Training Log Archive: 'Bent

I was cooked after running in the sauna weather, so Bash and I did a road trip towards Owen Sound to check out the Coffin Ridge cidery. I got a swim in at a beach in Leith too.

Pretty River with Tarno
GPS missed the last third.

Tarno’s back from fastpacking at altitude, and had to wait for me on the steep climbs.
Hot and humid- both drenched at the end

Collingwood with Tarno in the Slingshot while Bash SUP’ed.

Sunbeam to Canoe Lake.
Mostly short portages, but one small lake between short portages had disappeared so we had to slog around it and turned it into one longer portage.
Strong gusts on Joe Lake were pivoting Mick and J-Lu’s unevenly weighted boat around so the Grantisson boat put them on tow. Canoe lake was really blasting, so we hooked the boys up to our boat there and fought into the wind and waves.

The kids were rock stars, and Bash had them woo-hooing in the big waves.

We made it in just as a huge crack of thunder boomed, and loaded up the cars in dumping rain and more thunder. Turns out there were all sort of storm warnings over Ontario.

Great trip- challenging at times, relaxing at others. Great company in a pandemic-safe way.

Another camp day- reading, relaxing and swimming.
2 swims. Working on freestyle technique a bit- I found a pull buoy helps a lot.
Feeling a little more relaxed and efficient, but still lifting my head too high.





Sunbeam Sanctuary worth its weight in gold as the sun went down and the mosquitos lined up outside with knives and forks. The outer walls were covered in them. Ha-ha.

C • Money well spent 2

Bash, AD and I checked out a creek option that could save several portages, but we ran our of water and had to walk the boat, before deciding that portaging would be better.

Had a dental appointment with Aubrey. She lost 2 teeth on the trip.

McIntosh- Grassy Lake- Sunbeam Lake.
Lots of portages between 600m and 1500m, and creeks in between with lots of beaver dams to shove over in water barely deep enough to paddle.


Kinda nice to wade in on a hot day.



Adventuredog ate dozens of deerflies he snapped up in mid air.



Portages were a bit overgrown, and the final one to Sunbeam was a mess with fallen logs and bushwhack bits.
I got caught on a hip-height one with a full 55kg load, and my leg went into a full cramp trying to get out.
(On the run back for more packsI sawed that one.)

Sunbeam lake had some of its best sites destroyed by a tornado, so we settled for one with only 2 good tent sites. We got the Sunbeam Sanctuary rain-and-bug shelter up just in time to hide out a thunderstorm and the associated mosquitos.




We had a swim before dinner and it felt good despite the wind and rain. The SS made for a nice evening- much better than huddling in a tent.


J-Lu caught a small catfish- the first fish ever caught on one of these trips. Made his day!


We had a very dicey tent spot and a poor sleep.

Camp day- paddling, swimming, reading, cooking complicated meals- love it.


As always, Aquaman Mick swam over the horizon, or at least to the far end of a pretty large lake and back.

Here he is shivering and refueling after.