New Beginnings

I last posted to this blog March 15th 2011 and that makes it almost four years ago.  I find the length of that gap hard to believe.  There were many reasons, but mainly I seemed to just get too busy and let everyday life run me.  Since today is the first day of a brand new year I thought that it was a good excuse to restart my blog and my reflections on life past, present and future.

Another excuse is the fact that I purchased a new camera and have a great urge to get out and photograph the county around me and test the new features it provides. I bought a Kodak PixPro AZ521 with a 52X lens.

 Last, but not least, I have to consider that I could  be running out of time.In six months, give or take a day, I will reach my eightieth birthday. I hardly need more incentive to contribute something worthwhile to my blog.

To test the camera I headed for the north branch of the Two river a few miles away. The snow was only a few inches deep so it was not difficult to get about. It was a bright sunny day and right away I found I had a problem. The new camera does not have the usual view finder.  This camera is fitted with the new three inch LCD screen.  The bright sunlight made it very difficult for me to compose my pictures.  Keep in mind that I have owned a camera since I was fourteen years old and they all had a view finder. I have no choice but to adapt and learn how to use the new screen. I did a little research when I got home and discovered that I could increase the light intensity on the screen and bumped it up to the highest setting.  I will see if that makes a difference on my next outing.

The following photo shows the Two River a few miles northeast of Lancaster.  I have canoed it a couple of times in the past.  The land the river flows through is very flat farmland but the river has cut a decent channel through the terrain with the result it is very scenic from the seat of a canoe.

One of the main features of the camera that attracted me was the zoom lens.  To test it out I found the remains of an old log barn and took a couple of shots that show the log construction and the grain in the wood.  The photos were taken from some distance away and not with the close-up feature.  






I believe this barn was built very close to a hundred years ago and the roof has already been ripped off.  The balance of the building will soon be destroyed. you will notice that the corner construction of the walls was not built in the typical log fashion where the logs were cut and stacked to overlap the lower row and stick out six to ten inches.  In this example the ends of the logs were cut off even with the face of the wall.

The photo of the gray wood from the old window makes me think of the great number of rain storms and snow storms it has experienced.  How many times did the old farmer look out through this window to check the weather before beating his way through the snow drift to the safety of his home.

As I left the old abandoned farm site a Ring-necked Pheasant flew across the yard in front of me. As I fumbled with my camera settings a second one left the shelter of the woods a few seconds later.  They are the first ones I have seen locally in at least ten years when they were more plentiful. Our milder winters will increase the odds of their survival.  As I drove away I was disappointed that I missed the chance to test the camera on a flying peasant.

Note that at one time the cracks and holes in the wall were filled with mud or cement and little of it remains.

Bow River Valley - Canoe Recovery - Part 3

Read Part 1 & 2 first
Once I had a chance to review my situation, I realized that I could use the tree at the end of the gravel bar to get to shore, over the fast river current. The tree however was half in the water and the branches made it difficult to climb onto. I dug out my hatchet and cut a number of branches off, and as I did so, I saw the tree lift a little out of the water. At that point I chopped off a large upper section of the tree and the removal of that weight allowed the tree to spring upwards, so that it no longer lay in the river.

Earlier I had tipped the canoe over and removed all of the water. I could now lift the canoe across the gravel bar and onto the side closest to the river bank. I carried extra rope, so I attached a long piece to the nose of the canoe. I carried one end of the rope as I crawled across the tree and onto the shore.
At that point I was able to walk upstream and pull the canoe across, without it hitting the last tree.

I decided that if I could find the paddles I could continue my trip, so I started walking downs stream, checking the banks. As I walked around the next curve I found a paddle jammed into some brush along the shore and was able to reach it. I continued further, looking for the second paddle, when I came to a shocking sight.

Blocking the entire river was a huge log jam built up with at least fifty big logs. The jumbled pile was eight to ten feet higher than the water, with some logs sticking up even higher. The entire river rushed under the logs and came out on the other side as a mass of foam. I stood there transfixed by the sight.

It did not take me long to realize that if I had not swamped my canoe, I would have had no chance to survive the encounter with the log jam. I would have been sucked under the logs and pinned there and drowned.

I suddenly felt much better about the dunking I had experienced.

As I walked back to the canoe, I decided that the river could hold similar surprises down stream and it was a good time as any to call it quits. Once back at the canoe, my change of plans meant that I had to move the canoe and equipment from the river, nearer to the side of the mountain.

I explored the area and found another creek. I had to drag the canoe some distance but was soon back in calm waters and moved closer to the mountain. I did not hesitate to leave the canoe and equipment, as I had not yet seen anyone since I passed the trout fisherman, some twenty five miles earlier.

The climb up the steep side of the mountain was difficult, but I managed without the need of any climbing equipment. After about an hour, I reached the Trans-Canada Highway and got a ride with a local trucker into Banff. The driver made it very clear he thought I was crazy to have run the river in a canoe and thought I was very lucky to get out with just a dunking.


After a warm shower and a good night’s rest, I was back the next day to recovery my canoe and equipment.
I had my dried out camera so I took photos of the river where the mishap occurred, and during the recovery of the canoe and equipment.
　

