Hut to hut traverse in the GAT

Gatineau Park: P12 to the Gatineau Visitor Centre (15 km)
Start, P16 Pine Rd: N45 32.221 W75 53.968
End, Visitor Centre: N45 30.309 W75 48.745
Western: N45 30.840 W75 55.045
Huron: N45 30.342 W75 53.980
Shilly Shally: N45 30.438 W75 53.183
Keogan: N45 30.353 W75 52.816
Click here for a view of the map of the Gatineau trails.

Today I joined forces with Kenmore for a hut to hut traverse in Gatineau Park. We left one vehicle at the Visitor Centre and then drove up to P12 to start our day's adventure.

Conditions were perfect by my definition. Blue sky, temperature rising to meet its forecasted -5°C, and the groomers were out working their magic. Sweet.


By about 11:30 we had reached Western hut and stopped for our first photo op and a bite to eat. Kenmore was hoping to toast up one of his wraps but unfortunately the people before us hadn't bothered to start the fire. As everybody left we cracked a summer ale and started to work on some flame. After a few minutes the fire was roaring but the woodstove was still too cool to toast up Kenmore's sandwich so strapped on the boards and continued on down to the next hut.


We hit Huron shortly after noon and the place was jam packed with retirees bustling about chatting and eating their lunches. Busy or not, we were hungry and the woodstove was hot and ready for toasting sandwiches. So we grabbed the last table and kicked back.


After lunch it was down to Shilly Shally. We were going to just snap a pic and move on but as luck would have it the hut was empty and the fire was going so we decided to stop in for another pint. This is a very small hut which is rarely empty.


From here we skied down to Keogan and although it too was empty we were out of excuses (read beer) so we snapped the pic and moved on down the trail.


From this point on the all hills pointed down and the pace really picked up. Suicide Hill is officially marked "Steep" and about midway it comes to a "T" where you have to either take a left, a right, or come to a screeching stop before hitting a bench and going over the edge of a cliff. To make things even more interesting, I have yet to come down this hill without finding half a dozen people standing around the bench chatting. I don't think they realize that not all skiers barreling down this hill are Olympic athletes able to bob and weave and stop at will. Luckily I managed not to take out the old fogies.

Normally we take a right at the mid point of Suicide Hill and head down to P7 but this time Ken lead me down the left trail and its infamous Penguin Hill. Damn this is one fun hill! Thankfully conditions were not icy or I would have went down on my ass.

Penguin behind us we came to a spot that Kenmore laughingly describes as the section where "the elevator shaft drops out". Ha, I thought. How much steeper can it be compared to Penguin? Well I soon had my answer first hand and it was exactly as advertised and before I came to the second 90° turn I decided to avoid "death by tree" and I bailed. BLAMMO! My 3 year wipe-out free streak was officially over. Luckily nothing was broken but I did manage to bang up my knee on my ski. I'm icing it now as I type this blog... hold off on the Get Well cards please until I see whether or not I need a cab from the back parking lot at work.


Last hut of the day.
All said and done this was definitely one of my top 5 ski trips. Cheers to that!

First family ski of '09

The plan was to go for a family ski today. The "where" was undecided until the very last possible minute.

The first plan was to drive out to Gatineau Park but that wouldn't leave us with much time to relax back at home. Plan B was a set of trails along Corkstown Rd (see map of the 25 km of trails) but as we exited the 416 we noticed that there was a new blockade set up to keep drivers from whipping across 4-5 lanes to make the Moodie off ramp. Hmmm, decisions decisions.

Finally as we took the next exit I decided not to cut back to Corkstown but to head down March Road to the South March/Kanata Lakes ski trails. These trails are shared by skiers, snowshoers, and dog walkers but for the most part they are kept in reasonably good shape for us x-c folk.




Turned out to be a good choice too. Sun was shining, trails were in good shape, and the crowd level was near zero. After a couple of hours we headed back home for some homemade soup and pancakes for lunch.

