scouts and badges

So, there is an old tradition that Scouts have trading badges. Not all Scouts are interested. However, the boy is. 

We went to a joint Canadian and American Scout Camp over a year-and-a-half ago and he caught the bug.

He already had a lot badges from events and activities. However, at this Brotherhood Camp, he quickly gained a keen interest in American Council badges, one of our younger Scouters (Leader of Scout youth), was a sharp trader and helped the boy out with learning the ropes.

After a rocky start, he quickly gained quite a pile of U.S. Council badges and other assorted badges that caught his eye. Now, his main interests are Canadian Scoutree and Apple Day badges, in addition to U.S. Council badges, especially ones with prehistoric animals or reptiles. He also keeps an eye out for Star Trek, Star Wars, and Doctor Who related badges. And of course some just catch your eye and you want them.

a scoutree badge, the boy prefers the old "trees for canada" badges with the "ontario" bar

Why have I brought this up? Well, there is an organised badge trading event this Friday, a Trade-o-ree. We pulled out his badges to sort them. After the second Brotherhood Camp he attended in the U.S. six month ago, we just kind of threw them in a box because we got really busy with a bunch of other activities.

apple day, still on the lookout for old circular ones

He has a lot of badges, he also has a bunch that need to go on his "campfire blanket" basically a wool blanket cut in to a poncho. So, it was imperative to keep everything separated so we do not trade badges that cannot be replaced easily.

one of the boy's favourites, it has a woolly mammoth

It is a good thing this event has come up, because he needs to get them organised for the Canada Jamboree this summer as there will be Scouts from all over Canada and some from other countries as well. Some are very keen on trading at these Jamborees.

the boy's white whale, there is a series of these with different dinosaurs

This all falls in to my pledge to take charge of my time and my crap. It has become an exercise on how to sort and organise and keep it that way. The boy was off school today due to weather, but tomorrow I am on my own. I have at least one more box to find. It will get quite interesting, let me tell you, I already found a bunch of weird stuff today.

a small scattering of the boy's badges on the floor being sorted

how to look busy - clipboards!

Every now and again work just seems to click and you get everything done you are supposed to, but the day is not done. Sometimes, there is too much time left in the workday to just coast. What do you do?

Well, I am sure I am not revealing one of those secrets that only a clever few have figured out. I have done this on several occasions over the years in different jobs and I have seen other people doing it. I usually approach them on the sly and ask if they are really working or just trying to look busy. Every time, they are trying to look busy.

In fact, I know it is not a big secret. I was recently talking with one of my friends and I began to bring up this very subject and, lo and behold, he expounded on this technique without any prompting.

What am I talking about?

Walking around with a clipboard and acting like you are involved in some activity. Most people I have seen performing this deceit are rank amateurs. They have their clipboard in hand with one crisp piece of paper, sometimes blank, clipped in and no writing utensil and do not even glance at it from time to time.

Silly rabbits, clipboards are for pros.

You need a bunch of paper, at least a dozen sheets, but not usually more than twenty. These papers need to be battered, folded and unfolded, some dog-eared. Maybe a couple stapled together. Some documentation external to your company, like invoices or order sheets, is sometimes helpful as well. Your top sheet needs to either be something indecipherable to the casual observer, or something people know you are working on and is perhaps an ongoing project with a long deadline (this really helps, even if you are in no hurry to finish it or have no desire to work on it).

You definitely need something to write with. Markers are a no-no as anything you markdown is usually easy to see and is tougher to eliminate or to continue making marks on the sheet as it will fill up quickly with dark visible writing. Pens work, but a pencil with an eraser is the best. You can write whatever you want and erase it. It looks like you are making changes on what you are taking note of. You can even write down the same thing, over and over, as long as your audience changes, just in case someone saw what you did write down.

Another key thing. Do not go where your work would not take you. If you have no reason to be in, say accounting, then do not go there. Tech support positions are the best. You can usually make some excuse to be in any department and you can hang around empty cubicles, strange little utility rooms, and the like. 

I had a support job where I was supposed to manually track down and log every piece of computer equipment in our facility. It took me less than a week. I was already tracking most of the equipment anyway to make my job more efficient. I spent months on the project. I think five in total. The funny thing about it, I actually got a lot of other work related tasks done because my boss could not find me a lot of the time and was unable to give me stupid wasteful assignments that truly accomplished nothing.

