Expedition Update: July 31, 2013

For the past week, I've been pretty much consumed by a number of household tasks - such as painting my deck - that needed to be finished before I head out on my family vacation on Friday.  So I have pretty much nothing to report on the front of preparing for the upcoming big hike.  I'm continuing to break in my boots, but everything else, including my training schedule, is being put on hold until I get back in a week and a half.  I should have some good footage from adventures in Whistler then.  Stay Tuned!

VLOG Fridays: North Pole Lakes

A little late, but here's Friday's vid:

Expedition Update: July 24, 2013

This week's expedition update is in video blog format, because it was late, and I was tired:

Enjoy!

Gear Guide: myfitnesspal.com

If you've been following my video blog, or know me in person, it should be fairly obvious that I have reached the age at which my body no longer maintains the fitness level of an Olympic Gymnast without effort while I consume endless quantities of cheeseburgers, onion rings, and milkshakes.  In fact, if you have known me for any length of time, you will have probably known this a lot longer than I have, since I spent close to half a decade in denial of this fact.  During that five year span, I continued to eat the cheeseburgers, onion rings, and milkshakes, which caused me to gain quite a bit of weight.  I also didn't do any serious exercise, which didn't help.

I tried several times to "lose weight" using methods varying from Weight Watchers to a basic guideline of "just eat less".  As is common in this situation, I had some short-term success, followed by long term failure.

I decided to look at the problem differently.  I didn't need to "lose weight".  I needed to "balance my calories" the same way I "balance my chequebook" (not that I have a chequebook.  I have a spreadsheet for my finances, but you get the idea.)  I would try not to overspend my calories, and if I did, I'd have to cut back to "get out of calorie debt", and lose the weight that is the result.  The other thing I learned in my researches is that bodies don't like to lose weight, so the trick is, like any good manager, to spend all of your budget, but not go over.  For my own body, there's only about a 10% window of calorie intake where I lose weight.  Too much, and I gain.  Too little, and my body goes into "starvation mode" and hangs onto its fat for the lean days it thinks are ahead, and I stay the same.

So, with this new mindset, I started using a free online tool called MyFitnessPal.

MyFitnessPal is a free online tool that allows you to quickly and easily record your food intake.  The interface is clean, and the database is excellent.  When you eat something, a quick search will find the food, and a click will fill on all the calories, fat, and other food information.  Should a food not be in the search, something that has only happened once or twice in the several years I've now been using the product, you or any other user can update the database, for the benefit of everyone.

The system also has a large database of cardiovascular exercise.  If you do exercise, you earn more calories, which I often spend on cheeseburgers.  Other features include social networking (which I don't use much).

The product also has a number of apps (iPhone, iPad, Android), and integrations with wearable smart-devices including the FitBit (space-age super pedometer).

Whether you are trying to lose wait or manage calories, I recommend MyFitnessPal as a tool to keep track of your caloric activities.

Bonus Vlog! Fixing the scooter's kickstarter

This vid's a little rough, as I am experimenting with different styles of video blogging.  This one is a "roving camera" approach with some "on location" shooting.  Sorry for the framing.  Here I am unsticking the kickstarter on my Honda Ruckus Scooter.

For reference, here are some pics and diagrams of the mechanism I was working on:

Enjoy!

In the video, I mention the VlogBrothers and Ze Frank.  You can find their videos here:
Vlogbrothers
Crashcourse by the Vlogbrothers
Ze Frank

VLOG Fridays: What is adventure?

This week's video blog entry:  the lure -and definition- of adventure:

Expedition Update July 17, 2013

Expedition Prep

As the expedition prep enters its last weeks, most of the prep work is completed.  A few minor purchases of equipment remain, as does the purchasing of the consumables (food and fuel).  The focus this week was getting into the training routine for the final push to the finish.  It is my goal to focus on stamina, swimming and/or climbing a minimum of 4 hours a week, with some hiking to hit any muscle groups missed by the other training.  I'm not pushing super hard (earlier this year I was training 7-8 hours a week) because 1- I want to avoid injury, and 2- it's summer, and my weekends are filled with family fun and outings.

Gear Purchases

I did get to MEC on the weekend, but made no purchases there, as my budget for the week was used up on the purchase of new boots.  My new boots are pretty much identical to the old boots (except the new ones are black).  Normally, I would avoid a pair of $29.99 Walmart hiking boots, but their predecessors proved their worth, and I don't feel the need to change things up.  The new boots aren't greeting my feet like old friends like my old ones do, but I'm wearing them constantly to get them worn in in time.  I haven't thrown out the old boots, so if for some reason I can't wear in the new ones in time, I'll take the old ones.

