Sulphur Springs 25k and 100 Mile Crewing

Well.  This was a hot weekend.  The weather got up to ~33C, 38C with humidity on Saturday.

We knew going in it would be a tough ask.  I was there to crew for Joe, but he was saying that he wanted to practice self-reliance, so I wasn't going to have much to do.  So I registered for the 25k so that I'd have something to do, and to motivate me to run some more.

Neither Joe or I had great training going into this, but at least I was only running 25k!  Joe was running 100 miles!

Looking at my Garmin Connect, since April 1st (the race was May 28) I had run 11 times, all 5ks except for one 14k in April and one 14.79k the Sunday before the race on the Sulphur course to check that I'd actually be able to complete the 25k.  It went well, if slow, so I was set.

I got to bed later than I wanted Friday night (after 9:30) for a 3:30 wake up - I was at Joe's before 4 am and we hit the road for Ancaster.  They were paving the QEW and we ended up behind a truck going 40k/hour!  But eventually that cleared.

I may not have slept much, but I slept more than Joe, who went to bed at 11 and got up at 3 am!  Yikes!  He said he slept well though.

We got to the race site and Joe got set up in the 100 miler tent:

Before I knew it it was 6 am and the 50 mile and 100 mile start had happened - memories of 2013!

Mom came out for the 25k race which started at 7:30 am along with the 50k.  It was really nice to have her support.  Kelly B was running the 25k too and Kelly W and Barb were running the 50k.  I also saw Gord before his 50 miler start.  Don was there with Kelly W as well so it was great to see him.

And I ran into Margaret from work, who was running the 25k for the second year in a row!  We would see each other on course and high five, it was really nice, and it was great to see Kelly B on course too.

The first part of the 25k went fine, faster than expected, though I was fairly comfortable.  I was eating and taking an S!Cap every 3k, so a bit over 30 minutes, but close enough I figured.  I don't think I was drinking enough though, I drank to thirst but in those sorts of temps with that sweat rate I needed to do more.

Heading out onto the 20k loop after the initial 5k spur I ran with Jessica for a bit, this was her first trail race.  I said it was a good first one as Sulphur isn't that technical, she found technical - just imagine what she'd think of some other courses!!!!  She was very nice.  After she went ahead I ran with Cynthia for a bit who was also a lovely lady.  Saw Gord who was lapping me on his 50 miler!

The trail was really well marked, this was Tim and Andrea's first years as race directors and they did a great job.  Was really impressed with it.  Unlike when I ran the 50k in 2014 the race marshals were at the initial turn (in 2014 we all hemmed and hawed).  They'd also put up reflective strips for night running for the 100 milers which was really really smart.

I had to pee at 6k, so I figured I was well hydrated, though I felt a bit nauseous.  In retrospect, I wasn't drinking enough, as eventually I began to feel very chilled and shivery - I immediately took another S!Cap and drank some more, but.  I probably drank just over 2L - MAYBE 2.5L by the time I took water from course - which for the race in that heat I don't think was enough.  I was soaked through with sweat.

I could feel my glutes get bother-y.  Something about this course does it for me.  I really need to work on strengthening my glutes if I'm going to run 100 miles here next year.  I slowed down some because of this and even walked some downhills!

Heading back out of the Gatehouse onto the road section I heard my name from the course marshall and hey!  It's Byron!  Nice!  Eventually got to the Headwaters lollipop loop (after stopping to go the washroom but not pee at the 12k aid station...wth, I'd already pooped twice that day) and tried to keep the pace easy - walked lots because of my glute, I was just waiting for my IT band to go - but I did end up running a fair bit of the downhill.

I wasn't too worried about pace.  After last Sunday I'd hoped my fat out of shape ass could do it in 3.5 hours, but with the heat, I figured anything under 4 hours I'd be happy with.  But I knew I wasn't going to be close to 3.5 hours after all, so - I relaxed.  Heading off the lollipop I saw Joe heading the other way on his second loop for the 100 miler and was happy to see him pacing conservatively - gave him a big high five.

Back up Martin Road and the evil hill and I was done!  Nice to have some more water and get changed.  I was 3:33:46 final time.  Oh well.  If I were thinner I'd be upset with that time, but I'm not, so given that and the heat and how little I trained I'll take it.

