Good Friends, Great Hike.

So I am still playing catch up with my summer adventures. Now that the wedding is over and the routine of real life is setting in, I have had some time to reflect on the summers past events. One adventure that took place that I am excited to blog about was my bachelor hike. Just me and my best buds Matt Baik and Mackenzie Caron hiking the mountains of Jasper National Park. Because the two of them had never hiked backcountry before I was excited to show them the ways of the wilderness.  So when the trail I had chosen for the hike was deemed "un-hikable" by the parks office employee, I though "perfect, now we could really get into some rough country!" I want to mention that the reason I decided to go for it was based on the guides assessment. I wasn't just leading two rookie hikers blindly into the wilderness. Also, if things would have gotten to rough I would have most definitely turned the bus around. Her assessment was that some trees were down, their was snow at higher elevations, and also that the bridge to the campsite was washed out. My thoughts on this were; downed trees were nothing we couldn't handle and because I had hiked this pass once before I had already dealt with the snow, so I knew what we were getting ourselves into. I also knew the bridge was right outside the campsite so at worst we could set up camp outside the actual campsite if the water was too high. At best we cross the quick moving stream bare ass, then light the stove and warm our tootsies.

The name of the hike was Geraldine Lakes, a 9Km elevation gaining beast located in Jasper National Park. This hike offered  a lot of rock hoping and due to the high water level usually wet feet. The reason I chose this hike was the payoff and sheer beauty the entire experience. Gaining elevation at such a rapid pace and experiencing so much beauty simultaneously is rarely attained in such a short hike. I knew the boys would love it! We set out about ten am and made great time. We encountered the fallen trees the guide spoke of within the first twenty minutes of the hike. But after some careful footwork and strategizing we were through. We got to the first lake in just over an hour. 

Mackenzie at the first lake.

During our short break at the first lake we took a look up and got our first peek of what was to come.  The guys got really pumped to reach the top, and so they suggested we carry on. Upon reaching the second lake we decided we had better stop to make a little lunch. It was here I found myself reflecting upon our friendships and how much these two guys meant to me. It was here, as we blurted our mindless anecdotes and laughed until our hungover guts hurt that we reconnected. 

Me and the boys! Matt (middle) and Mack (right).

Upon completion of lunch it began to rain, we threw on our rain gear and decided we had better make a push toward the campsite. We moved on and in no time at all we were at the steepest and most difficult section of the hike. A steep shaley scramble, with a considerable amount of elevation gain. At the top of the scramble we were confronted with the snow field that had to be crossed. 

It took some coaxing on my part to assure the boys that they were in good hands and finally after a few minutes of hesitation they followed me across. One phrase I specifically remember being murmured on more that a few occasions was "This is fucking crazy, this is fucking crazy." And although I was laughing inside I made sure to keep a calm voice as I said "you guys are doing great, almost there". In a situation like this where a person is a little unnerved by the terrain they are confronted with the best thing you can do for them is to just send them your positive energy. After that was over and the boys calmed down a little we found ourselves atop the snowbound ridge that would lead us to our final destination of the day, camp.

I knew their would be one more obstacle to overcome before the day was done, the washed out bridge. After tip toeing around a flooded lake trail and enjoying a few more relaxed laughs, we finally made it to the river crossing. Here we found exactly what the guide had adamantly informed us about, a creek crossing with no bridge to be found. We knew what we had to do. After all, we had expected it, and had even gone as far as to discuss how it would be done as we hiked the trail throughout the day. The creek looked fast but not very deep, we estimated around three to four feet. There was also a shallow area directly in the middle that would serve as our rest point if need be. The strategy was set in place and it seemed all that was left  was to do execute! Mack manned up quickly striping down to his fruit of the looms. He charged in full throttle but came screaming back as quick as he had entered! "To cold! to cold!" he Yelped. I knew I would have to give this a go in order to calm the minds of my comrades. So I got nearly naked and took the plunge. I moved out slowly into the fast moving water keeping a wide stance, trying to prevent myself from being swept off my feet and into the cold lake down stream. As I reached the middle of the loud quick rushing water I felt a presence over my shoulder, it Was Mack and he was coming fast and furious! Almost knocking me over as I took my rest at the shallow waypoint he bellowed, "Out of the way this shit is cold!" I laughed and followed his lead, fearing that the big Matt might be right behind me and knock me off my shallow perch. As Mack and I left the water I turned to find Matt, he was right on my heels. He had a smile on from ear to ear even thought the water was bitterly cold. I could tell he was enjoying the adventure. We reached the waters edge to find the carved out trail that led to the campsite was completely submerged in water, so we kept on moving bare foot and nearly bare ass. 