A Saturday Skate

After a couple of indoor soccer games this morning we decided to wrap up the day with a skate. A stretch of the Rideau Canal is open for skating but it seemed a little far given that we only had a couple more hours of daylight. So it was off to the old Nepean City Hall outdoor rink for a few laps.

Round and round we skated. Luckily it was getting close to supper so the crowds were down to just a few stragglers. Most people joining us seemed a little shaky on the blades but there was one man out there that seemed to think he was Kurt Browning on hockey skates.


Over all my years of skating on outdoor rinks I noticed that people tend to skate in a counter clockwise direction. What's up with that? At least on the canal it's straight there and back and on the indoor hockey rinks they actually have a guy blow a whistle every once in a while to change direction. But whenever I find myself on an outdoor rink it's counter clockwise. It's reached the point where I'm now convinced that I've become noticeably less comfortable skating clockwise. Next time I'm out I'm going to have to go against the flow of skater traffic in order to balance it out.


Check out Emma's new method of getting her mitts on under her coat sleeves.
Click here for a list of all the outdoor rinks and puddles and click here for a list of public arena skate times.

A visit with Charlie Neill

It was the last weekend of the Christmas holidays and we decided to make one last getaway before having to deal with the impending approach of work and school (or for one of us both). After a quick call to the Neills, and their shuffling of prior dinner plans, we were off to Burnstown.

As an added bonus we would get to see Charlie their new puppy that had arrived only the day before. Charlie is a Gordon Setter and a damn cute one at that. Oh, and he is also a genius.




We spent the day catching up on each other's busy lives and filled the spaces with music, fine food, bonfires, a beer or two, and many doses of Charlie.




Laurel spent a large part of the day buzzing about the kitchen cooking and baking up a storm. There is nothing like fresh chocolate chip Skor cookies... or fresh cheddar corn scones... or venison barley soup with red wine and garlic... or venison hamburgers... or homemade Belgian waffles... or venison and spinach lasagna... I think you get the idea. It was fine dining indeed.



By the end of the visit we felt recharged and ready to take on Monday. Thanks guys.

Christmas Break 2008

Another year come and gone and once again we find ourselves making the Christmas day drive back to Peterborough to celebrate the holidays with friends and family. This year was pretty much the same as any other except with a few more photographers clicking away to help document the daily events. Yep you guessed it, Santa dropped off a new digital camera for both the kids and even Mommy. Having just received a new camera for my birthday, I opted for the new 1.5 TB external hard drive that will soon be used to store all of these photos. Needless to say the new toys were a big hit on Christmas morning.

Dinner this year was hosted by my aunt Sharon and uncle Wayne while the food was prepared (for the most part) by cousin Amy and her husband Will. Paula and I had some very yummy memories of a delicious turkey dating back to Christmas 2001 when dinner was last held at this address and we're happy to say that this year's turkey did not disappoint. It was cooked to perfection. Well done guys!!


snow ...... no snow
Shortly after Christmas day the rain started. We had just received a few centimetres of snow the day before but then the temperature swung up to 10 degrees and the rain started falling. By the next morning nearly all the snow was gone and we were looking at green grass and lots and lots of mud. Yuck. No holiday skiing or tobogganing this trip.

We did manage to get this group shot on the hay bale before all the rain washed away the snow. The kids had a lot of fun with Amber as she raced up and down the bales jumping over them as they lay sprawled out like cars at a Monster Truck rally.




This was Amber's first Christmas and as such Paula and the kids decided to get her a present. A nice red nylon squeaky bone. Well she loved it for about 12 seconds before she chewed a hole in it and started to rip out the stuffing and Opa took it away from her. Oh well, it's the thought that counts.


After Peterborough it was off to Bowmanville to visit friends. It was an incredibly short and busy visit (sistas Lindaloo and Jilly were also hanging out) but as per usual, it was a lot of fun and the kids had a blast shooting videos with their new camera.


Happy New Year everyone!!