Mom headed out, I cheered in Margaret and chatted with Kelly B and her, then went over to the shade by the start/finish and hung out with Helen, Don, and Veronique.  Helen was dogsitting so brought Teddy - so cute!  Byron was there too and eventually after their run so were April and Mel, so we all hung out and had a great time.

Helen and I even saw a fox when we took Teddy for a little walk down the hill onto the course to look for people.  We got to cheer in the runners which was great.

Joe came in from his second loop (40k) in 5:50 which was behind pace but I told him in the heat not to worry about it.  He was still running good.  He took just over 4 hours for his third loop, so slowed down a lot.

I went to see him and he wanted to DNF (quit).  I convinced him to rest, then he said he wanted to lie down.  April, Mel and Byron all said not to let him sleep more than 15 minutes, so I then woke him up, and told him he needed to get going or he was in danger of timing out.  Joe said he wanted to sleep for another 30 minutes and he'd just time out.  I discussed it with him but he was adamant.

Went to back to April, Mel and Byron who said 'No, you have to get him moving!' But what am I supposed to do.  So I went back and told him April and Mel thought he should get up and get going, and THEN he did.  Ha!  The magic words!

As it turns out, he took 3 hours to do the next loop - 2 hours of running and 1 hour of sleeping on the trail.  Not the best pacing unfortunately.  But he came in charged up and said he felt great, that he was back.  Yay!

He did the next loop in over 4 hours - he ran the first 10k in about an hour, then slowly walked the rest.  When he came in for 100k it was 17 hours 48 minutes on the clock, and he said he was done.  I said 'No, you have time, you just have to keep steady and you've got this, get back out there!' and he said he was exhausted, had terrible chafing (which was raw and which he'd put duct tape over, oh oww oww oww) plus he has a 24 hour treadmill run in 3 weeks that he's raised money for.  So, because of the chafing, and because he had committed to other people for the 24 hour run, I let him DNF.  Feel bad about it, but the chafing seemed pretty awful and he was in a lot of pain.

Goodbye Sulphur....

Joe was both philosophical and down.  I'm supposed to pace him at the Haliburton 100 and he said he didn't want to run it.  I told him he should wait a week or two before making any decisions, and see Sulphur as a long training run for the 24 hour run and Hali.  Speaking to Joe today, he's back on track for Hali and in a better frame of mind.  He's going to recommit to his training.

Perhaps the most incredible thing of the day was that the 100 mile record got broken, in 38C heat - 15:33:34.  Here's a video of the winner coming in so fast I could barely catch him!

Killarney Proulx Lake Trip

This trip had lots of changes.

First, we were supposed to go backpacking to Topaz Lake in Killarney in July, but there is a family wedding that weekend, so we switched it to May 7-8th heading up to Killarney to the campground on the 6th.

Then, Toby's back went.  It was bad.  He only missed one day of work, but I had to drive him to our RMT which is MAYBE 700m away from our house because he couldn't walk.  Physio, massage, and muscle relaxants helped but he wasn't  in a position to backpack, carrying a pack, or even car camp and sleep on an air mattress and day hike.

I decided to go anyways.  When I switched our reservation to May I reserved Cave Lake, H5, but with Toby not coming I decided to go to H48, Proulx Lake.  Which is one of the prettier sites on the trail.

Watching the weather leading up it was supposed to rain on Saturday, but be nice Sunday.

I worked a half day Friday and then headed up.  I knew I'd be arriving after the office closed (it closed at 3:30pm) so I called and asked if they could sit aside some firewood for me.  I arrived and - no wood.  Bah.  The next day when I checked in I mentioned it as I thought maybe they forgot to put it out, but no, someone else took it, despite it being clearly marked for campsite 8.  Jerks.

Anyways.

I had initially been planning to take both dogs, but Toby said he didn't think I would be able to get both dogs up the Crack by myself.  I thought about it, and agreed with him.  We agreed that he would stay with Neb and Luc and I would go on a buddies trip.  After all, Luc turns 13 in July and we don't know how much longer he'll be able to do this sort of thing.

The drive up was uneventful, though on Hwy. 69 there was a turtle (I think snapping) crossing the highway - myself and the cars behind me swerved to avoid it but traffic was busy and I'm not sure it made it.  I just felt sick that it would get hit, but I couldn't safely stop and get it.  Still, it cast a pall for awhile.