The incredible view from our campsite. 

That night after the tent was pitched and we had our fill of the finest dehydrated cuisine the laughs and good times continued, until we all laughed ourselves to sleep. The morning came early and once again we were forced to make the hasty river crossing of yesterday. It was still cold and a little higher than when we crossed the night before. But we were eager to hit the trail and get home. So we crossed with conviction making the rushing creek feel more like a mere puddle jump. After reaching dry land we put our pants and boots back on, dropped our heads and aimed for home. 

These guys were incredible to hike with and I am grateful for the opportunity to do so. My only question to Mack and Matt now is what's next!

Overnighter Rating:  5 out of 5 Stars

Payoff:                    5 Stars

Scenery:                  5 Stars

Overall Experience   5 Stars

Geraldine lakes has been and remains to be my favourite overnight backcountry hike. With its incredible views and endless potential for exploration it continues to hold a special place within my heart. The first time I hiked it was with my wife a few years back. This is when I initially fell in love with it. I would like to make another trip to Geraldine and stay two nights in the backcountry, in order to explore the ridge that you view to your right while hiking the lake side approaching the campsite. I believe that by summiting this ridge a view of Mount Edith Cavell may be possible. 

Hiking Mount Stearn

Today my wife Kate and I hiked Mount Stearn. It is an easy little day hike that is located near Grande Cache, Alberta, Canada. The Mount Stearn hike is part of the "Passport to the Peaks" program, a program that Grande Cache tourism has put in place that enables hikers to track and record the completion of their hikes within the area. Personally I find the program also gives the hiker a greater sense of achievement upon reaching the many regions summits. I will elaborate further on the program in a later post.  Basically how it works is you summit a peak you get a stamp in your "passport", get all the stamps, and your awesome!

Mount stearn trail head is located a few km's up the sulphur gates road which is an easy road to find, only a short distance north of Grande Cache. Look for the small gravel pit directly across from the sulphur gates turnoff, and the distinct blue sign that marks the "Sulphur Gates" road. When you get to another small gravel pit slow down because the trail head is coming up. Park in the parking area to your left and you will see the distinctly cut trail traversing the side of the hill directly across the road.

The length of the hike is apparently debatable, due to the fact that the sign at the trail head states 6.5 km's one way while the Passport to the Peaks book declares it as 8.5 km's one way. My opinion on this is that because the approach to the summit is a scramble a variety of routes can be chosen, therefore the actual distance could definitely vary. For about the first 5 km's of the hike you are below tree line. It's also worth mentioning that you pass two small camp areas that look great for a winter camp! Although you are in the trees for just about two hours you gain elevation relatively quickly, making for a great payoff once you get up and out of the trees. Once up and out you hike a beautiful meadow that is periodically marked with pink survey tape. After a short trek through the meadow you will notice the tape will mark the turning of the trail. Follow the tape left, this is where the trail and tape disappear. Stay right and begin the accent up a wide ridge. Follow this ridge to the top where it will dip and then begin to rise again. From here if you look to your right you will notice a knoby summit. Look hard and you will spot a small figure that is the mailbox that holds the passport stamp. This is your final destination. After dipping down the ridge and back up you will come to a short rock face. Find an easy spot to scramble up, (their are a few), and then its a short walk to the left to reach the top. Boom! your done.

Using this route our ascent took us, and our border collie Jasper, just over three hours.  I would say that it could defiantly be done a little quicker, we had some intense wind and the initial stages of a storm that slowed us up just before reaching the summit. Coming down took an hour and forty five minutes. In total this hike took just under six hours, that includes the half hour lunch and Jaspers numerous squirrel chasing tangents that I had to intervene upon.

                                                         Getting the Passport Stamped on the Summit!

