August Adventures

Heading to Algonquin Park next week for a 4 day canoe outing.  Ultralight gear will not be featured, so no gear list to publish.  Also have a 5 day hiking trip booked for the last week of the month.  This will be ultralight, and I'll be posting a complete gear list and photos, and will follow the trip with a full report too!

Killarney Provincial Park - April 2010

As per my earlier trip announcement, it was my hope to finally complete the Lacloche Silhouette Trail in Killarney this spring.  As with my previous two attempts at this loop, the itinerary was dictated by my available time off from work.  In this case, essentially two weeks where I work five days followed by two days off, then two days off followed by five days at work. . . . this is both a benefit and serious limitation of working in retail.

Once again it was this time limit, combined with the distance to the park, that forced an alteration of the original plan.  After arriving at my in-laws' house (approximately 3.5 hours from where I live, and another 1.5 hours from the trailhead) late Thursday evening, it soon became apparent that getting everyone coordinated for the coming days was going to be a bigger challenge than anticipated.  It was well after midnight by the time my wife and I had sorted out the repackaging of our meals, making final decisions on shared gear, and debating at length just how much insulating clothing she would be comfortable with.  With an early start required the next morning, it was difficult to sleep, and I was still decompressing from a long difficult stretch of work.  In the morning we made the decision to scale back the scope of the trip, and simply spend three nights in the park, and enjoy the more scenic sections of trail versus trying to cover the entire loop.  While this was a bit disappointing, it felt a lot more appealing than a death march to get this trail 'done'.

Once at the park office, about 150 kilometers from home, we again altered our plan to do just two nights out, and then return to civilization on the third day.  This took a tremendous amount of pressure off, as I would have faced the hike out, followed by the 150km return trip to my in laws', then another 350km home to Kingston.  With an extra day 'off', there could be some actual down time between driving, hiking, and work.

Anyway, enough preamble, on to the hike!

Following a couple kilometers of flat terrain, primarily covered on an old logging road, the trail crossed a bridge and soon began some serious climbing. . . . well, serious for Ontario.

A second, much longer uphill section towards 'The Crack', a boulder filled chute which the trail climbs to reach the top of the ridge.  This marks the beginning of the quartzite rock formations for which the park is famous.

A look back down at the cairns used to mark the trail on open rock sections.

From atop 'The Crack'.  A view into the interior lakes of the the park.

Back down from where we had just come.  Georgian Bay is on the horizon looking SSW.

Looking WNW towards the northern ridge of the Lacloche Mountains.

Fearless adventure dog Panzer.

The campsite we arrived at very late the first night.  I can't recall its name, but it's well known.  It features

a small pond atop the ridge with campfire area next to it. 

Looking away from the lake the land falls away steeply and there is a spectacular view of the southern portion of the park and the northern edge of Georgian Bay.  Although not easy to pick out in this photo, the eastern most tip of Manitoulin Island can be seen from this campsite, as can the light from the lighthouse in the village of Killarney at night time.

At the end of two days, Panzer was one tired out doggy.  Also, positioned himself strategically in order to be first into the tent at bedtime.

Climbing back up onto the ridge from the north early on day three.

Back at 'The Crack' for lunch time.  We enjoyed what I consider to be perfect hiking and camping conditions throughout the weekend.  Daytime temperature was around 10 - 12 celsius, and night time dropped to just below freezing.  Being mid April, we were ahead of the insects and the hot humid weather that tends to dominate the traditional 'camping' season.

Looking SW to Georgian Bay and Manitoulin Island (far right, at horizon).

My hiking buddies enjoying one last photo op before moving downhill and heading for the car.

Trip Announcement

Preliminary planning is underway for a 4 day, 3 night hike of the the Lacloche Silhouette Trail in Killarney Provincial Park.  I have attempted this trip on two previous occasions, but have yet to successfully complete the 78(?)km loop.  In 2008 a group of us started this trip, and turned back after day 1 thinking we hadn't made sufficient progress to push forward into day two.  This trail is a loop with no 'bail out' options.  You must return to the trailhead to get out.  In retrospect, we had put close to a third of the trail behind us that day and should have pushed on.  My second attempt, also with a couple of friends, was derailed by a very unhappy stomach which had been bothering me for a couple of days prior to starting the hike.  I started the trip in the hope of feeling some improvement from being active and outdoors, but my stomach continued to be a problem.  I opted to backtrack after a couple hours of hiking.  My two friends Scott and Tova successfully completed the trail within the four days planned on.  This year's trip will be towards the end of April.  This seems a good time for avoiding the worst of the remaining snow and the arrival of biting insects.

Full details of route planning, meals and gear will follow soon!

Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Review

Hands down the most hyped piece of outdoor equipment of 2009, and likely the most hyped of the past 5 years, the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir gets a full review here.

I purchased the NeoAir Regular at the end of May 2009, almost immediately upon its release to market.  A considerable amount of hype had been preceding the mattress' release in print and online.  Discussion ranged from its purported unrivaled comfort and compact size when packed, to its noisiness and tendency to lose air during use, and of course its slightly stunning $150 price tag.  Of course some other inflatable mats carry a comparable price tag, such as the Exped DownMat line, but they also offer huge R ratings that make them feasible for year round use without supplemental closed cell foam mattresses.  The NeoAir offers a 2.5 R rating, making it suitable for mild weather only.  Hence why the price seems a little steep.

