The Cabot Trail Relay ... NEVER say NEVER!

December 27, 2012.

I can't decide if I'm more excited or terrified about my next adventure. Either way, it has been decided - I'm doing the Cabot Trail Relay.

Now there's something I never thought I'd say - however, I've also learned to never say never. So, let me back this story up to the beginning - although I'm not exactly sure where to begin, but all the more reason to start another blog series. Right?

There are a few beginnings I could start with:
Beginning #1. About 10 years ago, I dated a guy who ran the Cabot Trail Relay every year.  It was a trip (more like an experience) he anticipated and talked about for months. Since he was a marathon runner (and I wasn't), it was something I never thought I'd EVER realistically be capable of doing.

Alternate beginning #1. About 10 years ago, I dated a marathon runner (yes, same guy) who encouraged me to try running. Much like the relationship, it didn't last long and I didn't enjoy it much. The furthest I have ever run in my whole life was about 7K, and that was 10 years ago.

Alternate beginning #2. About three years ago, I swore I would never be a runner again. A year later, I started running to train for the Warrior Dash. I actually liked it and continued running as an addition to my regular fitness routine.

Alternate beginning #3. This year I became a volunteer FAB coach to train young girls to run 5K. Through FAB I met two FAB coaches - Stacey and Pam. Pam is a member of the Cabot Trail Relay team called 'Chicks Running Clicks'. Stacey is joining the team this year and convinced me to join too.

My Cabot Trail running and training pal Stacey (left),
Me (the insane one), and our FAB bestie Alex (right).

I'd say each one of these experiences has led me to this point. And, let me add, I can't run 5K without stopping at least twice. Usually three times. It also takes me about 35 minutes.

The Cabot Trail Relay is a 276 kilometre, 24-hour relay around Cape Breton Island. There are 17 legs, the shortest leg is 12K. Did I mention there are steep hills? By May 25, I have to be able to run a 6-minute kilometre.  I have four and a half months to increase my distance and my speed.

Seriously, am I out of my mind?

As a FAB coach, we teach FAB girls how to set goals. Well, I'm about to put my money where my mouth is. My goal is to run at least 15K in 90 minutes by May 15. There it is, in writing.

I'll keep you posted on my progress. Wish me luck! And, never say never - cuz, hey, you jus' never know.

I miss the mountains already!

Sad day today … starting to head east again and the last little bit through the mountains. We finally saw big horned sheep – it was like they knew we really wanted to see them, so they were just standing there on the side of the mountain waiting for us.

We’re taking a different way back this time – the Yellowhead across through Edmonton and we landed in North Battleford, Sask for the night – about an hour from Saskatoon (Saskatcha-toon if you’ve seen Grown Ups.) It was our first night in 15 days that we didn’t sleep in a tent. Tomorrow is another day of driving to get us closer to Ontario and hopefully we’ll be able to do a few more days of camping before we’re back to reality.

Just an observation, but it’s kinda cool to see the names of NHL players posted on town signs who came from these remote towns. Those are dedicated parents who must have driven them hours a day to the closest arena – not to mention distant cities for games.  

 

Westfalia count = 20

What a view!

Today we made our way to Jasper and took the Tramway to almost the top of Mount Whistlers. This wasn’t like the little ski lift we took last year at Lake Louise to the top of a ski hill …. This was a gondola that took us up a mountain! What an incredible view of the mountains and lakes from up so high.

We then did another 1K hike further up the mountain – wish we’d known about it ahead of time so  we didn’t have to do it in flip flops (I seriously need a pedicure!)

We made a quick stop in Jasper to see the new totem pole that we saw being built and painted last year.

We paid a visit to Mount Robson P.P. again, lucky for us it was one of the few days when the clouds had cleared enough to see the whole mountain and we stayed at Mount Robson P.P. again – it was one of my favourite spots last year.

Westfalia count = 18

Our feet are sore.

We managed to get a site at Kicking Horse Campground today. YEAH! Although it was in the RV area, that's ok, it was much much better. They have way better mountains over here.

We spent two days wandering around Yoho doing the tourist thing. We did a 5K hike to Wapta Falls, saw Emerald Lake where the water is even greener than Lake Louise, checked out the Natural Bridge, The Spiral Tunnels, Takakkaw Falls, and did a Walk-in-the-Past hike to an old deserted locomotive.Our feet are so sore!

One of the coolest things we saw today was the merging of two rivers - Yoho River is milky white and Kicking Horse river is green.