On Hwy. 637 I saw what I think was a marten dashing across the road followed shortly by a black bear on the side of the road.  The car behind me stopped and they got out!  Honestly, leave the bear alone, don't habituate it to people.  Sheesh.  Dumb people.

Friday night was uneventful.

Saturday I woke up to a light rain.  Packed up and went to the office, checked in, charged my phone for a bit then hit the trail about 10am.  It was raining but not overly hard.  I was wearing my rainpants and rain jacket, then quickly decided I was way too warm and took off my rain jacket so I was just in my merino tshirt - after all, merino is warm when wet.

Shortly after we crested the first hill, we saw two day hikers with a dog on leash, so I put Luc back on leash.  They said they'd seen a bear (the other side of the A.Y. Jackson Lake) so after we passed by I elected to keep Luc on leash for awhile.  I didn't want a bear to spook him or him to spook a bear.  No signs of it though.

This weekend was the spring clean up weekend that the Friends of Killarney Park puts on, and at Wagon Road Lake crossing the beaver dam I came across two women and a girl who were engaged in cleaning up backcountry campsites.  The girl fell in crossing the dam.  The lead woman was using a shovel as a hiking pole, which I thought was incredibly strange, until she explained they were cleaning campsites...ahh, that makes sense.

The rest of the way to where the La Cloche Silhouette intersects with the Crack trail was unremarkable, though Luc did experience some doubt crossing a swollen stream and eventually had to run through it much to his horror.  I was very impressed at his bravery though.

It did really start to pour in this section, and I was cursing the thought of having to go up the Crack (which Luc does not enjoy) and onto the ridges in the rain.  Those rocks are s-l-i-p-p-e-r-y when wet.
Shortly after the La Cloche intersects with the Crack trail, I saw two trail runners on their way to Silver Peak, so we had a nice quick conversation about running.

Once onto the ridges below the Crack we ran into some people with their dog coming down from the Crack.  Heading up the ridge was fine, though it was wet, as Luc can attest to:

Then we got the Crack - Luc's nemesis.  I was dreading taking him up it in slippery rocks.

Yes the picture above is the trail.  You can imagine how much fun it is to take a geriatric German Shepherd up that!

But he did good.  We got up to the top and two people said 'Wow, we were just wondering if our dogs would be able to make it up here!  Hey, he's on old timer, a grey beard!' and I was like 'Aww, well, yes, but he's ageless really'.

I'd been making okay time until the hills before the Crack, but once hitting the wet exposed rock and route finding I slowed down.  I fell twice.  Sigh.  The first time Luc was like 'What are you doing?'  Thanks Luc.

We saw some early spring flowers!

It was just under 13k to Proulx Lake and I took under 4:20hrs to get there - I'm not sure exactly because I forgot to stop my GPS when I got to the campsite.

When I got there the three guys and their German Shepherd mix who had stayed their the night before were still there!  They'd decided to wait out the rain before heading out.  Their dog got in Luc's face but like a good boy he just ignored it.  I was unimpressed.

They decided to do a last minute site check for garbage - how nice!  The volunteers I'd seen early said they were at Proulx Lake and that it was in great shape.

I feel like the volunteers probably would've removed the copious amounts of pistachio shells that were around the campfire.  That were undoubtedly from the guys who had stayed there Friday night (but oh yeah, they checked for garbage...idiots).

Anyways, I set up camp, got the bear rope hung, did a terrible job with the tarp (I just kept the pack under it, it was clearing by then).  I was reading my Kobo on a log around the campsire when I saw orange out of the corner of my eye, looked over, and saw a guy heading towards the site!

I went over to say hello, Luc barked in his best German Shepherd style - the man was tired and couldn't make his campsite for the night, he asked if he could camp below my site and I said sure, not a problem.

I went back to reading then felt bad - he might want a fire!  I'd been too lazy to gather wood, but he might enjoy it.  I went over to tell him that he was welcome to come up and use the fire pit.  He said he was having some trouble finding a flat site for his tent, so I said there was one next to the tent pad he was welcome to.  He came up, Luc barked some more, but then calmed down.

We introduced ourselves - Atanu was his name - he'd come in from Bell Lake bushwhacking and was heading the Crack parking lot.  I was jealous, I've always wanted to do the Bell Lake bushwhacking route.

