It has been an unacceptable amount of time since I last posted. But here I go.
I guess I should start chronologically, So with my job eating more time than first believed, I was forced to take some time off school. I then promised my self if I was going to work and not go to school, I had to find ways to get my self out of the house that were completely independent of anything to do with work. This is very much a luxury in the entertainment industry but in my opinion, a very necessary one. Too many technicians spend their whole life at work, and though I have a sickening amount of respect for anyone that has that much love for their art/discipline, not only is it physically not healthy, it doesn't do much for your sanity either.
My first step in this broadening of my social/adventuring horizons was to find a group of like minded people, and just my luck, I knew exactly where to look. The Halifax Outdoor Adventurers is a branch of the Meetup website, which I had previously found through a Google search. The Halifax Outdoor Adventurers is made up of a variety of people, The diversity in age, skill and backgrounds is only rivaled buy the vast pool of interests and influences, ranging from sea kayaking, and bird watching to trail running and backwoods camping. however this group is as welcoming as it is diverse, and having been on a couple hikes with these wonderful folks previously, I decided that their adventures and excursions would be a great way to escape and unwind.
I could go into great detail on the various trips I have gone on this last eight months but I think for the sake of time and progress, I will lightly touch on some of the highlights. Winter camping at Blomidon Provincial Park, which seemed less like a park and more like a post apocalyptic wasteland. A winter camping trip to Kejimkujik National Park, filled with Star Wars Monopoly, good food, and just the right amount of alcohol topped with a night spent on the Kedge beach beside a beautiful frozen lake. Late night star gazing at Cape Split, a rocking time at BoulderFest, and my personal favorite, a would be rescue mission turned impromptu camp fire/night time bacon and egg breakfast/marshmallow roast at Economy Falls trail head. Just so many things to talk about with really so little space or time to talk about them. For every trip it feels like I did ten plus day hikes, and for six weekends in a row I logged thirty kilometers or more a weekend.
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| Hiking the coast at Five Islands Nova Scotia (photo by Cody Hatt) |
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| Hiking at Sugar Moon Farms (photo by Cody Hatt) |
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| Winter Camping at Blomidon Provincial Park (photo by Justin Hutchins) |
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| More winter Camping at Blomidon (photo by Justin Hutchins) |
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| Winter Camping in
Kejimkujik National Park (photo by Cody Hatt) |
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| Walking on the Frozen Kejimkujik Lake (photo by Cody Hatt) |
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| Huge bonfire at a Cape Split (photo by Justin Hutchins) |
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| Camping just down the road from Economy Falls (photo by Justin Hutchins) |
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| 29.5 inch Striped bass Caught in Five Islands (my first keeper) (Photo taken by Shauna Hatt) |
As much as I love reflecting on the good old times it's time to to look forward to the good times to come, and I am happy to say my first multi day hike is quickly approaching. On Labor day weekend, members from the Halifax Outdoor Adventure group will be hiking Cape Chignecto Provincial Park's thirty kilometer trail. I am no stranger to spending multiple days in the bush, but this will be first time I'm hiking and camping over multiple days. during my survival training we were left in the bush for three days with nothing but a knife, a piece of string and our wits, but we weren't covering any ground, in a survival scenario your actually encouraged to hunker down and wait for help.
However this is not a survival situation and presents a learning curve for my self as I am not known for being an ultra-light backpacker, So my goal for this trip (besides not dyeing) is to use the blog to explore and expand on some ultra-light backpacking techniques and gear. Following this theme, I am going to wrap up this post by talking about my first piece of ultralight gear.
We picked this baby up at Atmosphere for just over a hundred bucks. for that money you get the pad, a stuff sack, a hand pump, and a patch kit. I must say I am thrilled with it, though I have yet to try it in winter conditions, Klymit's website ensures their "loft pocket technology" will perform in cold conditions (I'm skeptical) but for the summer camping I have done with this pad, it's unbeatable. Light and compact it is small enough to fit in the water bottle holder of a pack. This is key for me as it allows me to pack it inside of my pack, protecting it from brush and other debris that could cause damage. Besides compact and light, this pad features "Body Mapping Technology". this just means if you were to lay on a flat surface, only certain part of your body would touch the ground. Klymit exploits this by putting pad in those areas and leaving spaces in the rest. This is of course is why the pad is so light and compact, but to be very honest, I find it quite comfortable. It's almost like sleeping in a gentle hammock and it kind of hugs you when you lay in it. In my opinion it is comfortable, light, compact, what more could you want in a sleeping pad?
That said I leave you with this final image. Cheers!
