The last three days marked the end of the winter portion of outdoor skills. After finishing skiing last week we were left with the final task of winter expedition. Winter Ex requires students to hike, camp, and live outside for three days in the winter. If your anything like me this sounds like a daunting task. Don't get me wrong I enjoy being outside in the winter, but not for three days straight. On an ideal winter day I enjoy taking a few warm up breaks and at the end of the day going home to my warm bed. The preparation involved in living outside in the winter is simply something I would not do on my own time.
That being said winter ex is a mandatory portion of the winter semester and I had to suck up my distaste for it and make the best of it. So i packed my bags up and at 7:00 Monday morning set out by bus to wilderness tours' property. Upon arrival students broke off into their three groups, mine was led by Greg. The next task of the day was getting our cookware, whisper lite burners, and snow shoes. This is where myself and my partner Piers made our most regrettable mistake. After seeing how much snow had melted over the course of the weekend we made the decision to not bring snowshoes. We quickly found out that the snow in the woods was more then knee deep and the hiking portion of our trip quickly shaped out to be quite miserable. Every step we took we wasted energy by trying to propel ourselves forward and only sinking deeper in the snow. It was frustrating, slow, and incredibly tiring. Especially when the fifty pound pack on your back is pushing you deeper into the snow. The only good thing to come from forgetting snow shoes was how quickly I fell asleep each night.
The first day of the trip started at wilderness tours and brought us to a bay around 7 km up the Ottawa river. To get there we crossed many ponds, valley's, hills and even rivers. We arrived at camp around three and set up in a spot that situated directly within morning sunshine. I set up my sleeping system in a spot where the trees sheltered me from the wind. The set up I chose to use was a bivy bag over my sleeping bag. It wasn't supposed to be very cold, so I decided to just bring my bivy because it is compact and light weight. For dinner Piers and I made chili. After cleaning up I went for a warm up walk and went to bed shortly after night fall.
The second day was the hardest one by far. The entire day traversed hills through the dense forest which unfortunately had exceptionally deep snow. Occasionally I found myself sinking to my waist. When I tried to push out with my hand the combined force of the pressure I was exerting and my heavy bag would push my arms down also. It was really no fun. The last stretch before camp was by far the worst. Every single step I took sent me deeper then my knees in the snow. I was sweating as if it were a hot summer day. Luckily it was proceeded by camp and time to rest.
On this night we made side kicks for dinner, they turned out quite nicely and made plenty of food. After dinner I found myself in quite the predicament. My boots were completely water lodged and I was soaked. I had the chills and was quite tired. This combination was utterly miserable, and I was hating every second of it. To make it matters worse I began to rain making things even cooler and wetter. Luckily I had carried a tarp and set it up to cover myself while I slept the night. I went for a short hike before bed which warmed me up nicely. Once I was in my bivy I put on some dry clothes and was at last quite comfortable. I turned on some music and slept soundly until the next morning.
The third and final day was by far the most pleasant of the three. It began with about 4km of roads which were easy for myself and Piers to walk on. We modified our root so that we hit take out midway. This allowed us to drop our packs there and head into the bush alot lighter. This was amazing. For the first time in the trip I was able to enjoy the sights because I wasn't concentrating on my steps. I did sink in the snow but not nearly as deep and I had little trouble pushing myself out. This paired with the spectacular sight of the Ottawa river's rapids made for a great day.
After drinking in the view for a while we headed back to take out and had a brief reflection on the past three days. Looking back I can say that it wasn't all bad. I did have fun and saw many interesting things. On the first day we saw wolves running across the river. I slept well and also ate well. The real problem was that my boots were not waterproof (although they way they are) and that I did not have snow shoes. If I were to go on this trip again I would do a few things differently. Obviously I would take snowshoes but I would also bring more pairs of socks. Keeping warm dry feet is critical, which is also why I would bring more plastic bags, they can be be worn as boot liners. They can also be used to keep bags, clothing and food dry. The one other thing that I would do is I would de-layer more effectively. The second You feel perspiration you should take off layers in order to prevent yourself from getting the chills later.
This has been a great learning experience that has taught me many things which I will take with me into the future. These are things that I also passed on the friends in the second group. I would say they are pretty lucky.
No comments:
Post a Comment