Anyways, after he was all set up we got to chatting.  Turns out he is also a Toronto Outdoor Club member (the club I used to volunteer for and that I was president of).  We discussed mutual people we know and agreed that Jesse makes the best chai tea on winter backpacking trips!

Atanu unlike me wasn't lazy and gathered firewood, so we had a fire:

We had a nice night talking and Luc enjoyed himself.

The evening sun was beautiful.

I had a good sleep.  It was forecasted to go down to 0C and that seems pretty accurate, at least, so I was glad for my big Big Agnes sleeping pad and -10C sleeping bag.  The world's coldest sleeper slept comfortably.

I woke up when Luc wanted to get up.  We got out and it was SNOWING!!!  On May 8th!  Incredible!  What the heck....

We had a quick time breaking camp and then started hiking together.  Luc did good getting up the ridge by Little Superior though needed some help in places.

Don't believe me when I said it was snowing?  Check out these pics, including snow caught in a bush and on a spider web.  Of course this meant that rocks on the ridges were once again wet and slippery thanks to the snow.  Sigh.

We got down the Crack okay - Luc finds it easier to go down then up, probably because he can actually see the route easier.  He's short enough he can't see where he's going when he goes out.  I'm taller than him (obviously) and I find going down easier for the same reason.

Atanu had offered if I wanted to go the Crack parking lot with him (which is closer than George Lake) and give me a ride back to my car at George Lake.  I could feel a hot spot/blister developing on my big toe and the snow had changed to rain so I decided to take him up on it.  We did just over 7.5k on the day.

It was great to make a new friend in Atanu!  After some initial barking Luc really took to him too, which was great.

Gear - I used my Granite Gear Vapor Ki pack, as I was carrying more weight, my Big Agnes Fly Creek 2, my Big Agnes Double Z sleeping pad (I think that's it) and Luc had my Therm-a-Rest Z Lite Sol sleeping pad.  I brought my Western Mountaineering -10C sleeping bag so my pack was HUGE.  Heh.  But all worked well, it's just a better workout I guess.

The State of Motivation

I thought I'd check in, as it's been since November.

The good - I've lost 20lbs.  The bad - my weight loss is stalled, and so is running.  

I'm struggling with motivation, in both counts.  I had been functioning fairly well, all things considered (I'm back at work full time after all) but just don't have my running mojo back.

I've got big plans - no races, though I am pacing Joe at Haliburton and will be available at Sulphur to jump in if he needs me as I’m crewing him - but lots of tough unsupported trail runs that should really challenge myself.

I'm not good at being accountable to myself.  I need to figure that out.  I think I'm getting closer to a good place, I hope I am, though I've been pretty miserable the last two days and am now aware of how easy it would be for me to slide back into depression.

I've got lots of body image stuff going on, just things that I am horrified with, and that I need to get over if I am going to move forward.  I can't hide inside forever, it does me no favours.  But I'm still 20lbs away from not being overweight.  It's daunting.  

I get frustrated, with the speed of progress with weight loss, that I’m not running at the level I used to (duh!  You’re not working out enough and are 20lbs heavier!).  I know what I need to do.  It’s finding the accountability to do it.  I have a good plan in place to get me to the fitness I need, but I need to execute that plan.  

Toby said that it is part of the illness, that there are times I don’t run, because I’m depressed, but at the same time - sometimes (NOT ALWAYS!!! PEOPLE WHO SAY THIS LIE) running helps with the depression.  It’s one tool, anyways.  

Right now I am looking at the fastpack I’m supposed to do in Frontenac Provincial Park in just over a week - it’s going to be colder at night, so I’d like to take more gear.  Which means a bigger pack and even tougher running.  And frankly?  I’m in bad enough shape right now that if I took my heavier backpacking gear my heart rate would probably be right where it is supposed to be for a long run, and that way - I could bring Neb along if I was hiking and not running.  Have some doggy company.  That would be really nice.  It might be better for my current mental state.

It’s frustrating that my mental wellness and training always trade off against each other - training brings me a lot of stress as it is an extra ‘job’ to do, and I already find working my full time job difficult enough - but I also love running and get a lot of satisfaction out of it when it’s going well.  

And there end my ramblings.  This is the state of where I am in my training right now.  Hopefully I’ll have a trip report up in a little bit over a week!