Westfalia count = 15

Kootenay and Yoho

The morning began with a nice dip in the Lussier Hot Springs inside Whiteswan Lake P.P. It was freezing this morning – only 8 degrees – so Dave was the only one brave enough to put on his bathing suit and sit in it, I only went in up to my knees. What was cool about Lussier is it’s a natural hot spring in the wilderness as opposed to the developed pools at resorts.To get to this one, you have to walk a bit of a distance down a steep path to a fast moving river where there are three small pools built up by rocks. It was pretty jam packed at 8 a.m.

We made a quick stop in Invermere to buy a new huge home-away-from-home. Dave can actually stand up in this one.Left Turn Clyde and his gf seem to like it.

We drove through Kootenay National Park and made our way to Yoho National Park. We didn’t go this way last year so we saw a whole new bunch of mountains. We arrived on the Friday of the long weekend, so sites are scarce. We managed to get one that was basically in a parking lot with a picnic table off the highway. But who cares, we’re surrounded by beautiful mountains.

Westfalia count = 12

good morning mr. bear

Our conversation at 7 a.m. this morning:

Dave: Jennifer, there’s a bear in front of your car.

Me: there is? Where?

Dave: in front of your car

Me: oh, ok. What are you gonna to do?

Dave: I’m going to go sit in the car. You coming?

Me: uh, ya.

For something that you always think would be a terrifying experience was actually very non-eventful. We just stood outside the car and watched as our new friend went about his business wandering around eating berries and digging old tree stumps for bugs. He hardly even knew we were there.

We had delicious eggs bennie at the Prince of Wales hotel for one last view overlooking Waterton Lake and the mountains.

We stopped at Frank’s Slide where in 1903 the side of a mountain slid and killed more than 90 people in the small mining town below. The debris field is 2 miles wide, 1 mile long and 3 stories high.

We crossed the Alberta / B.C. border today at 2:27 p.m – so we spent 7 days in Alberta.

We randomly came across the world’s largest truck in Sparwood, B.C. I initially thought it was just meant to be a tourist attraction – but it’s actually a real truck used for mining.

We stayed at Whiteswan Lake Provincial Park, a 30 kms drive down a steep dirt logging road deep into the mountains on a beautiful crystal blue lake. It was the last night in our trusty tent, the zipper on the door broke so we had to sleep with it partly pinned. The bright side is we’re no longer in bear country so didn’t need to worry about bears curling up with us during the night, the not-so-bright side is it was very windy and chilly, so made for an uncomfortable sleep.

Westfalia = 10 (that’s 7 today!)

Today is my mom’s Birthday. Happy birthday mummzie!

Hellllo mountains. I've missed you.

Finally! The mountains! Hello mountains, I’ve missed you. We arrived at Waterton Lakes National Park, known for “where the plains meet the mountains” – also known for the Prince of Wales resort and its breathtaking view overlooking the crystal blue lake and mountains.

Our campsite was at Crandell Lake about a 10 minute drive into the mountains. We’re surrounded by a view of a different mountain peak in every direction.  

 We’re definitely in bear country. When we registered, we were warned about the recent cougar and bear sightings. Ok then. The next morning we woke up to the sound of what we think was a bear  growling at a dog, and saw 3 more bears during the day – one from the road climbing up into the mountains, and two more on the side of road so close I could reach out and pet it – of course, I didn’t. Driving along the parkways you never know what wildlife you’ll see that will cause you to stop. We came across a large pack of mountain goats just out strolling down the road – we had to sit and wait about 10 minutes for them to move.

We spent the day taking in all of the incredible scenery.  We went to Red Rock Canyon and took a short hike up to Blakiston falls and also went to Cameron Lake where it’s winter 2/3 of the year. Every trail had warnings of black bears and grizzlies, so we avoided taking any remote hikes (our moms will be happy to know that.)

Westfalia count now = 3

Luke Skywalker's planet

We arrived at Writing-on-Stone P.P. to another incredible landscape. We’re almost at the Montana border. It’s very dry and hot.

My favourite part of this park was walking through the hoodoos. It’s incredible to think that 85 million years ago it was the bottom of a sea, and now we can walk around within it. It’s so very cool. It looks like a little village of sandstone buildings. I thought it looked like where the Ewoks would have lived, but Dave corrected me – it’s more like tattoo-een, Luke Skywalkers home planet. Guess I got schooled. Anyway, I was fascinated by the hoodoos and think it’s pretty neat this is right here in our own backyard.