If someone approaches you for any reason, make it difficult for them to look at the clipboard. You can let it drop to your side with the pages turned in towards your leg. You can also do the book-hug thing, where you just bring it in towards your chest like the kids do in the high school movies. Just remember, if your boss catches you out, you may want some kind of real work handy. 

This is not a foolproof  bit of trickery, especially these days, but there are some jobs where it is just easier to pull off. I will not list any as I am sure some people are still practising this craft of guile and their bosses have not been able to figure it out yet. But maybe, just maybe, your boss does know, but as long as you are getting your work done and always look busy, who are they to mess with the system.

Always keep in mind, something that Mr. T may have said, probably not, but it sounds like he could have: "It takes a fool to fool a fool, fool!"

"i pity the fool who doesn't look busy!" 

(cadged together from pictures I liberated from the interweb)

the trail - follow-up

So, a quick summary of the trail exploits thus far.

I started hiking the Cedar Grove Trail in the Marlborough Forest this past Wednesday.

To my amazement, I went the following day.

Then miracle of miracles, I completed the hat-trick on Friday. Three hikes. In a row.

I went out Saturday as well.

I can hike this 4 km (2½ mi) loop in under an hour if I really want to. 

However, as everything begins to green, I will engage in more exploring, investigating spurs, and going further afield as it links to the Rideau Trail.

And no, it is not 2 km (1¼ mi) as everyone posts online. I think the Cedar Grove Trail proper, is roughly 2 km, but it is not a loop. To actually complete a loop, one needs to hike a short leg of the Rideau Trail.

I wonder how many people get confused over this.

What sucks too, is there are no decent maps online of the trail. There used to be one, but I can no longer locate it. I will eventually figure out how to create a decent one. I do have it mapped in My Tracks (by Google), I just cannot do anything with it right now.

Well, let me carry on.

Today, the greatest miracle.

I aced the trail. Five hikes. In a row.

The boy came too. His pace has greatly increased too.

It took us 1½ hours today. That is with not actually power-walking like I did after the first day. We also stopped several times so I could insert markers on the trail in My Tracks and we took a respectable break at the shelter.

So, as per my pledge, I am off to a good start. Most of the upcoming week is supposed to be mild, so I look forward to less ice, but not to the muck that will shortly be on the trail in the early spring.

Most every city has trails like this nearby, often within the city and accessible by municipal bus too. Everyone should be out at least once or twice a week to take advantage of this experience. If I can, so can anyone.

I cannot wait until I complete my first century. Cool.

score at the salvation army thrift shop

We had to pick up a few items at the grocery this week, so the wife and I took the boy for HEMA training today. Then we went off to a little Lebanese bakery that we like. Really good stuff, bought some roasted watermelon seeds to try too.

Before we went to the bakery though, we popped in to the Salvation Army thrift shop. This particular one is pretty good. The best one in the Ottawa area for men's clothing though is at Ogilve Road, but I have not been to that one in years. I actually bought a genuine, made in Hawaii, silk, Hawaiian shirt for six smackers.

Anyway, I have gotten a few decent shirts at this one too, no silk Hawaiian shirts, but we cannot always be that lucky. Today. Two Hawaiian shirts, one genuine Hawaiian, but cotton. The other one a cheapo copy, good for travelling and disposal, both seven bones. Then I found a nice checkered short-sleeve shirt, again, seven bills. 

The wife found curtains, $12 for the two. We found another Hawaiian shirt, from Hawaii for seven clams for the boy. We also got him a robe, a pair of track pants, and a pair of fold-in-their-own-pouch all-weather pants. All super cheap. I found one of those fuzzy blankets that are all full of holes like a doily and satin edging,  six bucks, I cannot find them anywhere and do not know what to call them. The wife found a huge comforter, like new, for less than a yuppie food stamp.

Not a bad haul. But no real score you say? 

Wait for it.

Wait for it.

Wait for it.

I saw this coat hanging on the rack. When I first glanced it, I thought it was an old US Army Tanker jacket from what I could see from the cut of it and the colour. I grabbed it, and immediately realised it was not, but was intrigued by the thick, rugged fabric. I took it off the hanger. Oh, it had a brand tag: Orvis. I know that they make quality sportsman's clothing. At the time, fly fishing came to mind. The jacket had a woollen lining. I figured it could not hurt to try it on. 

