Cyril O

Apr

2010

Hiking Prairie Creek Trail at Elbow Falls near Calgary Alberta

A week ago Saturday Yvonne and I went hiking on Prairie Trail and Powderface Trail at Elbow Falls. Apparently the section we hiked was about 12.6 km. The hike we did is in three sections. You can see more photos and a topographical map here: H iking Alberta

(The first photo is looking back along Prairie Trail about half way along the first leg.)

We had hiked about a third of the Prairie Creek Trail a few weeks ago and liked it so we thought we’d try the loop. The first leg is about 6 km. We were expecting it to be much shorter so it seemed longer. The sun is coming in from the south and you are on a southern slope most of this section of the walk – in the cooler weather this was nice. Most of the snow and ice was gone after the first bridge. You have good views up the valley and there are several beautiful meadows through the last leg of that leg of the hike. About 6 km in you hit Powderface Link.

(The second photo is a couple of hundred yards before getting to the turn off for the second leg over the pass.)

There are a couple of bridges then another beautiful meadow – great place to stop and have a break or picnic. One can go on to the longer loop but that is over 20 km total and we didn’t have the time (or the energy). The Powderface Link was the toughest part for us as it is about 3 km – you are going over a small pass so entirely half is uphill and second half is downhill. Problem was that our uphill climb was on the northern side and covered with snow and ice – made uphill hiking very slippery. It is very closed in as well – not much to see as far as views of the mountains etc.

(The third photo is looking up the climb over the Link. Not that high but slippery.)

I enjoyed the walk but next time I will go back along Prairie Trail – the same way we go in – instead of crossing the pass – it is more open and I found it much more pleasant as far as views. The last leg is about another 3 km and is pretty flat – a few small hills – and quick.

(The last photo is at the beginning of the last 3 km or so at the junction of the pass and the Powderface hike back to the road.)

Mar

2010

Safe Ice at Ghost Lake

We went up to Ghost Lake about a week and a half ago. Beautiful day. I walked out on the ice with no little trepidation. The week before Gwen van Kleef, Peter Van Kleef and Alf Hauk had fallen through the ice in Lake Erie (fortunately it was only a few feet deep but nonetheless very scary). Anyway, with this in mind I ventured out. There were two fellows ‘para-skiing’ on the ice with their cars parked nearby(on the ice) and a truck loaded with ice fishing gear had driven across a bit earlier so I felt somewhat safe. Here you can see one of me out on the ice that Yvonne took and also one that I took while out on the ice.

BTW – Gwen, Peter and Alf did make it out of the lake and onto dry land.

“No Ice is Safe Ice?”

Mar

2010

Northern Latitudes

I’ve been in Calgary a couple of months now. Other than the ever present mountains a couple of other notable things:

My boiled eggs seem to take slightly longer to cook. I’ve been cooking/eating them all my life and had the timing down to a science but at the elevation in Calgary it does seem to take a bit longer.
The elevation in Calgary is 1,048 M (3,438 FT) whereas Toronto is only 253 ft/77 meters and Clearwater, Florida is sea level.

The other notable is the length of the day. It is not yet the end of March and there is still light in the sky at nearly 8:30 in the evening. A few degrees of latitude seems to make quite a difference.

Calgary Latitude: 51° 05
Toronto Latitude: 43°42′59.72″N

Summer days, I expect, will be very long.

Mar

2010

Water and PH balance

I had no idea that ph balance in the water one drinks could affect the amount one needs to drink. I was staying at a friends recently and they had a machine that would alter the PH balance of the water in the kitchen tap. I was unaware of what it did but was using it for a few days just thinking it was a regular filter.

I was doing a trade show at the time – a long one – 17 days. I talk a lot when I’m selling – even more than usual! As a result I drink a lot of water. Well, after a day or so of drinking this ‘filtered’ water I realized that I was drinking much less to quench my thirst. I asked and was told that the PH balance of the water was changed to help the body absorb it better or some such and well, generally, we drink and eat too much acidic foods and liquids so this increases the PH to make the water more alkaline. Much better for the body. As I’m on the road a lot, I wanted a way to increase the alkalinity of my water without lugging a machine about with me – Lemon juice. I did some research and found that even though one would expect lemon juice to increase the acidity of water it does the opposite. So, now I squeeze lemon into my water pretty much every day and do notice a difference. Apple cider vinegar will also increase the alkalinity of your body as well but it does not taste nearly as nice. (Other types of vinegar are acidic – do not use them for this purpose.)

If you are a little more stay at home than I am and would like to get a machine that will do a wonderful job at making your water more alkaline then go to SOS Water Systems

Jan

2010

Time Capsule

I was telling this story the other day and realized it would make a great blog post.

About 7-8 years ago my mother(Jeannette Jones) and I were visiting some friends outside of Toronto. On the way back we were going to be very near the house where I grew up. We decided to drop in on Mrs D. She still lived in the house next door. We pulled up in her driveway. As I got out of the car a fellow was coming out the front door of the house I grew up in. As I was only a few feet away, I said hello and told him that I grew up in that house. He smiled, looked at me funny and asked if my name was “Martin”. I was kind of shocked and said that it was. He proceeded to tell me that the week previous during some renovations in his basement he found a piece of drywall with my name and a date on it. I had poked a hole in the wall put a few items inside and patched it up. This was when I was 8 years old. More than 40 years had passed.

I remembered that they had talked about time capsules in school that week and how they were burying one in the school yard to be dug up in 20 years… That’s where I got the idea.

He asked if I’d like to see what he found – and took me into the house. The only item of value was a dutch teaspoon that I taken from my mother’s collection at the time and placed in that wall. He told me I could have it and I was thrilled as I could now return it after 40 plus years!! Mom was thrilled.

This was really amazing as if we had been 10 minutes earlier or later I may not have seen him and never have known. As far as me saying hello – well, that’s always a sure thing!!