The steepness of the terrain made it impossible to carry the canoe, so I hauled it up the steep incline by using a long rope. I tied the rope to the nose of the canoe and then carried the rope up and around a stout tree, some distance uphill.

 I then went back to the canoe and with the rope end in one hand and the other hand on the canoe, I moved it up hill. The rope prevented the canoe from sliding back down the hill, until I reached the tree. I had to repeat this many times but eventually moved the canoe up the side of the mountain and to the highway and car.

Once the equipment was in the trunk and the canoe was on the car-top carriers, I was on my way down the highway, back to civilization.

Bow River Valley - Swamped by a Sweeper - Part 2 of 3

Read Part 1 first.
I got off to an early start the next morning. After a hearty breakfast, I soon had the tent down and all the gear packed and ready to go. Once on the water, the miles of mountain scenery began to slide by endlessly.

As the hours passed, the river got narrower and deeper, and began to wander back and forth from side to side in the valley. The bends and curves got sharper, so it was impossible to see what was around the next curve.

The water runs swiftest on the outside curves and much slower on the inside. The current is constantly cutting away the bank on the outside curves, and caused trees to topple into the water. The slow inside curve builds up the gravel. When I could, I stayed on the inside of the river bend, where I had more control of the canoe.

Eventually, I approached a curve where the river made an abrupt u- turn to the left. I endeavored to maneuver to the inside of the turn but the current swung the back end of the canoe around so that I ended up going sideways, down the middle of the river. It was at this time I caught sight of an undermined tree lying across my path, but still anchored to the right hand bank.

These are known as sweeper trees.

There was no way I was going to be able to paddle to my left and get around the end of the tree. Only the tip of the tree was in the water. The trunk of the tree was suspended about eight inches off the surface of the water. I could see that I was going to hit the tree with my right side, and I could expect to be swept out of the canoe and into the river.

At the last minute I leaned to my left so that the entire right side of the canoe would hit the tree, rather than go under it. There was not much else I could do, as I braced for the impact. The canoe hit the tree and stopped instantly. The river water simply rose up on the left side and poured into the canoe, filling it in an instant. The swamped canoe sank and rolled under the tree upside down. I went along for the ride.

I followed the canoe to the surface just in time to see a second similar tree blocking the river. The canoe easily rolled again, under the tree. I ducked underwater and followed. As we came to the surface the canoe was pointed down the river but floating upside down. As I started swimming after the canoe, I noticed my cap was floating down river with me. I reached over and grabbed the hat and put it back on. It seemed the sensible thing to do at the time.

When I caught up to the canoe, I grabbed onto the back end, and rolled it right side up. It was filled with water and just the gunnels, or sides of the canoe, showed above the surface. Up ahead I could see a gravel bar in the middle of the river and managed to steer the canoe to it. I climbed up on the gravel bar and dragged the canoe up high enough so it would not be swept away.

It was at this moment that the shock of the ice cold water hit me. I stood on the gravel bar in the middle of the river, shivering with the cold. My hands were stiff as I awkwardly removed my shirt and pants. Once I’d rung out most of the water, I put them back on.

Still shivering, I checked the contents of the canoe and found that I had lost both paddles, but everything else was still securely packed. I dug out my camera from the packsack and saw that it was still there but rather damp. I rewound the film into the cassette then opened the camera to drain out the water.

Note - I was able to get the film developed and printed at a later date, but most of the photos were watermarked, as can be seen in some of the earlier photos. The rest of the photos were taken with a dry camera the following day, as I recorded the site of my dunking.

This photo was taken the next day, looking back up river, and shows the two trees I went under with the canoe. The curve I came around is to the right middle of the photo, behind the two small pine trees.

This photo shows a third tree, with the gravel bar to the left of it. This tree was lying in the water, but still anchored to the river bank. The river was rushing past on each side of me so fast, any attempt to swim to the shore would simply have swept me downstream.

Since I had lost both paddles, I could not use the canoe. I was stuck on a gravel bar in the middle of a fast flowing river. I had a problem.

Continued in part 3.
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　
　

Ground Blizzard

It is official, we are experiencing a ground blizzard.

Strong cold winds in excess of 35 mph, blowing snow with visibility from zero to 50 feet, but no fresh snowfall worth mentioning.

Snowshoeing on the woods trail was not too bad as the trees broke the strong north wind. I did notice three Blue Jays and three Hairy Woodpeckers taking shelter along the south edge of the woods.

This is my third trip and because of fresh snow the trail needed packing down again.

Yesterday, accompanied by the dog, we broke trail to the north about half a mile and then turned around and headed back home. That was an enjoyable trip compared to today.

This time we broke a brand new trail to the western edge of the woods. The closer we got the stronger the wind and blowing snow. At the edge of the trees the wind had built up the soft snow almost three feet high so it was a bit of struggle to get up and over it. The dog tried then gave up and waited for me to break a trail.

I thought I would be able to get a photo of the snow blowing across the open fields but it was a complete white out. Instead I took a shot facing south so the wind was behind me. The photo fails to define the strong wind battering my back, filled with driving snow, seeking any opening in my coat.

The resulting photo has more merit in showing what you can’t see, rather than what you see. The wind was so strong and cold, the digital camera shut down, so we quickly retreated back into the woods.

 Even the dog was happy to get out of the wind and back on the trail home.