Western Uplands Algonquin November Backpacking Trip

I haven't been posting much here because what is there to say?  I'm still depressed and haven't been doing much.  But - last week was an improvement, not only did the dogs get more walks, but I ran TWICE (oh la la) and I was determined not to depress-out-of my planned solo (with Neb of course!) backpacking trip November 7-8th.

Originally I was supposed to be backpacking from November 6-9th and had the time booked off, but I've missed so much work with being sick (short term disability after all, partial disability) that I didn't feel like it was appropriate to take vacation.  So it was just to be a quick weekend trip.

My new Western Mountaineering Apache MF -10C bag came from MEC (it's a special order) at the end of October, so I was ready to go and excited to try it.

Friday I worked my half day then headed home and drove up to Huntsville.  Rather than camp at Mew Lake (the only campground open in Algonquin this time of year) I decided I would stay at the Motel 6, which takes dogs, as it's about 30 minutes outside of Algonquin Provincial Park's West Gate, near the access to the Western Uplands Trail.  Luxurious and all that.  It was nice to be able to Facetime with Toby when he got off work, and I was able to talk with Mom too.

Originally the plan had been to do the entire first loop, but the runs that week had really shown how much fitness I've lost.  I was worried that by the time I got on the trail (I wouldn't be able to get a permit from the West Gate until 9 am) that I wouldn't have time to get to Norah Lake before dark, given how out of shape I am.

So I picked up a permit for West Maggie Lake, as I've never stayed on the lake before (though I've run by it, and hiked past it once in the dark when I was doing an overnight hike).

As it turns out, my pace was fine, and I could've easily gotten to Norah, so it just ended up that I was able to be picky about sites on Maggie and relax and read on my Kobo in camp.

The trail was muddy - I slipped in a couple of places and came down on my hand.  I was worried about my wrist, but it was fine.  That was the anxiety talking, feeding into the depression, telling me I should turn around and go home so I could see Toby.  I took it one kilometre at a time, pushing forward, telling myself I would make the decision about turning around the next kilometre - after all, who wants to be alone in camp when it's dark, and yes, I had Neb, and dogs are amazing, but they aren't great conversationalists.  But I kept going.

Eventually I saw the only people of the day - 4 guys and 2 dogs heading the other direction.  One guy said 'It's muddy'.  Yeah, no kidding!  Ha!  It had rained Friday and despite the weather reports saying that there would be very little rain on Saturday, there was a few moments where it was coming down decently, plus some wet snow (SNOW!  YAY!) and small hail (not as exciting).

By the time I got to Maggie Lake, I decided I didn't have time to go back to the car before it was dark, so I wandered along the western side and picked a campsite on a peninsula down a side trail.  It was decently set up - I was able to set my tent up separately from the fire pit/cooking area.

Yup, that's my new sleeping bag!  And my Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 tent.  I got the tent because I wanted something that was better to take both dogs in then my 2-man Tarptent (which is like a 1.5 man tent) (I dislike my three-man Tarptent, it's fiddly to set up).  The dogs get along, I could get them both in this tent, but they'd have to file in and out, it would be a bit picky, but doable.  This time of year it's moot as Luc gets cold so easily he doesn't come out past early October.

The view from the campsite was nice:

 I don't think I'd like to swim from this campsite, so not so sure about it for the summer, but hey.  Not so sure I'd want to do the Western Uplands in the summer anyways.  Maybe one year I'll get over how busy Algonquin is in the backcountry.  It doesn't bother me in the front country except for maybe fall colours.

You might be wondering why there are no trail pictures.  I just had my phone, not my camera, and no handy pocket to put it in.  Plus, with much love to Algonquin - and heck, it is my home away from home come winter time - skiing, hello? - the Western Uplands Trail is heavily forested so doesn't make for thrilling pictures.

 Neb looking cute in camp.  Dogs may not talk, but they are good company, I didn't get a tonne of reading done because I had Neb to entertain and chat with.  He ended up sitting on my lap for a while and grooming me for a good 10-15 minutes without stopping.  I don't think my face has ever been so 'clean'.

Neb also enjoyed eating the firewood I'd gathered:

 And sitting on my winter pack, which is a Granite Gear pack that is in theory frameless but which has a big giant pad.  It was one reason why I was worried I'd be slower, carrying a heavier pack and slightly more gear.  Definitely bulkier gear.