It fit. Nicely. It was a nice vintage khaki colour. Heavy duty canvas-like fabric, being from Orvis, I figured it would be at least water-repellent. Deep pockets. Button-up storm-flap. Knit cuffs, wait for it, under a full sleeve. I love that. That is why I tend to dislike bomber jackets and flight jackets. The knit cuff is the end of the sleeve. When I see that, I always lament that it would be a much better idea if the knit cuff was under the full sleeve. You almost never see that. It fit over a shirt, but the style of the cut would allow one to wear a sweater with it too.

The drawback? Only two pockets. There I go again with my fixation on pockets. I thought it would be nice if at least there was one inside pocket. This led me to believe that it was modelled after a military jacket. These types of jackets were notoriously short of pockets. I guess it was a way to save costs and speed up production. I thought though, that Orvis would be smart enough to add one more pocket. Oh well.

I liked it well enough. I thought it would make a great coat to leave in the truck as a backup. I have a similar coat in the back now, but it is ready to be tossed out. Then I would not need to worry so much about the lack of pockets. Plus, the collar was a bit funky. More like something nautical. I thought that as it was only $13, why not. I was very please with everything we bought today, but most of all the jacket.

We finish up, get our few needed groceries for the week, get the boy, and head home. After everything is unpacked, put away, and the goods from Sally Ann thrown in the wash, I decide to quickly check the Orvis website. You know, to see how much of a bargain it actually was.

I go to the men's jackets open all the potential jackets it could be in new tabs. I start flipping through each one, no, no, no, maybe. Maybe? Maaybe? Maaaybe? No, definitely. Yes. Positive. So, my instincts were pretty good. It is Orvis's copy of the United States Navy's N-1 Naval Deck Coat.

the jacket, you can just see the knit cuffs poking out a the end of the sleeves (courtesy orvis.com)

This is the write up from orvis.com:

Closely modeled on the classic US Navy deck coat that has been standard issue for decades, this jacket is sewn from a special 10.2-oz. corded-cotton fabric that we've heavily washed for an unmistakably vintage look and feel. Fully lined with a special blend of wool and alpaca—one of the warmest natural fibers in existence—this jacket is guaranteed to become your go-to layer in inclement weather.

So, how much of a deal was it?

Wait for it.

Wait for it.

Wait for it.

What did I pay for the jacket?

Oh, yeah, $13 plus tax. Less than 15 bucks.

What does it sell for on the Orvis website?

Wait for it.

Wait for it.

Wait for it.

$398, US funds. Wow. What does the checkout convert that to? $559.52 Canadian funds. Plus $11.00 shipping. Plus $33.01 taxes. Plus $100.71 duty (another tax). Plus $38.62 handling (a plain old grab for extra cash). For a whopping total of $742.97. Holy biscuits! Anyway you slice it, I got a super-bargain-dealio-score man!!

Okay. Okay. Okay. The jacket is not identical. The one I got, must have been in the very first production run. How do I know? The jacket now comes with an inside zip pocket. Obviously for a wallet. What do I care. I never have any money anyway. Pffffft! Oh yeah, the new production jackets have those little tabs and buttons at the back of the hips like on jean jackets that no one uses. Pffffft, keep 'em.

now with pocket! (orvis.com)

tabs no one uses (orvis.com)

I got a jacket I like that retails for hundreds of dollars. For less than 15 bucks. Hot damn!

one last pic of a terrific bargain (orvis.com)

cooking - bigos, stewp or stoup?

Bigos? Bigos??! Bigos???!! What, in all that is holy, is bigos????!!!

Bigos is a Polish dish. It is often translated as Hunter's Stew. Well, that is incorrect. Sorry people. Hunter's "stew" would be bigos myśliwski. Also, it is not stew as many would have you believe. And no, it is not soup as others may tell you. Bigos myśliwski, or hunter's bigos, would be, and is, made with wild game and would most likely also have juniper berries as a seasoning.

In my opinion, bigos is what should properly be called call 'stewp' or 'stoup'. An amalgam of stew and soup. The former would be more stew-like, thicker and saucier. The latter would be more soup-like, thinner and more liquidy. It depends on how you like it.

