Yesterday afternoon Anna and I hiked to the top of Bald Hill, near Wirral, NB. This is one of my all-time favourite places to visit and camp, because of its remoteness and excellent scenery. We covered the 2.6 km hike in about an hour and a half. The section of the hike where the altitude was lowest (around Three Bridge Brook) was the most challenging, as it was extremely dense with alders, which continuously got caught on our backpacks. It is easier to traverse in the winter on snowshoes.
Once we reached the top of the mountain, we took a few minutes to take in the view and take some pictures, then got to work cutting up dead trees for our campfire.
After the sun went down, we played cards and listened to music by the fire for a while before going to sleep. (I brought along a small radio which got great reception at the high elevation.) I was originally planning to sleep under a tarp, and Anna in a bivy sack, but since I forgot the pole for her bivy sack, we both decided to forego any overhead shelter.
We spent the night in our sleeping bags under a star-filled sky in near-ideal conditions. The campsite had a nice breeze blowing across it and there were no bugs. With clear skies and lows near 5 C at night, we were both actually a bit too warm in our winter sleeping bags. The sky was full of constellations and the moon was so bright I could have read a book by its light. Overall, it was a great trip. Maybe a bit too short! .... The next time I return I would like to explore the well-worn trail that leads down off the southern side of the hill. (We hiked up the northern side.)
Some highlights: - the spongy moss at the campsite (soft for sleeping on!)
- wild blueberries at campsite (even in mid-September!)
- view of early-morning mist in the valley
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Maliseet Trail: Meductic Portage
I spent the day with fellow Scout leader D.A. Neville and local canoe guru and Maliseet Trail expert Dino Kubik exploring a 7 kilometre long portage route which formed part of the Maliseet Trail. We started near where the ancient Fort Meductic would have been and hiked to the Eel River, at a point where O-ski-tchin would have taken a 9-year old John Gyles in August, 1689. According to Dino, the three of us are among a group of only 20 people who have completed this portage route (alive) in the past 150 years.
The route we followed is the actual portage route, not the one established by the N.B. government which falsely claims to be. Our route was the one described by Passomoquoddy Chief Neptune in 1820. It eluded historians until 2006, when the Maine legislature released secret industrial spy maps which were made in 1820, showing the actual route. The route was marked by 37 waypoints, eached marked with forestry flagging tape, placed there by Robert Doyle. Navigation was done using both GPS and compass. The route was very difficult in places as it was choked out by hawthorns and thick forest with some boggy areas. Other times the walking was remarkably easy.
After arriving at Eel River, we canoed a further 5 km to Green Point, where we camped for the night. We paid a short visit to Molly's Rock, and caught a few bass before turning in for the night. Great trip!
The route we followed is the actual portage route, not the one established by the N.B. government which falsely claims to be. Our route was the one described by Passomoquoddy Chief Neptune in 1820. It eluded historians until 2006, when the Maine legislature released secret industrial spy maps which were made in 1820, showing the actual route. The route was marked by 37 waypoints, eached marked with forestry flagging tape, placed there by Robert Doyle. Navigation was done using both GPS and compass. The route was very difficult in places as it was choked out by hawthorns and thick forest with some boggy areas. Other times the walking was remarkably easy.
After arriving at Eel River, we canoed a further 5 km to Green Point, where we camped for the night. We paid a short visit to Molly's Rock, and caught a few bass before turning in for the night. Great trip!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Snow Trench
This weekend was the Scouts' winter camp at Yoho Lake. Expecting temperatures around -15 C at night, we spent the day Saturday building various types of shelters. One Scout slept in a tent, one in a hammock, and the rest slept in lean-tos. I decided to build a snow trench. This is a shelter that is very similar to a quinsee, but requires a lot less energy to build and allows you to stay a lot drier.
The first step was to make a waist-high mound of snow, let it sit for a few hours, and eventually dig out the middle to leave three walls. Since I had my winter sleeping kit with me and wanted a more spacious shelter, I just decided to build the walls without bothering to hollow out a mound of snow.
The second step, after allowing the walls to harden for a few hours, was to lay a cris-crossed pattern of sticks across the top for the roof supports...
...eventually ending up with something like this:
The third, and arguably most important step, is to gather a lot of spruce and fir boughs to lay on the floor of the shelter for insulation from the ground. This is a time-consuming step, but it pays off when you lay down on a thick mattress at the end of the day. And it smells good, too.
Finally, a tarp is placed on the roof supports and snow is piled on to a depth of at least 6 inches, and more if possible. This gives the shelter even more insulation. I used my sled as my door, but a large backpack could do the job as well. I found one of the main advantages of this shelter was that I could attach things to the roof from the inside, keeping them off the floor and out of the way. It was very warm inside at night, too. My long-burning candle gave off some heat and light. I had to step outside at one point and estimate the temperature difference to be at least 10 deg. C! Next time I will have to bring a couple of thermometers.
The first step was to make a waist-high mound of snow, let it sit for a few hours, and eventually dig out the middle to leave three walls. Since I had my winter sleeping kit with me and wanted a more spacious shelter, I just decided to build the walls without bothering to hollow out a mound of snow.
The second step, after allowing the walls to harden for a few hours, was to lay a cris-crossed pattern of sticks across the top for the roof supports...
...eventually ending up with something like this:
The third, and arguably most important step, is to gather a lot of spruce and fir boughs to lay on the floor of the shelter for insulation from the ground. This is a time-consuming step, but it pays off when you lay down on a thick mattress at the end of the day. And it smells good, too.
Finally, a tarp is placed on the roof supports and snow is piled on to a depth of at least 6 inches, and more if possible. This gives the shelter even more insulation. I used my sled as my door, but a large backpack could do the job as well. I found one of the main advantages of this shelter was that I could attach things to the roof from the inside, keeping them off the floor and out of the way. It was very warm inside at night, too. My long-burning candle gave off some heat and light. I had to step outside at one point and estimate the temperature difference to be at least 10 deg. C! Next time I will have to bring a couple of thermometers.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Winter Debris Hut - first attempt
Yesterday afternoon I had a couple of hours free and had been wanting to build a winter debris hut after reading about them on www.survivaltopics.com. Also, this coming weekend is the annual Scouts winter camp, and I was thinking of building one of these, so I figured it would be good to get some practice beforehand. After a 5-minute drive to the UNB woodlot, I had my snowshoes on and set out into the woods. Two days previous, we got about 20 cm of snow so the snowshoeing conditions were excellent. The woods were quite dense but eventually I came across a bit of a clearing with some evergreens around, so it seemed like a good place to set up the shelter.
Since I forgot my shovel, I had to use a snowshoe to remove the snow from the shelter site. It took about an hour to do this and gather enough spruce and fir boughs for the floor. Even then, I could have used more. (I was quickly learning not to underestimate the amount of time this shelter would take.) After that, I made a support for my ridgepole and then cut down a ridgepole using a small spruce tree. Next, I cut about 12 "ribs" and leaned them against the ridgepole along both sides. (The photo shows the shelter at this stage.) Next, I draped my tarp over the structure and started shovelling snow on for insulation. I found the tarp sagged in between the ribs under the weight of the snow. Also, it would have been helpful to tie the tarp to the support structure to prevent it from caving in. In all, it was a good learning experience and hopefully it will go better next weekend.
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