 Anyways, it was a nice relaxing afternoon, I read, hung out with Neb, did camp chores, and then made dinner (KD).  Which was the only thing I'd eaten all day.  Oops.  And it's the vegetable KD, so there's less of it and lower calorie, and even then I let Neb finish it off.  I did enjoy some peppermint tea.

Eventually it got dark and I had a brief fire:

 But I wasn't in the mood so went to the tent to read some more, take my meds, and eventually go to sleep.

I was cool to start off with, despite wearing EVERYTHING I brought - but I am the world's coldest sleeper.  Once I'd finished having to pee, my body stopped being cold and I was able to sleep fine until morning.

Not sure what the temps were overnight - Environment Canada was calling for -5C, The Weather Network for -2C.  It was definitely cool.  The water in Neb's bowl didn't freeze overnight though, not even a skim on the top, but there was frost and the mud on the trail Sunday was partially frozen and I saw part of a creek that was frozen.  So basically - no clue.  I expected Neb's water to be frozen.

I woke up about 5 am and relaxed until 6:20 when I got out of bed and got going.  I was in no hurry and took so long getting ready I didn't leave camp until 7:30!!!!!  SLOW!

I was on trail for about the same time both days - 4 hrs, roughly.  13.18k each way.  Total elevation gain was 513m, same with the loss, over both days.  Just a nice relaxed time on the trail, not hurrying at all.

Neb did manage to be gross on Sunday - he was sniffing at a tree and some moss/ferns.  Then he grabbed a mouthful, and for some reason, I decided to take it out of his mouth - it's just moss and ferns, right?  Wrong.  My hand came out covered in something brown, and of a certain shade of brown, and smelling...a certain way.  WHY WOULD THERE BE POOP ON THE SIDE OF A TREE???????  Stupid Neb.  This isn't the first time I've reached into his mouth to take something out and regretted it for this very reason.  Ugh.  I wiped my hand on some frosty leaves, washed it in a stream, and then when we were done I drove to the West Gate to the comfort station there and washed my hand obsessively for quite some time.  GROSS.  DOGS.

I only saw one guy on Sunday, heading in as I was heading out.  So it was a nice people-free trip, just what the doctor ordered (though my depression has taken grasp again this week, but it was good for the weekend, and I'll take what I can get).

View from the campsite Sunday morning:

Killarney Glamping Backpacking Weekend

I don't even know how to start this blog.

I've been struggling terribly with depression.  Right now I'm working part time, which is helpful, as it gives me time to write and to work on therapy goals, which include my behavioural activations - running twice a week and hiking on the weekends.

So, I didn't cancel my girls glamping backpacking weekend with Steph in Killarney Provincial Park on the La Cloche Silhouette Trail.

It was weird though - I found myself smiling at things, because I knew that was what I was supposed to smile at, and even kind of laughing, for the same reasons.  But while I did it, it hurt, inside, this unbearable pain.

With all that said, I enjoyed myself as much as was possible.  I'm still in there, somewhere.

Anyways.  We left Toronto about 2pm and after enduring terrible traffic to get to Barrie, had one stop in Parry Sound to switch drivers (I'm trying to avoid caffeine now that I'm taking lithium again, as it affects levels, but highway driving makes me sleepy).

It was funny, we were at the edge of a storm most of the drive up and at one point Steph commented that it looked really dark behind us.  I was like 'Uhhh...the window is tinted'.  Reminds me of before I got use to the tint.

We had a fire - after the excitement of the dry wood at Finlayson Point, I was looking forward to seeing how well the wood at Killarney burned.

Let's just say it was typical Ontario Parks wood.  We did have a fire for a bit though, then went to bed.

I tried out my new Double Z sleeping pad from Big Agnes - it does not self-inflate, regardless of what the MEC employee told me (tsk tsk) but it is so comfortable I think I will love it for shoulder season camping.  I was just too excited not to bring it.

The next morning we got up and slowly packed up camp - got a few pictures too.  Spiderwebs galore!

We hit the trail about 9:15, and just kept an easy pace.  It's been years since Steph has backpacked and she's injured, so we kept it easy, plus there was a heat warning (30C before humidity, and it was HUMID), and we had Luc who doesn't do well in heat.

We stopped every 30 minutes to give the dogs water, plus let them drink from streams.  Luc was panting, but unlike in Temagami it was normal hot dog panting, not scary sounding.