This sunset photo was taken on Christmas day along hwy 7 on our drive to Peterborough.

Merry Christmas!!

All the best in 2009 to our blog readers all around the world!!

Christmas lights tour

After picking up my free birthday Blizzard from DQ we headed off through the streets of Barrhaven on our annual Christmas lights tour. I must say it was a bit of a disappointment. I'm not sure if it's the penny pinching during this economic downturn or the blizzards of snow-maggedon that caused the locals to go easy on this year's xmas light show. Oh well... here are a few snaps of the better ones.




Here's a shot of the kids' 2008 Gingerbread House. This one came complete with a gummy worm rain spout. Oh how they grow up so fast...

Merry Christmas from Lusk Cabin

Gatineau Park: P19 Lac Philippe to Lac Lusk (13 km)
P19 Lac Philippe: N45 37.394 W76 00.546
Lac Lusk: N45 35.100 W76 00.772

The last time I was out at Lusk Cabin was April 14th (see blog). It was my last x-c ski of the season and skies were blue and it was 8°C. While the skies were blue today, the temperature was a crisp -28°C. Wind chill or not, it was a great day to be out on the trails.

Surprisingly the drive into Lac Philippe from west side Ottawa was essentially traffic free. I'm beginning to think that it's the striking OC Transpo buses that cause all the congestion in the first place.

Signage at the Lusk Cabin trail junction



Lusk Cabin

There were only three others at the cabin when we arrived. One guy was skiing/training for the next upcoming ski marathon. Marathon number 31 with all 30 badges of honor sewn on his backpack to prove it. Although he didn't say anything to me, I don't think he approved of my Gatineau energy drink. One bottle of Rock Art Brewery Ale from Vermont. To each his own I suppose.

The other two in the cabin were hoarding all the space on the woodstove with their mitts and toques in various pots and pans. What's up with that? Needless to say Mike and I had no problem shuffling everything to the side so our aluminum foil wrapped sandwiches could warm up. After all, what's more important, their toasty fingers or my toasty chicken and cheese sandwich? (that's what they call a no brainer folks)


About 15 minutes after arriving all the other guests left and Mike and I had to the cabin to ourselves. I quickly stoked up the dying fire with some fresh kindling chopped by Mike himself. With a proper fire, the cheese in our sandwiches quickly melted and ready to eat. Yum.

By 1:15 we were back on our skis and heading for home in order to beat (the non-existent) traffic. Another great day in the GAT - even if it was a little on the chilly side.


Merry Christmas everyone!

Birthday ski in the GAT

Gatineau Park: P16 to Healey Cabin (10 km)
P16 Pine Rd: N45 34.345 W75 53.134
Healey: N45 34.318 W75 56.019

Today was my birthday and what better way to celebrate one's birthday than with friends, family, and the great outdoors. My father (aka Opa), Sara, Emma, and I hit arrived at P16 around 9:45 and we didn't make it far down the trail before being joined by Ken and Mike. Together we all skied into Healey Cabin under what proved to be perfect temperatures and ski conditions.


Special guest, Opa.

Today was even more exciting due to the fact that we were all testing out our new waxless skis. Sara, Emma, Opa, and me all purchased new waxless x-c skis within the last week. Other than the odd hum when zooming down the hills, these new boards are simply awesome. No fuss, no mess.



Break time.
This will make it my second GAT birthday ski in a row. Cheers to me and everybody that joined me on my first ski of the 2008-09 season.




Now get out the pen and mark this day down on your calendar for next year folks.

Trip to P-dot

Last weekend we made one last pre-Christmas trip to Peterborough for a small birthday party for Sara and Opa. Here are some photos from the whirlwind weekend.

The kids had a blast wrestling and running with the puppy.




Spotted this while out on our hike. I'm not sure how the poor fella got that stick in the eye but it appears to have cost him his life. I guess now he knows his mom wasn't kidding when she said, "It's all fun and games until somebody loses an eye."