The new ones are black, but otherwise exactly like these

Training Schedule

Sticking to the swimming and climbing. Here are some pics from last week's climb:

• Tuesday: Swimming (Masters Swim club, 1 hour)
• Tuesday:  Climbing (2 hours)
• Thursday: Swimming (Masters Swim club, 1 hour)

Gear Guide - What to pack on an overnight hike (of any length)

By request!  A multimedia guide to the contents of your pack for overnight hikes.




Note this is for summer hiking.  Winter is a different ballgame.  Also, this is for west-coast hikes.  Different climates and environments have different needs.  For example, I don't need bug spray, but I would in Ontario.

Vlog Fridays: Why would I ever leave the basement?

Friday's installation is in the form of a vlog.  Enjoy.

Expedition Update - July 10, 2013

Expedition Prep

This week I mainly cleaned and maintained my gear following the Bear beach hike July 1st.  Gear was unpacked, cleaned, and put away for the next hike.  I did put my tent up on Saturday.  Primarily this was because it was extremely hot, and sleeping outside was preferable to my bedroom, which at midnight was sitting at 27 degrees C (81 F).  I took the opportunity to snap a few pics for the Gear Guide, and also to patch the fly with a silicone "paint".  The worn spot on the fly was small, but it was also at the top of the fly, and I was concerned I would be dripped on in heavy rain.  Problem solved now.

Gear Purchases

I had planned to go to Mountain Equipment Co-op on the weekend, but ended up staying home (it was very, very hot, as I mentioned), so I have not yet had a chance to pick up a few odds and ends:

• Socks:  I lack a really good pair of hiking socks.  A couple of pairs are a must-buy before the big expedition.
• Hat:  I had a touch of sunstroke at Bear beach.  I want to invest in a light, sun-shade type of hat.  Personally, I think that this design
  
  offers the best combination of sun protection, cool fabric, and "stuff into pack when not needed"-ability. Off the trail, however, it is of limited use, so I'm also considering something along these lines:
  
  For pure nerd-awesome, I'm also considering this 
  
   or this,
  
  
  but I'd have to order them in, and as cool as they are, I don't know how much actual sun protection they offer.
• Sleep Mat:  The sleep mat I have is awesome.  But it is also very heavy (5+ lbs).  I am investigating alternatives.

Boots - Fix or Replace?

I was dismayed to discover that I have nearly worn smooth the tread on my hiking boots.  I have worn these boots in for several years, and the leather is in good shape.  However, the rubber is worn nearly smooth.  I can try to deepen the tread with a dremel tool, since the rubber is thick in the sole.  If that doesn't work, though, I need to get new boots quickly and start wearing them in.

Training Schedule

Getting back to my normal routine this week, or close to it.  Monday climbing hasn't been consistent since the start of summer, so I may need to do something else on Mondays, but the rest is fairly consistent:

• Monday:  Climbing (2 hours) Cancelled this week
• Tuesday:  Swimming (Masters Swim club, 1 hour)
• Wednesday: Climbing (2 hours)
• Thursdays: Swimming (Masters Swim club, 1 hour)

It's my Anniversary on Friday, so no training that day (although a nice dinner is planned).  Saturday, I'm going to see the new Pacific Rim movie, and Sunday I'm attending the Rock the Shores concert.  So I don't expect much serious training over the weekend.

Gear Guide: MSR Hubba Tent

Backpacking on the west coast calls for a fairly specialized tent.  It has to be light -everything in backpacking has to be light, but also fairly sturdy.  Waterproofing is a must: the weather on the west coast is more often about fog, rain, drizzle and other damp words than it is about blue skies and sunny days.  Rounding out the equation is comfort.  This tent is going to be your sole consistent source of shelter while you are on a backpacking expedition, so it should be a place that you won't go crazy spending many waking hours in, in addition to the sleeping.

For this year, George and I have both chosen the MSR Hubba tent.  Actually George chose it first, and I liked it so much I bought one for myself to replace my aging and heavy 3-man dome.  (George and I both like our privacy, so we went with two single tents rather than a double, even though the double would have been lighter overall).

The Hubba is a fairly lightweight tent.  Weighing in at 1.36 kg (3 lbs), carrying a Hubba means that the tent is not the heaviest thing in your pack.  It comes in a sturdy, slightly oversized stuffsack, which I have not had difficulty getting the tent back into even when wet.  With MSR's single-pole system, the tent is very simple to put up and take down, as you can see here in an MSR video for the Hubba Hubba, which is basically a double-wide version of the Hubba:

While the tent is strong and well built, the fabrics, by the nature of their lightweight construction, do not stand up to abrasion well.  My fly was worn through by a few seconds of abrasion against bare, smooth rock when a gust of wind dragged the tent earlier this summer.  Some silicone patch goo fixed it right up, but it is something to be aware of.