What does bigos mean? It may or may not derive from a language other than Polish and may be derived from one of several words meaning, variously, basted, sauce, to chop, or pot for cooking (soup). Well, all those possible word origins apply. Its ingredients are chopped up, cooking in a single vessel (such as a pot), and while it cooks, it bastes in its own juices and can get quite saucy.

It is an ancient dish and the oldest known written record comes from the oldest known Polish cookbook from 1682. Originally, it was pretty much just stewed meat, various cuts of pork, beef, lamb, poultry, or even fish. It would probably have onion, maybe some root vegetables, whatever seasonings that would have been in common use, and possibly fruit, like apples, to add a sour quality. It was a hearty dish that was highly seasoned and mainly eaten by the well-off. Most poor people did not eat much meat, unless it was wild and probably poached from the gentry's hunting grounds.

These well-to-do landowners would have bigos prepared for them from leftovers in their manor-house kitchen and take it out on the hunt to eat, hence the modern "translation" of Hunter's Stew. It kept very well and reheated very well. From this, various myths sprang up about the dish. That it was better cooked multiple times, usually three, or freezing or chilling it improved the flavour. It does reheat well and it does freeze well. However, in reality, what is really going on is that the flavour is changing, or evolving from these actions.

So, bigos also began to evolve over time into something different, like many dishes have and do. By the 1700s, the dish started to get cut with cabbage and/or sauerkraut, different and cheaper cuts of meat were used, mainly to save money. Basically, as meat became more dear in cost to the gentry because they became impoverished and only really had a title and no serious wealth, the household cooks probably ran short of meat to make the dish big enough and probably added what was on hand, like cabbage and sauerkraut, and also started serving it with potatoes. The most common meats, other than leftovers, would be various cheap cuts of pork and also sausage and bacon.

This evolution to adding cabbage gave rise to a new name for this version: bigos hultajski. Hultajski basically means rascal, or rogue, or blaggard. I like blaggard's bigos personally. Why? Well, because the dish was now adulterated with fart generating vegetables. One would have to be a rascal to cut the dish with such an explosive ingredient. So, with the rise of the middle class, the decline of the gentry, and the growing "freedom" of the masses, this new bigos became more popular as it was cheap and easy to make and it lasts "forever".

Sometime in the 1800s, all meat bigos was virtually nonexistent and this new hybrid, with the added bonus of helping us to keep warm by generating our own hot wind, was standard and became simply bigos. Too bad. There are many variations, depending on region etc. But basically bigos is meat (usually various cuts of pork) and cabbage and/or sauerkraut cooked together for several hours. Simple, straightforward, easy-peasy.

Those are the basic ingredients. There are others that are normally/possibly included. These are: a few dried mushrooms, onion, carrot, celeriac, parsnip. Seasonings: salt (be careful if using "cured" meats or sauerkraut; I would save it for the end or the table), pepper (white or black or even green), allspice, bayleaf, juniper berries, paprika, garlic, and possibly caraway and marjoram. Sometimes, a sweetener is added to cut the sourness if it is too much, like plain old sugar or honey. Also, possibly prunes or powidła (plum butter).

Other possible ingredients you may be told are part of the recipe include: tomatoes or tomato paste (in my entire life I have never seen a Polak add tomatoes, I have seen it in Ukrainian and Lithuanian versions though), potatoes (never seen it, as an accompaniment yes; usually boiled with fresh dillweed sprinkled on top), celery (if you cannot find celeriac, sure, okay), dumplings (again, never seen it), apples or plums (not my preference, but if you have lots of apples/plums and no sauerkraut, go ahead, but peel and core them before cutting them up).

Other seasoning: sweeteners: raisins (this is not curry people); spices: cloves and mustard seeds (nope), nutmeg (maybe), thyme (to me, this is more an Irish or British herb, but would be acceptable), cloves (nope again).

I am sure there are countless other bits and bobs people will tell you to add. However, they are all wrong. Or maybe just different... No, they are wrong. Now, I will expound the recipe, which is more of a guide, that every Polak I ever knew, including my mother, father, and all my aunts and uncles, has more or less used to make bigos; with some of my take as well.