When all is said and done I give this day hike 3.5 out of 5 stars on my day hiking scale. The payoffs are always great on these Grande Cache for the simple that you always summit. Also the excitement of the peaks program always gets me pumped to hike in the Grande Cache area. But because the Rocky Mountains are only just beginning in this area of Alberta, spectacles that up the payoff and overall experience such as towering mountains and glaciers are absent from the experience. These are the factors that drop the hikes grade for me As for a return trip, I would probably do this again with someone who hasn't done it before or like I said earlier, as a short winter overnighter. In the end I would have to to say, "I got my passport stamped and I am moving on to bigger and better things".

I will be posting more hikes that I have done throughout the past in later posts, so check back for more info! Also a Mountain Addict website is in the works! This site will go into greater detail on my adventures, so stay tuned because that should be up and running soon!

Here is a link to trail peak a credible websites that I use and consider valuable resource during the planning phase of my hikes. This is there review of the Mount Stearn hike.

http://www.trailpeak.com/trail-Mount-Stearn-near-Grande-Cache-AB-6112

I'm Back and I'm on The Veggie Train, Sorta?

Ok so I know I have been gone for a while, but Im back! After my wedding I spent a week in San jose Del Cabo, on my honeymoon with my new hot wife. With allot of time to ponder on my travels, I definitely came back with some interesting topics to contribute to the blogging world. My brain explored many avenues from Fundamental Mormonism to vegetarianism. I will start the week with the one topic that has been affecting my life on a constant level since I made the decision to "Go Veggie".

For the last few years now meat in most forms has not been agreeing with me, to put it lightly. Now because my new hot wife is a Vegetarian, I thought I would hop on the band wagon. I have to say I haven't been perfect, resorting to a 35$ slice of Hawaiian pizza in a mexican airport, in order to stop my stomach from imploding. I also ate allot of fish. But in my defence I thought veggies ate fish because my hot wife does. Turns out she's a fraud. I know right! So after I did the research I found out that we are what the hipsters call "pescetarians", so we eat fish, and shellfish (seafood). After finding out this crazy definition I began to wonder what the term vegetarian meant officially. After consulting my most reliable source (wikipedia), I discovered that the term partially defines me as a person that halts in the consumption of meat in order to maintain animal life. This struck me as a very generalized aspect of being a member of the off meat society. As a person who used to hunt every fall, and enjoys a juicy T-bone as much as the next guy, I have to be honest and say I have no sympathy for the slaughter of animals. Just sayin. The fact that red meat, pork and even chicken causes my stomach to reject itself has nothing to do with my morals. My main reason for making this decision is based on comfort. I feel I can live daily life more at ease without meat in my diet. Thats it thats all. So hopefully no more upset stomach.

So it has been a little over a week since I have made the decision to try this new lifestyle out and so far its not bad. I must admit I have had one craving, it was for a big mac if you can believe it. I can just imagine my stomach saying, if it could talk, "desperate times call for desperate measures!"

The other cool aspect of my decision to become a pescetarian, is that my hot wife is already there. So the transition will not only be easier, but it will help build our loving camaraderie by cooking together and discovering tasty new recipes. Today we indulged in some delicious home made portobello burgers  and home made garden coleslaw. So wish me luck and I'll do my best to give this an honest go. More great recipes to come! I hope.

Rappel Safe My Friends

Due to the recent series of tragedies in the Alberta Rockies I have decided to share my thoughts and some facts on rappelling.

From the evidence provided by the media, I have drawn the conclusion that both tragic accidents this summer that led to the deaths of three climbers were the result of either ignorance or poor judgment.

The first accident took place in the Kananaskis area in late July, the two climbers used one rope and two devices to perform a simultaneous rappel. This technique requires the climbers to each rappel from separate ends of the rope after it has been looped around or through an anchor. This technique is considered dangerous to many in the realm of climbing for a number of reasons. First, putting the weight of two climbers on one rope is an unnecessary risk. Second, if a climber does happen to rappel off the end of the rope, which seems to have been the case in this instance, the other climber will have no counterweight to prevent their deathly free fall.

The second accident happened a few days ago on castle mountain. CBC radio reports that the man was rappelling down the mountain and ended up rappelling off the end of his rope. Again, this to me seems to be a blatant case of poor judgment and practice. In this case as well as the previous incident, a simple knot tied to the end of the rappellers rope may have prevent death.