We also took a tour led by Stella, a Blackfoot Native Indian.  We were taken to the writing on stone area where she told us about the stories and meanings behind the images the Indians sketched on the sandstone hundreds of years ago.

Our tent is starting to fall apart. Two tent poles have broken, but McGyver fixed them with electrical tape. Fingers crossed.

cool coulees

We took a little side trip today to see the Red Rock Coulees. I can’t believe how vast and barren the plains in southern Alberta are.  We drive and drive for hours and hours and see nothing but rolling hills, farm land, bales of hay and the odd farm house off in the distance. I don’t think the folks out here drive through Tim Horton’s very often.

The red rock coulees are in the middle of nowhere and look like giant red boulders that have just randomly fallen from the sky. They just don’t make any sense,

We also had to make another quick little trip to Bow Lake to see the large Pinto Bean. Definitely worth the trip, I highly recommend it (not really).  But hey, we got a complimentary bag of brown beans at the info centre.

awe, pretty.

Day seven, eight and nine – July 27, 28 & 29

Now this is a campsite! …. surrounded by Lodgepole pines. Awe, pretty. 

We arrived at Cypress Hills Interprovincial P.P. on the Alberta side on Thursday afternoon and are booked here until Sunday. 

When we asked at registration what wildlife we should be cautious of she said just the mosquitoes. she wasn't kidding.

btw, my boy Dave has got some mad Q'ing skills

Westfalia count now =  2.

and we're driving .....

Day five and six – July 25 & 26

Last few days have been pretty uneventful. Our focus has been basically drive, get groceries, set up tent, sleep, and drive some more. Left turn Clyde has been doing a good job at driving, but I had to take over a few times. The view, well, it's Manitoba and Saskatchewan ... what more can I say.

We crossed the Saskatchewan border on Wednesday at 2:15 p.m., so it took less than 5 hours to cross the province. We stayed at Echo valley P.P in Sask. and it poured rain from about 5 minutes after we got the tent set up until the next morning.

We then crossed the Alberta border at either 1:20, 2:20 or 3:20 depending on which device we go by – we’ve kinda lost track of the time zones – the computer says it’s 3:26, the car and my blackberry says 2:26 and Dave’s cell says 1:26. … either way, it took a day to cross the province.

We haven’t seen any wildlife, unless you count the skunk in Lake Superior P.P. and the mysterious animal that managed to lift the lid on the Coleman stove during the night in Echo Valley.

 The nice registration woman in Echo Valley P.P. was curious about where we were headed. When we told her we didn’t really have a specific destination in mind, she recommended we wander over to Writing-on-Wall P.P. – it’s one of her most favourite spots in the world. We're intrigued, so we booked there for Sunday and Monday. 

Spectacular Superior

Day three - July 23

I’ll never get tired of the scenic drive along Lake Superior, the Canadian Shield and spectacular views around every turn.  After all of the driving we did today, it’s incredible to think we’re still in Ontario. The only stop we made was to see the Big Goose in Wawa. We camped at Sleeping Giant again this year, this time our site was on the water and I’m happy to report, no deer ran through our site in the middle of the night, although Dave did have a close encounter with a skunk.

This trip, we decided to count Westfalia’s … so far, we’ve seen one – but just wait until we get to Alberta and BC!

Day four – July 24

The stretch from Thunder Bay to Dryden is pretty much just all trees, but I love the smell of the pine trees. The stretch of the Canadian Shield through Kenora is beautiful – it actually made me think I wanted to live there, but then I thought about how brutal the winters probably are.  

We crossed the border into Manitoba on Tuesday at 4:28 p.m. Central time, so it took us two and a half days to get out of Ontario. We stayed at Falcon Lake Provincial Park again - it’s where the photo on my Facebook timeline was taken and was one of the best (and many) memories from last year’s trip – there’s just something about sitting on the rock overlooking the lake just fills my soul.

Day two – July 22

Last year, when I mentioned that one of our goals was to take pictures of large roadside attractions, almost everyone asked if we saw the Big Nickel. And we didn’t. So, this year, our first stop was in Sudbury, and as you can see, we finally saw it.

I’m not sure how new the animal crossing bridge on HWY #69 is that we noticed just before Sudbury, but there are lots of them in the Banff and Jasper National Park, so we thought it was pretty cool to see one in Ontario. I hope it’s the beginning of more to come.