BIGOS

Ingredients:
2-3 dried mushrooms (preferably wild) [any good Polish deli will have them]
2-3 onions
½ lb (225 g) pork ribs (I like smoked ribs, most central European delis have them)
1½ lb (680 g) various meats: pork, veal, beef, mutton, poultry, smoked pork shoulder (not ham)
½ lb (225 g) kiełbasa (for the love of god, go to a Polish or Central European deli)
½ lb (225 g) boczek (Polish Bacon, again go to a good deli)
2 x 28 oz (800 ml) cans sauerkraut (or homemade) (Bavarian/German wine sauerkraut is best)
1 cabbage (plain white cabbage normally, but any will really do)
2-6 root vegetables (carrots, parsnip, celeriac [celery if need be], parsley root) [optional]
stock or water, as needed

Seasoning:
pepper (white is best)
paprika
bayleaf
garlic (granulated is fine too)
marjoram [optional]
caraway [optional]
cayenne [not traditional, but I add some]
sugar/honey (to adjust sourness)
salt (be careful, save it for the end or the table)

Preparation:
Crumble the mushrooms and soak in water for a couple/few hours.
Cut boczek into chunks, if it has a rind, cut it off and fry crisp to eat or throw it in with the bigos to cook.
Chop the onion any way you like.
Chop up all the meat in to fork-sized pieces, keeping the kiełbasa and any other smoked meats (like the ribs or pork shoulder) separate. The raw meat can be dusted with flour or cornstarch if you like.
Shred cabbage or chop not-too-fine. Tiny pieces make the dish suck, chunky is not common, but your choice. Make it like for coleslaw. Scald shredded cabbage with boiling water (sometimes I do, sometimes I do not).
Cut vegetables any way you like, shredding or grating is common. Celery should be chopped to your liking, finely chopped is usual.
If using fresh garlic, then prepare how you like, but I would julienne them, and use lots.
Drain and rinse sauerkraut in colander or strainer 2 or 3 times (I no longer rinse my kraut).

Cooking Utensils:
Knife, for chopping and cutting.
Mandoline, for shredding/grating, but this can be done by hand with a knife or grater.

Wooden spoon for mixing while frying and cooking.
Large pan for frying, or large pot for frying.
Either a) a pot to cook on stovetop or campfire; b) roast pan to cook in oven or campfire; c) slow cooker to do it the non-Slavic way

Cooking:
Fry the boczek slowly on medium-low heat and when the fat begins to render add the onion and sweat the onions.
After about ten minutes, add all the meat, except kiełbasa and any other smoked meats, and fry until slightly browned/seared.
If you are doing this in a pan, then transfer above ingredients to pot/roast pan/slowcooker when done browning.
Add the remaining ingredients: cabbage, kraut, root vegetables, mushrooms with soaking water, kiełbasa and smoked meats.
Add stock or water until it is not quite covering all the ingredients, keeping some on hand to add as needed.
Finish cooking by your selected method below.

As to the seasoning. I normally season throughout the cooking process. Bayleaf and fresh garlic will go in right away, some white pepper, granulated garlic, and a little bit of cayenne. Then I will add seasonings as I see fit through the cooking process and only use the salt and sugar to correct the flavour to the desired profile near the end of cooking.

Rounding The Bend:

1) If you are doing this on the stovetop, simmer on medium-low for two to three hours checking often enough to not scorch the bottom of the pot and ruin your dish.

2) If you are doing this in the oven (my preferred method), then preheat it to 350°F (175°C), and place covered roast pan, or casserole dish I guess, in centre of oven and check about every 30 minutes for about 2-3 hours.

3) if you are using a slowcooker? Good luck English. I would say on the medium setting for at least three hours, probably longer. Let me know how it works out.

4) If you are doing this on a campfire, you probably already know what you are doing, but I would probably keep it a bit wet, closer to the stoup side than the stewp end of the spectrum. And you will probably have to mix it quite often to prevent scorching. It will probably take 2-3 hours too. Please pass on anything you may learn from this process.

Serving Suggestions:
Serve with boiled potatoes with fresh dillweed and/or rye bread for sopping up. You will often hear about serving it with a shot of vodka, especially chilled. Never really saw that. A glass of wine, white or red, a beer, seen that. How about a great big mug of really strong tea. Now that is more like it.

There you have it: Bigos Hultajski or Blaggard's Bigos, nowadays just plain Bigos.