The first thing you notice when you get into a Hubba tent is that it is very warm.  The screen and fly combination trap heat very effectively and I have not been cold once while using it.  A friend of mine actually took a hubba series tent winter camping (even though it is rated as a three season tent) and reported being quite comfortable.  However that same effect of trapping warm air has a side effect: condensation. I have yet to wake up to a fly that was not covered in condensation on the inside.  It hasn't affected my comfort at all, but it has meant putting the tent away wet most of the time. MSR's YouTube channel recommends opening the flaps on the fly for increased air flow, but I've found this to be of only limited help.  The flip side of this is that the Hubba is extremely waterproof.  With the fly on, I have trouble imagining the storm that could overcome the fly's waterproofing.

On the comfort side, the tent is actually quite roomy for a single-man tent.  The base is longer than my mattress, allowing some small storage at my feet or head, and it's slighly wider than the mattress as well.  The tent is designed to allow a person to sit comfortably, and my 5 foot 10 inch frame has plenty of clearance over its head when sitting up.  I have only turned around once in the tent without opening the screen and that did require yoga-like flexibility, but by opening up the screen and using the vestibule, it is much easier.  The inner tent is mainly screen, and that adds quite a bit to the impression of roominess.

At a $280 price-point, the Hubba is a bit expensive for anything other than a backpacker's tent.  You can definitely trade price for weight if you don't plan to carry the tent everywhere you go.  For a backpacker without a bunk-mate, however, I recommend the Hubba for the rugged rainforests of the North American west coast.

Adventure Report: Bear beach, on the Juan de Fuca Trail. June 30-July 1

My friend George Payer and I set out to hike to Bear beach, along the Juan de Fuca trail near Sooke, BC, and back as the second of three training hikes we've scheduled before our big hike along the West Coast Trail in September.  The purpose of this hike is not to train so much as it is to test our gear and discover what works, what doesn't and what we're still missing.

George and I set out from my house in Victoria at 9am, and by 10:30 we were on the trail.  The first section of the trail is well maintained although muddy, and the bridges were sturdy and well built:

Once we passed Mystic Beach, however, the trail became rougher.  Cliffs line the coast, preventing beach hiking, and various streams have carved the landscape into deep valleys.  The trail descends into these valleys in order to cross the streams, and then climbs back out before descending into the next one.  The bridges varied from well constructed bridges with railings, to bridges carved from fallen trees, to a couple of boards strung across the gap:

As we approached Bear beach we descended yet again into a steep valley, this one walled on the far side by a sandstone cliff.  We followed the stream to a waterfall just above the beach, then descended beside it by switchback onto the beach itself.

Just after we arrived at the beach, we crossed the waterfall again, this time stepping over the stream as it flowed into the sea.

We set up camp on the beach proper.  I wanted to test out a theory that I had.  I was betting that sand was extremely comfortable to have as a tent bed.  It turns out that it is.

Our evening's entertainment was primarily people-watching.  There were all told perhaps 20 people camping at Bear beach by 8pm.  A particularly high tide, however, made us the target of the people watching, as our beach-bed campsite turned out to be slightly perilous.

After 30 minutes, we erred on the side of caution, and moved George's tent to slightly higher ground.

Dinner was a freeze dried affair, with me having potatoes and gravy in a bag, and George having macaroni in a bag.  As a special treat, I brought along some Creme Brulee in a bag, which was a novel experience:

As it got dark, George and I headed to bed early.  As I dozed off, I had a magnificent view of a parade of cruise ships headed through the Georgia straight, headed for open ocean.

The next day, George and I packed up, had a simple breakfast and headed back to the car.  Fog had settled in overnight, and everything was wet, including the trail.  This made the trail a bit tricky in places:

Still we were back at the car by 11:30, and home by 1pm.  A great start to Canada Day.

Introductions and Confessions

Hello.  My name is James Wilson, and I am a nerd.

I fall into most of the nerd stereotypes:  I like Star Wars and Star Trek.  I am a Software Development Professional.  I play more video games than is likely healthy, and I have a parade of "collectible" action figures on my desk.

I am also an outdoors enthusiast.  I love backpacking, mountain biking, and rock climbing.  Most of the people I do these activities with are also nerds, and this has led to several interesting, if not hilarious, moments. After the umpteenth time hearing someone say "we should write this down" I'm going to write that down.

At the moment, my focus is an upcoming 75 km, 5-7 day hike along the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada.  Alternating between rocky beach and mountainous rainforest, the West Coast Trail is one of the most challenging hikes in Canada.  I will be tackling this hike in early September with my friend George.

So, sit back and enjoy anecdotes of adventure, tip and tricks, gear guides, and comparisons of reality and various mediums of fantasy (books, movies, video games, etc).