One big highlight for me today was spotting “Troy’s Run” on the TransCanada Hwy about an hour before Sault Ste. Marie (or Salt Stain Mary, depending on how you want to pronounce it.) If you’re not familiar with Troy, he started running across Canada in April to raise funds and awareness for acquired brain injury.  He suffered an ABI from a car accident a few years ago and found therapy in running, so he decided to run a marathon a day (that’s 42 kms!) for the cause. Today was day 100 for Troy.  I’ve been following his blog on Facebook since he started, so it was pretty cool to actually meet him – super nice guy – and so inspiring!

Today’s destination was Lake Superior Provincial Park.  Definitely another highlight for today is our campsite right on the lake … you can’t get view like this from any hotel room. I’m writing my blog tonight listening to the waves, watching the sunset over the lake, sitting next to the campfire with my guy. Life, it’s pretty damn sweet. 

Here we go again ....

Day one – July 21 

And so it has begun. Three weeks of road tripping and camping bliss.

I guess the first two nights don’t count since we made a quick stop to do this little thing called the Warrior Dash. Maybe you’ve heard about it – it’s a crazy run up a steep ski hill with a bunch of obstacles, like jumping over fire and crawling through a mud pit – and yes, I did this for fun.  What a blast! It was really tough, but a ton of fun.

I ran it with my friend Lesley and spent the weekend with a bunch of great friends – Ernie and Liesa, Bryan, and fellow boot-camper Jen. We ended the day all together enjoying a home made pasta dinner (thanks Les!) and then Dave taught me how to play horseshoes … how have I made it this far in life without ever playing horseshoes?

Tomorrow, the road trip officially begins. 

Great Canadian Road Trip ... part II

Great Canadian Road Trip … Part II

Last year, Dave and I spent two weeks driving from Hamilton to Vancouver. We camped in a Provincial Park every night except for three, and covered 9600 kms.  Highlights included six big roadside attractions, five black bears, one grizzly, the bad ass bad lands, incredible rocky mountains, breath taking Lake Superior, wildlife visits to our campsite from deer, wild turkeys and a wolf, and everything else beautiful in between.

We loved it so much we’re doing it again this year, this time for three weeks. We leave on July 19. Stay tuned, daily blogs will follow.   And yes, Left Turn Clyde is coming again and his new girlfriend is joining him.

Trail running. I took a header.

I took a header, but that’s ok.

I ‘officially’ tried trail running for the first time this morning.

Just over a year ago, when I started running again, my running trainer Bryan took an impromptu detour from the path and took us on a short jaunt through the trails for about half a kilometre. I remember I enjoyed the change of terrain at the time, but running was still new to me and I didn’t realize trail running was an actual ‘thing’.

I never thought about it again until just last week when I mentioned to my running pal Stacey, that there were some nice trails just off of the route we had just run. Turns out she had previously done a fair bit of trail running and had completed a few (more like five) trail races.

So, we immediately made a plan that our next run would be in the trails. And that was today. And I loved it - despite how very beat up and sore my legs feel right now, and despite that I took a header.

This ‘trail’, I should mention, is actually part of The Bruce Trail, the oldest and longest continuous footpath in Canada. It runs for 885 kms along the Niagara Escarpment – seriously, how cool is that? And how lucky am I to have this right outside my doorstep? Not to mention the beautiful waterfalls along the way.

Today we ran about 4.5 of the 885 kms – so maybe our goal should be to do the other 880.5 kms? Or maybe I’m just a bit over ambitious at the moment.

What I loved about trail running is, it was a new challenge and much different from straight path or road running.  Not that the other locations where I run are all that bad – it’s also very scenic along the Waterfront Trail and Rail Trail. This trail was pretty tough with lots of short steep hills, rocks and tree roots (did I mention I took a header?), but I like that it keeps your mind busy and preoccupied from the monotony of running straight and flat.

I’m not going to let the fact that I tripped over a tree root, flying ass over tea kettle and landing flat out on my back, discourage me from this new adventure. I think I’ve stumbled (literally?) onto a new passion. The rugged terrain will likely help as I prepare for the Warrior Dash in a couple of weeks (yikes!), and I’m definitely going to look for some trails to try as Dave and I venture to Western Canada for three weeks – I’m pretty sure I’ll find some picturesque trails out there too!  

DMB season has arrived!

