing it." I truly agree with that statement and that is why I am no good at accounting.

Enjoy the pics.