Variations & Miscellanea:

Bigos Myśliwski or Hunter's Bigos

Basically the same as above. The big difference, the meat portion would be replaced with game: boar, venison, bison, bear, moose, elk, rabbit, kangaroo, grouse, partridge, grouse, pheasant, emu; you get it. The kiełbasa and smoked meats, could be from game as well, if you make it or can find it. A key seasoning may be juniper berries. As to the vegetables, you could substitute with wild/foraged produce to make it more of an outdoorsman's dish. Ramps or ramsons would be a great addition. I think I will try to figure out wild substitutes for everything and try to make it in the bush on a campstove or over a fire, there are many wild edible brassicas that can substitute for cultivated cabbage. Someday, not right now.

Bigos Wegetariański or Vegetarian Bigos

I read online yesterday that there is no such thing as vegetarian bigos. That if you suggested such an idea to a Polak you would be laughed out of the room. Really? I do not know if that clown was a Polak, but if they were, they were of the moron variety. Do not get me wrong, I like meat. A lot. Especially kiełbasa and smoked meats. However, this dish has probably been made vegetarian millions of times by many an indentured Polish serf, or just plain poor student. Plus, there are a ton of veggie version recipes online, in Polish and in English.

This dish is easily converted to vegetarian needs. Remove the meat. Use canola oil (or similar) for frying. Add more root vegetables and chop them in to chunks. Add more dried mushrooms or even fresh (not my cup of tea). Add various tubers. Add kidney or garbanzo beans. Add chunks of plum or prune. You could probably do something with TVP or tofu, but I would not. Except for the synthetic food, you are not varying too much from the recipe really.

The last two times I made garbage can soup, I used a full head of cabbage in each, one with savoy cabbage, the other regular plain white cabbage. It reminded me very much of bigos. The second soup was totally vegetarian, and after a couple of reheats tasted just like bigos, but without meat. It was on the stoup side of the bigos spectrum.

If anyone tells you that Veggie Bigos is not possible, tell them to suck on a dictionary while laughing them out of the room.

There you have it, again: bigos according to me. There are many variations throughout Poland, neighbouring countries, and even in Canada. There are many similar dishes throughout Europe, and probably elsewhere.

Just remember, the word, bigos basically has no translation. If someone calls it hunter's stew, then ask what wild game is in it. If they say there is no closer word to translate it, then tell them to just use the word bigos. It is not like words are never imported and exported between languages. Look at all the corrupted versions of kiełbasa in different parts of the non-Polish world. If they are still stuck, then tell them the best translation out there is stewp or stoup; depending on how thick or thin it is. And yes, I made those terms up. I have never heard or seen them anywhere before and I have been using them for years.

day two on the trail

So, I managed to get out for the second day straight. I am impressed with myself. Why? Well, as they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. And, as my best friend says, when I get there I will be driving a dune-buggy.

All the tracks on the trail from yesterday were covered with snow unfortunately, so no pictures of my suspected lynx/bobcat/cougar tracks. There were some new tracks though. Some new deer/elk tracks in the same area I saw the other ones yesterday. As the ground was frozen and there was only a thin layer of snow the tracks were not deep and I would say it was probably a fawn or a yearling by the size of the tracks.

There was also a scattering of bunny tracks, probably snowshoe hare. There were possibly skunk tracks too. Hard to tell. Pretty sure there were also fisher or marten tracks too, because they stopped at a tree, so it must have climbed. I remembered reading about a guy who saw tracks in the same manner and looked up. Well, it was a fisher. A pissed off fisher. It jumped on his head and tore it up pretty good. So, I took several steps past the tree before I did the same. Nothing there. Oh well.

This hike though mainly, other than looking for tracks and hopeful sightings of wildlife, was more of a power walk. A bit hard to do though as all the softness of the snow and ground had hardened up overnight. It was -11°C (12°F) this morning when I went out. Yet, there were more run-off streams cutting the trail and they were larger.

My Google Tracks app seems have slightly malfunctioned yesterday as my distances were different today, and the map shows the loop in the trail closed. My top speed was slower than yesterday, I attribute that to the slicker terrain today. I also did not stop for but a few minutes at the shelter, which registered as 2.47 km (1.5 mi) in from the trailhead. It took me thirty-two minutes today to reach it. The total distance was 4.07 km (2.5 mi) and took me a total of just under fifty-seven minutes to do the loop.

