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beige_alertI'm back safe from my camping trip to Pike Lake.
The journey is around 54km, depending on the details of the route. Naturally, two parts of my usual route were closed, one that I knew about, one that I didn't. Maps are your friends. Also, two stops for tire repair, the rear bike tire, of course. I'm getting good at taking that wheel off. I've had way too many flats these last few months with my new tire, so I've just bought a new one that I hope is a bit more puncture-resistant. It's more expensive, anyway.
The trip there is the harder, with an elevation gain of some 130 meters and lots of steep hills at the very end when you are tired in the first place. The trip home was easy by comparison, more downhill and lots of tailwinds.
My campsite was near one end of the loop, a sunny one, and none of the sites visible from it were occupied, so it was quiet and private. Pike Lake has warmed up to a reasonably comfortable temperature for swimming. Mid week the park is pretty quiet compared to the weekends.
Monday night was clear, and I watched the stars become visible in the darkening sky. Darkening sky is pretty late this time of year. Sunset was about 20:30 and the sky was not yet black at 21:30. Lots of satellites visible, too. Lots of fireflies above, and fluttering birds or possibly bats zipped by occasionally. Lots of frog and insect sounds at night, and, during the day, lots of bird calls. In the distance, a train. The highway noise was fairly quiet.
I climbed the tower on Powder Hill on Tuesday night to see the view of the darkened countryside. Lots of lights here and there, lots of cars. An amazing number of blinking red lights or flashing white strobes on towers all around.
Strong winds Tuesday night, and a bit of rain. Strong winds and rain in the morning. The ride home was in strong gusty winds, which added to the adventure but also added to the speed.
Some observations: The Jet Boil stove, which has pots with fins on the bottom that fit closely onto the burner, is one of those gadgets that shows you just how bad the old way was. This thing is astonishingly fast and efficient. Much of the heat actually makes it to the water/food. Simple, yet vastly improved efficiency.
Mosquitoes? Yup. They are out.
You can never have too much instant hot chocolate mix. Instant oat meal should also be stocked in abundance.
My dive mask with the expensive prescription lenses is great even though pretty much the only thing I got to see was clear, in-focus suspended sediment.
The journey is around 54km, depending on the details of the route. Naturally, two parts of my usual route were closed, one that I knew about, one that I didn't. Maps are your friends. Also, two stops for tire repair, the rear bike tire, of course. I'm getting good at taking that wheel off. I've had way too many flats these last few months with my new tire, so I've just bought a new one that I hope is a bit more puncture-resistant. It's more expensive, anyway.
The trip there is the harder, with an elevation gain of some 130 meters and lots of steep hills at the very end when you are tired in the first place. The trip home was easy by comparison, more downhill and lots of tailwinds.
My campsite was near one end of the loop, a sunny one, and none of the sites visible from it were occupied, so it was quiet and private. Pike Lake has warmed up to a reasonably comfortable temperature for swimming. Mid week the park is pretty quiet compared to the weekends.
Monday night was clear, and I watched the stars become visible in the darkening sky. Darkening sky is pretty late this time of year. Sunset was about 20:30 and the sky was not yet black at 21:30. Lots of satellites visible, too. Lots of fireflies above, and fluttering birds or possibly bats zipped by occasionally. Lots of frog and insect sounds at night, and, during the day, lots of bird calls. In the distance, a train. The highway noise was fairly quiet.
I climbed the tower on Powder Hill on Tuesday night to see the view of the darkened countryside. Lots of lights here and there, lots of cars. An amazing number of blinking red lights or flashing white strobes on towers all around.
Strong winds Tuesday night, and a bit of rain. Strong winds and rain in the morning. The ride home was in strong gusty winds, which added to the adventure but also added to the speed.
Some observations: The Jet Boil stove, which has pots with fins on the bottom that fit closely onto the burner, is one of those gadgets that shows you just how bad the old way was. This thing is astonishingly fast and efficient. Much of the heat actually makes it to the water/food. Simple, yet vastly improved efficiency.
Mosquitoes? Yup. They are out.
You can never have too much instant hot chocolate mix. Instant oat meal should also be stocked in abundance.
My dive mask with the expensive prescription lenses is great even though pretty much the only thing I got to see was clear, in-focus suspended sediment.