At Acid Lake we stopped for a snack and to give Luc a rest, though I'm not sure he needed one.  Hey.  Senior dogs.  You've got to spoil them.

I was taking electrolyte tabs (S Caps from Spafford Health and Adventure - BEST electrolyte replacer out there!!!!) to help as if you get too dehydrated while taking lithium you can accidentally go toxic - I had that happen at a short trail race before once, I was blind for half an hour.  Super freaky stuff.  We also got more water at this stop.

With our break over, we headed off for the slightly-less than half remaining of our 7k day.  We hit the long rocky downhill that Steph was dreading heading up on Sunday.

We got into camp at about 12:30 - and the firepit was still smouldering from whatever asshat had been there that morning and not put out their fire!!!!!!!!!  WHAT THE!!!!!!!!  Totally disgusting.

We stayed at H5 on Cave Lake - it's a nice big site, though not overburdened with a ton of tent sites.

As you can see, I used my Integral Designs Silwing tarp (available at MEC).  I was letting Steph use my favourite Tarptent, the Double Rainbow, and brought along the the Rainshadow 2, for me and the dogs.  Which I haven't used in years.  I remembered that instead of the poles that come with the tent to prop up the front, you can use hiking poles, which I like better.  And Steph was using hiking poles.
So I didn't bring the poles (or the stakes, but that's what dog made sticks for).  However, I forgot that one of the poles of the Rainshadow is for the rear and props up that end of the tent.

Sigh.

It's funny because last time I stayed at H5 we had an injured dog (Neb) so stopped early and discovered that I'd forgotten the poles to a tent (an old tent - the Big Agnes Seedhouse SL3, which I got at MEC.  I don't think they make it anymore though).  So something about H5 makes me forget tent poles.

The Rainshadow was still usable - basically just a tarp with a very low back end.  But I decided, after an enjoyable swim and lie in the sun - to put up the Silwing.  I had the tyvek groundsheet to put all my gear on.

So see?  Paranoia into always bringing tarps in case of rain pay off!  Plus I'd been thinking of using the Silwing more in November for the trips so to use it in good weather was good, I've had it on trips before, but never with dogs.

Relevant because I woke up Sunday morning and thought 'Huh, the tarp is awfully low' - the dogs were on tie outs and Luc knocked over the hiking pole I had on one of the wings - so I had to fix it.  I'm not sure how well tarps work with dogs, unless you have the perfect site with perfectly located trees so that you don't need a hiking pole - I think I may go back to using the Double Rainbow for my November trips.

But enough about tarps and tents.

After our run and sun, we broke into the wine.

Steph went classy and drank hers from a sierra cup.  But look at me, bringing a cup on a backpacking trip!  You know it's glamping when.

We cooked dinner on my new stove, which I brought along because I couldn't wait to try it out - 73g, the Soto Micro Regulator stove.  It boils SO fast - faster than the Jetboil I think!  It's no alcohol stove, but wonderfully light and easy to use.  Thanks to Brian at MEC Toronto for the recommendation.  I also got it for shoulder season trips.  But think I'll use it other times.

We had a vegan dinner that was super good - cappellini pasta (quick cook), black bean soup mix as sauce with some nutritional yeast and hemp hearts.  We brought veggies too but forgot them - oops!

We had a small fire, hung out talking, then headed to bed.

Neb had started limping sometime Saturday afternoon/evening, but we couldn't see anything wrong with his pads or leg when palpitated/examined.  We thought maybe he had his leg fall asleep or got stung.

Sunday morning he was still limping, until he saw a squirrel and ran after it without limping and never limped again.  What a faker!

We had a quick breakfast, headed out and hiked out a bit faster than we came in, despite the big uphill that Steph was worried about.

It was still hot, so it was good to get an early start on the day.  I woke up at 6:15 thanks to the one mosquito on the lake (sheesh) and it was HOT.  I slept in shorts and a tank but I was sweaty.

We stopped at French River on the way home and had lunch.  Steph had never been before!  My goodness, it is iconic.  We ate outside with the dogs of course, and chatted with a little girl who came over and asked if she could say hi to the dogs - she had dogs herself and was SO good with them, you could tell she really knew dogs.  It was a pleasure to see.  Neb kissed her.