Gear Guide: 46L Outdoor Products Arrowhead Technical Pack

This is the first pack I've ever owned. I got it on Amazon in the U.S. for fairly cheap, and have gotten two 4 day portage trips out of it so far. The fabric is thin and I have one little rip where my fork went through a pocket, but I've put a piece of Gorilla Tape over it and haven't had a problem since.

I think this is a great beginner bag, it cost me about $35.00 and it holds quite a bit. You can tell the quality of it isn't the greatest though, the orange fabric is quite thin, and the buckles feel pretty flimsy. I do love how many pockets there are on the outside, during those 4 day canoe trips, I would rarely have to open the large section of my pack as I could fit all the items I would need during the hikes and while we were out on the water in the front pockets. Sizewise, it suits my frame perfectly (I'm 5'7" and thin build) and would work on most sizes. I find 46L enough to hold everything I need for 3-5 days, with the exception of food and cooking items.

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As I mentioned, I love the amount of pockets this pack has. That gray stripe closest to the writing on the top of the pack opens a huge pocket that allowed me to fit my glasses case, sunscreen, sunglasses, bug spray, chapstick, and so much more with tons of room to spare. As well, the gray stripe running down the center with the handle, has a zipper on the side that also provides you with tons of storage. There are also the two side pockets you can see. Inside, the pack does have a spot for a bladder and an opening to allow the tube to feed out and click onto your shoulder strap. 

The pack is quite comfortable on my back, and both buckles help distribute the weight across my hips and back to prevent any discomfort.

The boy ordered a new pack from MEC this winter, so once we've done our hiking trip I will be able to review and show that pack. What pack do you normally use?

Hiking Ottawa - Mer Bleue Bog #53

Easter Sunday was gorgeous here. It was sunny and had a high of about 12, but when we went hiking in the morning it was 5. We dressed in layers to accommodate the weather, by the end I was just wearing my base layer.

This was our first hike using our new Lowa hikers. I can safely say these are the greatest hiking boots I've ever owned! The boy purposely stuck his foot in a puddle to see how the boot would react and it didn't even look wet on the outside. It was our first wear, so I was concerned about  breaking them in, but they didn't really need any!

The trail itself was pretty easy, it was mostly flat but had some small up and downhill sections. Since there was still snow on the ground in some spots, I feel like it took us way longer than it should have to complete the 6.7 km trail (it took us just under an hour and a half.) I wouldn't recommend doing the north side of Ridge Road, it was super flat and there's nothing to look at. Maybe it's different in the spring or summer, but the bulk of that section was walking a trail about 20 feet from the road. The section heading into the bog that eventually brings you to the Boardwalk is beautiful though, I would recommend doubling back on that side.

There were so many birds along the trail, bring birdseed!

What trails do you love at this time of year?

Summer 2016 - Trip 1.5 La Mauricie National Park

I have spent a ridiculous amount of time lately looking up new hiking routes, backpacking trips and canoe trips, so it was inevitable that our Cape Chignecto trip get something added to it. We've altered the Chignecto trip and are now going to stay in a tent on campsites rather than the cabins like originally planned (official route to follow once we've booked it.) After reading this blog post (here), I decided we had to cap our trip off with a day hike at La Mauricie National Park in Quebec.

We're planning to spend the day driving, camp the night at Riviere a la Peche campground and then get up the next morning and hike Lac du Pimbina (here). It's listed as a moderate hike on the Parks Canada website and is 13.1 km long. Check out this view!

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Have you been to La Mauricie National Park?

Gear Guide: Merrell Proterra Vim

These are my current shoes, I wouldn't quite call them hikers, more of a minimalist trail shoe. I have them in the Aluminum colour (as shown above), but they also come in a blue and a pink. They're quite comfy, dry relatively quickly when you step in a puddle (or you know, the lake while launching a canoe) and are fairly light on your feet. They don't, however, have ankle support (they do come in a mid cut that has some ankle support), any real grip if you're hiking rugged terrain, nor do they have much in the way of fabric to protect your toes should you stub your toe on a rock.