When I doubled back on my tracks returning to the trailhead, there were fresh coyote tracks crossing my path. That was no surprise, but it did not seem to slow down to check my prints out. One thing I noticed about all the tracks I saw today was that, even with the snow and lack of greenery, I could clearly see the trails that the animals use regularly and either that marten/fisher gets around or there is quite a colony in and around that trail.

Well, I have to go. Many more errands to run today and some Jamboree stuff to take care of. Hopefully, tomorrow will bring new signs of wildlife and clearer tracks that I can take pictures of.

stats from trailhead to shelter ¾ km (½ mi) longer than yesterday

end of the road, about 2½ km/h (1½ mph) slower top speed

but about double average speed over yesterday

the circle is closed

the app tracked the whole trip today it seems

today is the first day of the rest of my life

For all my talk of being outdoors I do not get out and about as often as I should and want. That is, until today. As I stated in an earlier post. I resolved to organise myself as well as get out of doors regularly. Well, today I took the plunge.

The weather was less than stellar. A lot of rain. I mean a lot. I figured it was the universe testing my resolve. So, after sleeping a little later than planned, I was up far too late last night mucking about, I got up. I heard the rain. I saw the rain. I heard the sump pump running constantly.

So, in order to "prepare", I had a couple of coffees. Following that I reviewed my gear. I knew I was not fully prepared. Contrary to what I tell our Scouts and other people about being equipped to be outdoors, I went anyway.

Fortunately, as I was preparing to leave I could hear birdsong. To me that is usually a good sign about the weather clearing up. Now the trails I would be on, that would most likely be another story. I expected to hit mud, washed out sections, slush, and deep snow. I was going anyway.

So, after my coffees and a couple of trips to the can, I strapped on my black cadillacs, a Canadian Army euphemism for combat/field boots, and jumped in the truck to drive to the trailhead. By the time I got the the trailhead, the rain had subsided.

Well, the little parking lot was encased in ice with a thin layer of slush. Not very promising. Looking down the start of the trail it was all ice and hard pack snow. I do not have any crampons yet, so I started down the trail with a sense of foreboding and trepidation. As they say, "These boots were made for walking!" Not skating. Fortunately, my boots are not high heeled like Nancy's.

the parking lot, my truck in the corner, i am all alone

the ditch at the entrance to the parking lot

that is a lot of water flowing

I crossed the threshold, passed through the gate and the trail was hard packed and a bit icy as well, but I was not slipping and sliding. Not so bad so far. It was fairly easy walking, even with the smooth hard pack. The trail was cut in a few places by run-off streams, but they were tiny. One just needed to step over them. This trail follows the eastern shore of a pond, but I took the fork to the western side. This fork is actually part of the Rideau Trail and the pond trail links up with it at either end to make a loop.

the trailhead, the start of something great and wonderful

the trail right after the gate

just after forking over to the rideau trail, the pond on is on the left

I approached a small bridge that goes over a spillway from the pond. There was quite a bit of water flowing under the ice. I still expected washed out sections and deep snow at this point.

a view of the pond from the bridge, still frozen over (view to the east)

the view on the other side of the bridge, enough water flow to keep the ice down (view to the west)

the spillway under the bridge, always a lot of debris at this choke point

Just past the spillway, the trail enters the woods. It is quite peaceful and the only sounds I can hear are my boots crunching in the ice and snow and my stave piercing the crust. When I pause to look a round, I can hear some geese flying overhead and some cawing, which I presume are crows. And, unfortunately, traffic on the main road.

No fresh tracks from humans so far, but the rain earlier may have made it difficult to see new footprints, but I doubt it. Not many people like to hike in crappy weather. The trail is gently undulating and there are a few little bridges that cross larger, year-round stream and boardwalks that cross over most of the areas that flood regularly.

a pretty little bridge on the trail, i almost lost my water bottle at this bridge

a view to the east from the bridge

a view to the west from the bridge

I made my way to the fork that led me back to the pond trail and made the approach to my favourite place to stop on this loop. It is a shelter with a small clearing and a gentle slope down to the pond. The roof of the shelter is now pretty dilapidated and does not keep precipitation out. I have to remember to contact the city, as they administer this area of crown land, and see what can be done to put on a new roof. There is plenty of deadfall cedar that could be cut lengthwise for roofing. Maybe it could be a project the Chief Scout Award candidates from our Scout Troop could tackle.