Rappelling can be an unnerving and dangerous aspect of rock climbing. It can cause fear and anxiety to an already moderately difficult process. It is important to keep calm and make sure you set up a proper rappel and use good judgment. If you feel In any way, shape, or form unsafe do NOT climb over that ledge!

A few tips I always remember to implement into my rappels are; always do your safety checks, inspect all your equipment, your rope and your harness for wear. Be sure to always tie a knot at the end of your rope. Always have a safety knot tied above your rappel device, such as a prusik or a klemheist. These knots will act as a safety line, giving you the peace of mind and control you need to keep calm.

As for the climbers that lost their lives on the mountain in the last few weeks, I feel great sorrow for them and would like to extend my deepest apologies to their families and friends. The climbing community is a strong group and I am sure we are all experiencing the shockwave that is felt after such tragic events as these take place.

One thing we all need to realize as climbers, is that climbing is a potentially dangerous sport. We need to remember to never take anything for granted. Even though it is highly rewarding and a lot fun, we need to take the time to question ourselves, our equipment, and our techniques. Be safe out there my friends.

http://www.openfile.ca/calgary/blog/2012/explainer-why-local-instructor-would-never-teach-simul-rappelling-technique-used-c

Wedding Day and Scarpas!

Today I get married. My Kate means the world to me. A hectic day yesterday but we are ready today! I wanted to post a new shoe that Scarpa is releasing that I think will rival Lasportivas solution. The Scarpa instinct VS. I'm super excited for these shoes. They look super aggressive and the toe box looks amazing! I'm looking forward to trying these suckers out.

Patience and Sour Candies

It's been almost five years since I met my bride to be. Tomorrows is the day we tie the knot. Through those years we have accomplished a lot. Our relationship has had a powerful influence on my love for the mountains. We began hiking together during the summers in order to strengthen our bond while she was away at university. Hiking pushed our boundaries at times but in the end it has cemented the values and established the core of our relationship. I highly recommend the solitude of the mountain trail to any couple looking to expand there love. It built our friendship tore down barriers and helped us build them right back up stronger. A great example where our relationship was tested took palce during our hike to Mount Assiniboine. It was day two and the monotony of below tree line hiking was getting to us both. The bugs were bad and we hadn't yet tied into our good stash of food. Needless to say we were both a little grumpy. After a solid hour of hiking without a word said Kate started to complain. "My feet hurt, I'm hungry, the bugs are bad". After about a half hour of constant jabbering I kinda lost my cool. "Do you need a fucking sour candy or something!!" Now I don't recommend doing this but trust me a lesson was learned. The agony that only this long boring trail could have brought taught us a little something about ourselves that day. Lesson learned? Be more patient and when your hungry eat. So on a day that requires a lot of patience, I am trying to remember this lesson learned. To get us through the final day of preparation before the wedding!

Climb at Home People

As a busy guy that lives in a town where you cant get out to the big crags without at least a couple hours drive, it is important for me to climb as often as possible in order to improve my skills and maintain my overall sanity (lol). In order to achieve this I climb at my local gym. A local climbing gym brings with it a community of climbers. These are the folks that I want to recognize in my post today. A group of people that all share a common mentality, they are friendly and super accommodating to all that enter our tiny gym. In a time when being rude can almost seem as cavalier as people that drive trucks with 6 inch lifts (douche bags), this family of regulars has shattered all my misconceptions of my fellow man, or woman (hehe). If you would have told me that there were a group of people like these in my community a year ago, I would have sneered at the notion, therefore conforming to the attitudes of the people that I so often jeer about. In becoming apart of this climbing family I have began to adapt my own views of the world and how we should treat others. I firmly believe that if you surround yourself with positive people you yourself with be happier and become a more enjoyable person to be around. A product of your environment. So today here's to the regulars at the GPRC climbing wall. You guys rock! (pun intended).

Another new adventure

As my passion for the outdoors has continued to grow, I have decided to share my own personal experiences, thoughts, curiosities and knowledge on the topic of mountain adventure. more specifically rock climbing and hiking. I am looking forward to Sharing my experiences and expressing my internal thoughts externally, within my blog.