I've hiked some of Gatineau Park with these, and completed both the Algonquin and Frontenac Park trips in them. While I love them for more urban hiking and less uneven, rugged terrain, I'm definitely looking into a pair of more sturdy hiking boots with ankle support, sturdy leather and a lot more grip on the soles.

If you're looking for a less intense hiking shoe, these are great! I had no issues completely either of my trips in them, and they were so quick to dry the only time I had to take the off to dry by the fire was at night; throughout the day they would dry on my feet in the sun if I happened to step in the lake or a puddle/mud.

Specs:

     - Weight: 12oz per shoe

     - Sole: 2.5mm lugs and Proterra sticky sole

     - Profile: 4mm drop, 9.5mm cushioning, 20.5mm stack height

     

Hiking Gatineau Park - King Mountain

This is definitely a tougher hike than Pink Lake, though the view from the top is absolutely worth it! This hike is listed as 1.9 kilometres and challenging.  The whole route took us about 45 minutes, we ran some of the route, and stopped at the top to take some photos. It definitely is a tough route, the first half is completely uphill, with a lot of stairs as well as hill, and the second half is almost all downhill, with a few stairs.

The trail leads you atop the Eardley Escarpment, where you can see across the river to Ottawa which is pretty neat.

On our way up 

Our view from the top

If you're ever in Gatineau Park it's an awesome route to check out, however it is a fairly popular route so it can get quite busy on the weekend, I recommend going early in the morning or during the week.

What's your favourite hiking trail?

Hiking Gatineau Park - Pink Lake

I did the Pink Lake loop last summer with a group of friends, it's a very easy hike with a small chunk of the route being on a boardwalk to protect the delicate ecosystem that is Pink Lake and to make it wheelchair friendly. The route is 2.5 kilometres long and listed as a moderate hike on the Gatineau Park website. The hike took us about 45 minutes and we strolled along at an easy pace, stopping to take photos and check out different views of the layered lake throughout.

The route is fairly flat and takes you around the entire perimeter of the lake. One half has a considerable amount of uphill  and stairs, while the remainder of the route is nice and easy.

Pink lake is definitely one of the coolest lakes I've ever seen. It is a "meromictic" lake, meaning the water at the top of the lake and the water at the bottom of the lake never mix, giving the lake a somewhat layered effect, and meaning that the bottom of the lake has 0 oxygen. You can read more about this lake here.

Although you can't see the layers in this photo, you get an idea of how pretty the terrain is and how close you can get to the water to see the layers!

Summer 2016 - Trip 1: Cape Chignecto

Mr. and I have already begun planning our trips for the summer! For those of you that don't know, my boyfriend went as my canoe partner for my Algonquin trip last summer; we went as friends, but  after 4 days in the wilderness we decided to become more than friends, and it's been amazing ever since.

Okay, enough cheesy romance, back to the point - hiking. We're planning to do the 50km loop at Cape Chignecto, it will be our first hiking only trip, as we have both only ever done canoe and portaging trips. We plan to hike every weekend starting in March to mentally and physically prepare. 

Right now, our plan is to stay in the cabins rather than the campsites (I'm still a little scared to camp with just 2 of us at the back country sites as opposed to 6 of us.)  So we plan to head into the park around noon, hike to the Arch Gulch cabin for our first night which is 8.5km, then onto Seal Cove for night two, which is about 23km and then hike out which will make our last day about 20km. 

We're in the process of planning out some meals, we don't want to go the route of freeze dried this year, but rather easy and filling meals that we can make with little to no gear and doesn't weigh us down. 

I've been googling photos of this route and it looks absolutely breathtaking! I cannot wait! Once we iron out the details of food and gear, I will make another Cape Chignecto post.

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Have you done this route? What are your favourite on the go meals?