Well it worked. And my persistence paid off. Everyday for the past couple of weeks, I've been wearing every Dave Matthews Band t-shirt I own at every non-work opportunity I could (and let's just say I have enough to last a few weeks)in the hopes that a tour announcement would come soon. After the band took last year off from touring, my life has been left with a huge gap. But the day I'd been holding my breath for finally came! The summer tour has been announced and DMB season is here. For some people, it's the anticipation of hockey season, for others it's Christmas. For me, it's all about Dave.

Once the dates and cities are announced, the flurry of Facebook posts begin immediately and friends from across the country (Canada and the US) inquire about who's going to which show so we can figure out where we'll get a chance to meet up. We start speaking in DMB lingo - N1, N2, SPAC, Wildhorse, general pit or reserves? Then comes campground reservations, pricing flights, and making our ticket requests on the Warehouse. It's all so very exciting. The first show for me this year will be in Toronto on June 2 and will be the fortieth time (yes, you read that correctly, that's 40, 4-0h) I've seen DMB. So far, I've seen them in 8 different cities, mostly across the US, and have been to the Gorge 7 times (which is just a quick two hour drive from Seattle, which is just a quick 8 hour flight from Buffalo, which is just a quick 2 hour drive from Hamilton.)... pictured here, set against the Columbia River in Washington state.

I've seen them in Toronto, Buffalo, New Jersey, Saratoga Springs, Pittsburgh, West Palm Beach, and Charlottesville. I've seen the Warehouse and been to Miller's, where myself and my DMB roadie buddy Lesley managed to get ourselves filmed in a DMB documentary. We've met a ton of interesting people on our travels from all across Canada and the US and developed some great friendships. But no, I've never met Dave, or Boyd, Stephan, Carter, Tim or LeRoy (RIP), and no, Dave doesn't recognize me in the crowd at the shows or know I've been to that many shows - not that it would be a surprise, there are tons of fans who have seen DMB in the double digits, even into the triple digits. I've got some great stories to tell and have started writing a book (or at least a blog) about my DMB road trips, so stay tuned.

embracing Hamilton among other things ....

It's been about 7 months since we returned from our Canadian road trip, and since I've written anything on my blog. I'd previously, randomly written on my other blog The Space Between, which is mostly about music and bands I'd seen, and I started I'm Dig'n This so that our friends and family could follow along on our cross country journey. Without a DMB tour last year and our road trip done, I didn't think I had much to write about.

But recently, I've joined the Twitter'verse and have been inspired by the many blogs I've been reading. Especially a few about how much people love Hamilton and all of the neat stuff going on in this city. So, I got to thinking .... I too dig this city and as one of my friends recently informed me, I 'know all the cool places to go." Well, I don't know if that's entirely true, but I am, with my equally curious boyfriend, a bit of an explorer.

So, after that long intro, my point is that, I've been inspired to post more regularly about the things I (and Dave) dig.

I didn't always love Hamlton. It's true. I grew up in a small town an hour away and while I was in a hurry to leave at a young age, I swore I'd never live in Hamilton. But I was young, and Hamilton was still a cold, hard, un-cool steel town. Eventually, I decided to embrace the big city and settled on the Locke St. neighbourhood because the wide streets, big mature trees and old homes reminded me of the cozy, friendly town I grew up in.

I bought a great old home that has been completely renovated, from windows to wiring - however, it has its issues that will likely be the topic of future posts. It's full of vintage and collectible pieces that Dave and I (mostly Dave) have found - like an groovy orange lamp from TripleM. Dave always has a project or ten on the go, like a super cool headboard he made from an old storm window and ceiling tin.

The other thing that struck me to write something today was all of the tweets I've read about Family Day ... things to do, places to go, questions about what people are doing, and it got me thinking about how it's so (obviously) focused around spending time with kids. But, what if you're like Dave and I, and don't have any kids? Then what is Family Day all about? Sure, we have family - parents, brothers, sisters, in-laws, nieces and nephews whom we see often and will be doing their own family thing - what I'm saying is what does a couple without kids do on a day dedicated to 'families'? My gym All Canadian Fitness is offering a free Family Day kettlebell class with a donation to a women's shelter, which is a great idea, and a good example of how there are opportunities to think differently about the much needed, mid-winter break. Dave and I are going to go check out the Hot Chocolate Festival in Dundas, and indulge in a gourmet grilled cheese from Gorilla Cheese .... two, very cool Hamilton originals. enjoy your day.