Advertised Specs (taken from the Therm-a-Rest website):

Weight: 14 oz / 410 g

Width:  20" / 51 cm

Length:  72" / 183 cm

Thickness:  2.5" / 6.3 cm

Stuff sack weight:  .5 oz / 14 g

Repair kit weight:  Not listed

My Measurements:

Weight (just the mattress): 13.6 oz / 385 g

Total weight (mat, stuff sack, repair kit):  14.8 oz / 420 g

Length:  70" / 178 cm

Width:  19" / 48 cm

Thickness:  2.75" / 7 cm

All of the measurements varied somewhat from the manufacturer's specs.  The optional stuff sack weighed in at 0.5 oz, and the 'Fast and Light' repair kit also measured 0.5 oz.  Pleasantly surprising was the actual weight of the mattress coming in below the advertised 14 ounces.  Sure, 0.4 of an ounce isn't very much, but it's not often that the real weight of an ultralight product is lower than advertised.  This almost fully offset the weight of the repair kit.

The dimensions were a little different from the official specs, but I think they must have measured the length and width while deflated.  The inflated specs place the length at 70", the width at 19", and thickness at somewhere around 2.75".  My assessment of the thickness was closer to 3", but I had difficulty deciding where to get my measurement from.  The configuration of the horizontal chambers created a series of high and low points, and I opted to take my measurement not from the absolute peak of each chamber.

Real Life Use:
My own experience with the NeoAir has been positive.  I have slept on it for four nights, one in early summer, two in late summer, and one in autumn.  I did not experience any of the loss of pressure/inflation which has been described by some.  Cascade Designs even mentions it in the instruction leaflet for the mattress.  Apparently changes in temperature or barometric pressure can cause a noticeable loss of inflation while the mattress is in use.  I did not encounter any deflation of note.  I was very comfortable, the most comfortable I've been on a backpacking mattress of any sort.  The NeoAir was much thicker than my Prolite 4, and gave a comfortable night's sleep particularly while sleeping on my side.  At times when I slept on my back I did notice that my arms hung off the sides of the mat, and ended up resting on the ground.  Perhaps the large size would have been the better option to give my arms somewhere to rest while sleeping on my back.  The only real negative I could describe is the 'bottoming-out' effect when sitting up to change clothing, or when shifting while sleeping.

My experience on the mat in autumn also highlighted its limited R value.  During a crisp night where the temperature dropped to about -5 celsius, I found my -9 celsius rated Marmot Helium did not keep me comfortable.  The same bag consistently delivers a comfortable night's sleep in -10 or colder when paired with my Prolite 4.  The NeoAir is really only recommended for mild weather, so I can hardly hold this against it.  It is something to be aware of, and is a good reminder of the importance of truly understanding what your equipment is capable of.

Overall, the NeoAir is a very impressive little package.  It's very compact, weighs in as advertised, and offers an unrivaled amount of comfort for its size and weight.  Personally, I feel the hefty price tag is fair value for this combination of benefits.

Upcoming Gear Reviews

A few of the items I'm currently working on reviewing:

Therm-a-rest Neo Air
Probably the most hyped piece of lightweight gear for 2009.

Tarptent Squall 2
Not new to the market, but new to my experience.

Atlas 1030 Snowshoes
Long-term report.

I'm hoping to have a video component for each item, watch for the reviews early in the new year.

Late Fall Overnighter

With such mild weather for November, Cait and I decided to do a quick overnight hike in Killarney Provincial Park, southwest of Sudbury, Ontario.  Along for the trip was our (nearly) fearless travelling buddy Panzer.

We arrived at the gate house around 1pm on Saturday, only to find the park office closed.  We filled out the self-serve registration envelope and hit the trail, knowing we had only a few hours of daylight.  The initial section of trail climbed steeply from the eastern edge of the George Lake campground, and emerged onto a granite ridge with great views.  The trail followed the ridge for some time, and eventually descended into nearby lowlands.  We encountered several very wet sections of trail once off of the ridge, but nothing that couldn't be avoided.

Having skipped lunch on our drive to the park, we stopped and Wagon Road Lake for a quick meal of pita and hummus, enjoying the warmth and sunshine.  After the break the trail crossed the lake via a substantial beaver dam, and then followed what appeared to have been a very old logging road for about 200 meters.  We again traveled through some very wet and muddy sections of trail, but soon emerged into a deciduous forest which had dropped all of its leaves.  The resulting carpet of bright yellow and orange leaves combined with the sunshine made for a refreshing change from the often enclosed mixed forest we left behind.  As the sun was quickly sinking, and the light failing, I was beginning to think this section of forest would make for a beautiful campsite if only we could find a water source.

However after another kilometer the forest abruptly changed to dark evergreens again.  We were very pleased to discover upon entering the evergreens that the next official campsite was at the their very edge, and overlooked a small shallow lake.  We immediately dropped our gear and began the quest to find decent firewood before the daylight failed completely.  We lucked out, as the open deciduous forest we had been walking through was just steps to the west of our campsite, with better light to see by, and lots of fallen deadwood for our fire.  After getting a healthy, comforting blaze going, we set up our MSR Hubba Hubba, unrolled all our bedding, and got Panzer some food.

We enjoyed a very relaxing evening under a clear sky next to a bright fire.  We both crashed before 10pm.  At one point in the night there was some rain, but it lasted only a few minutes and was very light.  The next morning we took our time packing up and making breakfast.  We hiked out at a quicker pace than the trip in, with the promise of a second breakfast at Perkins in Sudbury fueling our hike.