An opportunity to track down some Montreal-style bagels instead! If you are headed out through Toronto there should be some options.
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Happy National Escape Day! 🏃🏎️🪂
LOTN trip! Weeeeeee!
- Thread starter coldfeet
- Start date
Whoo Hooo! Thanks to Air Canada for getting me there and a HUGE shout out to Lure of the North, Kie, Dave Marrone, Nero and the team for getting me through the trip and back home. I've been waiting about 5 or more years after watching Hoop's videos's and Wintertrekking website.
All I can say without potty words is that " them are some bad arse, tough folks" on these trips.
Some folks had all their gear and Kie and Dave had rental gear if needed. I rented moccasins, Thingly rubber boots and Bear Paw snowshoes. If you were in need of a -20C sleeping bag they have it. Kie and Nero helped us out with constant encouragement and safety skills when cutting down trees, sawing them and spiltting them. We pulled our sleds over Moose Lake near Espanola Canada, base camped 2 nights, hauled again to a secluded lake, which was on the other side of the hill! I was joking around as usual until the portage up the hill. But our team of 10 took positions up the hill and with teamwork we did it! Of course when we got to the top I was starting to tap out for next years trip. It kicked by butt and I was mentally defeated more than physically. But the thumbs up and encouraging words from both Kie, Nero and Simon got me back into "I can do it!". Funny how I was thinking about next years trip instead of focusing on the present one. We base camped there, cut a hole in the ice, got our "liquid life" and helped out with the wood process. Dave G was fishing and the tents went up. How important it is not to quit because you need wood. and boiled water to continue. Constant work to survive. We went on a cool day hike, saw a few porcupine chew spots on the trees, plus bear claw marks on a tree. We had 2 snowtrekker tents and 2 stoves. I could type so many more things but all I kept saying was how "bad arse" these Canadians are and Bill from Maine. Non stop work to enjoy spending time outdoors in the winter. We got lucky with the weather, basically it didn't go lower than i think -12C at night. Also I heard about trips with the nasty slush, we luckily didn't have it. We portaged back down the hill, then proceeded back to Kie and Dave's place our last night so to enjoy the sauna, hot tub and possibly an "ice bath".
Food, each morning we had our fill of many goodies, GORP, chewies, lots of chocolate covered things, we had hot tea and hot soup along the trip. Topbags were attached on top of the tank to get to those daily items, remember to keep your metal cup in the top bag. We had great sandwiches along the way and dinner was always hot, yummy, high calories and plenty of seconds or thirds if you wanted. Breakfast was also yummy. I had my first moose/beaver meatball with spaghetti the first night, ummmm I gulped and didn't really chew.
What I learned,
Winter Car camping in the Adirondacks LOJ is not winter trekking.
If you think you exercised a lot, then double it!
You need a positive attitude and willing to work with a team.
Learn the skills needed in the woods and practice it BEFORE going winter trekking.
Bring BBQ sauce next time moose/beaver meatballs are served!
Give positive thumbs up to your fellow trekkers, even if they are "bad arse" just because it's a good feeling to acknowledge their hard work and not take them for granted, we are all human and have feelings.
I need to think before speaking which I never seem to do in life so I gotta chill and try to contain my excitement.
Bet 0 in skull king when in doubt. haha, card game that i just ordered on amazon.
Finally, my wife asked me how i felt, I was exhausted, she asked if I was going to try again next year......after thinking, I said I would like to go again with Lure Of the North! I loved being with a team, working and sweating with them, and it was sad to leave. But I made some contacts with others and hopefully we will join up again with our trailer campers in tow.
Big thanks to Glenn for having this winter forum on Canoetripping, did you know LOTN has canoe trips! hmmmmm...
I'll add some photos soon.
PS, NO COLD FEET the last 2 days using the mocks! But I did use the toe warmers when I first started wearing the Thingley's.
All I can say without potty words is that " them are some bad arse, tough folks" on these trips.