the approach to the shelter

below a couple of shot of the shelter

a view of the pond from the shelter

another shot of the pond at what I presume is the water's edge

the dark hump in the middle is, i believe, a beaver lodge

So, I decided to pause for fifteen minutes for my break, and breakfast. I took a couple of layers off, so I would not soak myself with sweat, and had a fig, some raisins, and some of my water, the bottle of which I recovered from the creek at that wooden bridge. At this point, I had been hiking, with the occasional pause, for about forty-two minutes. My Google Tracks app, told me that, at this point, I had walked 1.73 km (a little over 1 mi.) and had paused for about six minutes over this whole leg of my hike.

my stats so far

Unfortunately, I could still hear the traffic from the main road. As to nature, I only head the occasional cawing and dripping and flowing of water. It was actually very quiet. As they say in the movies, almost too quiet. But it was a gloomy, wet, foggy, and cold day. Most of the animals would have gone to ground. I definitely saw no signs of humans, either by sight or sound. I saw some pretty fresh tracks of canines and I think wolves, way too big to be a dog. Definitely not coyote, which is odd, but no coyote scat, which is easy to recognise. Break over, I headed back on the trail.

the trail leading from the shelter

As I am hiking down the trail and looking around, I see some new tracks. Deer tracks I presume, but when I get home and check my book on animal tracks, I am not so sure. Our area has white-tail deer, but the tracks are not quite right. Now I am not an expert, but they look more like mule deer. Mule deer are not indigenous to Ontario. The closest they get to Ontario is at the junction of the US-Manitoba-Ontario border and near the western edge of Lake Superior. Now, I did see a roadkill dear once not too far from this location that to me and the person I was with definitely looked like a mule deer, but I have never heard of them in the area. What the tracks could have been was elk.

Elk are not indigenous to this area either. However, elk were introduced in various areas in Ontario, including way down the other side of the Ottawa Valley. There were also elk farms in this area, where they were raising them for meat. I do know that many have escaped these farms. I have actually seen one just outside of town and the guy who swears we saw a dead mule dear has even seen them in the area as well. No, we were not drinking.

So, I was looking at the tracks a little more closely, but foolishly I did not take any pictures. The one set of tracks that I thought were wolf tracks, I was no longer sure. They looked more feline than canine. It may sound crazy, but I think those tracks were either of a bobcat, lynx, or cougar. The range of bobcats and lynx overlap in this region and there have been sightings. As to the cougar, again, there have been many sightings in the area. Try finding any photos though. I know, probably a longshot. Next time I am out I will try to take pictures if the tracks survive.

map showing sightings of cougar from the ontario puma foundation (website defunct)

plenty around these parts

So, no worries. Down the trail I go. The second leg is a faster walk, although it is not much shorter. Fairly flat and open. I take the second leg in about twenty-five minutes for a leg which is only about 100 metres shorter that the first leg.

the end is near, the trailhead from the trail side

The whole time I do not see or hear anybody or anything, except for a few birds. No fresh tracks, those deer/elk and bobcat/lynx/cougar/wolf tracks are pretty fresh, probably less that two days, maybe less than one. Wait a minute, fresh tracks. Heading towards me, how did I not see them. Wait, this is where I doubleback on the trail to get to the road. The other person probably took the fork to the right before I came down. Hey, they have the same boots as me. Hey, what a dummy, they are my tracks. The great outdoorsman!?

Anyway, after a chuckle at myself and a headshake, I get back to the trailhead. Check my stats, 3.36 km (just over 2 mi.), just under one hour and twenty minutes to do the loop. Max speed, wow, 12.24 km/h (7.6 mph). Not bad, max speed up to the shelter was 8.1 km (5 mph). That is my normal routine, the second leg is always faster.

stats for the whole walk

a little weird as i stopped for 15 min at the shelter

mind you i did not really sit still

Lucky me. No rain while hiking. When I got back in the truck and headed off to the plumbers to pay the bill, it started drizzling. Lucky me. After the post office and the library, where I picked up a dozen books on canoe routes, it was wizzing down. Lucky me. It was 5°C (41°F), good temperature for a hike, although my truck told me it was +3, still a good temp.

Tomorrow's forecast? a low of -19°C (-2°F) and snow. Oh boy, I cannot wait!

my route

not sure why the loop is not closed

i will muck around with it next time on the trail