Some folks had all their gear and Kie and Dave had rental gear if needed. I rented moccasins, Thingly rubber boots and Bear Paw snowshoes. If you were in need of a -20C sleeping bag they have it. Kie and Nero helped us out with constant encouragement and safety skills when cutting down trees, sawing them and spiltting them. We pulled our sleds over Moose Lake near Espanola Canada, base camped 2 nights, hauled again to a secluded lake, which was on the other side of the hill! I was joking around as usual until the portage up the hill. But our team of 10 took positions up the hill and with teamwork we did it! Of course when we got to the top I was starting to tap out for next years trip. It kicked by butt and I was mentally defeated more than physically. But the thumbs up and encouraging words from both Kie, Nero and Simon got me back into "I can do it!". Funny how I was thinking about next years trip instead of focusing on the present one. We base camped there, cut a hole in the ice, got our "liquid life" and helped out with the wood process. Dave G was fishing and the tents went up. How important it is not to quit because you need wood. and boiled water to continue. Constant work to survive. We went on a cool day hike, saw a few porcupine chew spots on the trees, plus bear claw marks on a tree. We had 2 snowtrekker tents and 2 stoves. I could type so many more things but all I kept saying was how "bad arse" these Canadians are and Bill from Maine. Non stop work to enjoy spending time outdoors in the winter. We got lucky with the weather, basically it didn't go lower than i think -12C at night. Also I heard about trips with the nasty slush, we luckily didn't have it. We portaged back down the hill, then proceeded back to Kie and Dave's place our last night so to enjoy the sauna, hot tub and possibly an "ice bath".
Food, each morning we had our fill of many goodies, GORP, chewies, lots of chocolate covered things, we had hot tea and hot soup along the trip. Topbags were attached on top of the tank to get to those daily items, remember to keep your metal cup in the top bag. We had great sandwiches along the way and dinner was always hot, yummy, high calories and plenty of seconds or thirds if you wanted. Breakfast was also yummy. I had my first moose/beaver meatball with spaghetti the first night, ummmm I gulped and didn't really chew.
What I learned,
Winter Car camping in the Adirondacks LOJ is not winter trekking.
If you think you exercised a lot, then double it!
You need a positive attitude and willing to work with a team.
Learn the skills needed in the woods and practice it BEFORE going winter trekking.
Bring BBQ sauce next time moose/beaver meatballs are served!
Give positive thumbs up to your fellow trekkers, even if they are "bad arse" just because it's a good feeling to acknowledge their hard work and not take them for granted, we are all human and have feelings.
I need to think before speaking which I never seem to do in life so I gotta chill and try to contain my excitement.
Bet 0 in skull king when in doubt. haha, card game that i just ordered on amazon.
Finally, my wife asked me how i felt, I was exhausted, she asked if I was going to try again next year......after thinking, I said I would like to go again with Lure Of the North! I loved being with a team, working and sweating with them, and it was sad to leave. But I made some contacts with others and hopefully we will join up again with our trailer campers in tow.
Big thanks to Glenn for having this winter forum on Canoetripping, did you know LOTN has canoe trips! hmmmmm...
I'll add some photos soon.
PS, NO COLD FEET the last 2 days using the mocks! But I did use the toe warmers when I first started wearing the Thingley's.
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Wow, what a great trip. Thanks for taking us along. More later once I digest all this.
Jim
Jim
Coldfeet,
Great report and pics!! Sounds like an epic adventure, so glad you got to go and shared that with us. Hope you get to do it again … and if you canoe trip with them would love a trip report of that too!
Great report and pics!! Sounds like an epic adventure, so glad you got to go and shared that with us. Hope you get to do it again … and if you canoe trip with them would love a trip report of that too!
red nose day
Yea Kahel, I was surprised when I looked at a selfi picture after wearing goggles and saw how red I was. I actually put on sunscreen which they did put on the supply list. After seeing that I wondered what my toes looked like but was to scared to look. Funny as I type this my nose is cold in the house. Just another thing added to the list, but I was so happy that my TKR (second time) was working at 100%.
Maybe the red bags just feel faster! Check out Dermatone (or similar) sun screen in a stick like a giant lip balm. You can put it on while wearing mittens so its easy to apply more frequently.
Thanks for the sun screen tip.
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David - Thanks for the report and sharing of your photos. Sounds like an amazing adventure. So glad you were able to celebrate retirement in a different way.
That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.
snapper
That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.
snapper
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