Turks and Caicos Islands’ Puppy Rescue Group

Turks and Caicos is a set of Caribbean islands a few hundred miles east of Cuba. It’s a tropical paradise in every sense – endless white sandy beaches, warm turquoise water, friendly people, and delicious food. But it isn’t such a paradise if you’re born here as one of the unfortunate street dogs often seen picking through trash for food or scurrying away into bushes as cars whip by. As in many places where spaying/neutering is uncommon, the population of street dogs is growing rapidly and the dogs are considered a nuisance. The life expectancy of a stray is a short three years. A large portion die from diseases like parvo and distemper before they even make it to adulthood.
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Bahamas scuba diving video

JP, a fellow passenger on the Carib Dancer scuba diving live-aboard, just put together this video of the trip. Great job capturing how wonderful it was to experience all that underwater life, JP!

Scuba Diving in Bahamas aboard the Carib Dancer

Just a little over a week ago Hurricane Joaquin was crashing into the Bahamas and threatening to derail a much anticipated Caribbean scuba trip. Our flight got cancelled and it looked like there was no way a boat would be going out into such stormy seas. Luckily, we made it to Nassau just a day late and, amazingly, there were very few signs of the hurricane. It just missed us.
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From Earthquakes To Hurricanes

Only a few months ago we narrowly escaped the Nepal earthquake. Five months later, Sil and I are on our way to a week of scuba diving in the Bahamas and a hurricane is ripping into the island. Fortunately, we’re stuck in Toronto after our flight was cancelled this afternoon but, secretly, I’ve always wanted to experience a hurricane first-hand (from the safety of a well-stocked concrete bunker with bullet-proof glass).
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My first 5.10a

I’ve just lead my first 5.10a! For those less familiar with rock climbing grades, that’s a level of difficulty that takes some real effort to reach. One guide describes it like this…

5.0-5.7: Easy for experienced climbers, where most novices begin.
5.8-5.9: Where most weekend climbers become comfortable.
5.10: A dedicated weekend climber might attain this level.
5.11 & up: The realm of true experts; demands much training and natural ability

Three years ago I sprained my ankle quite badly in a climbing fall. The ironic part is that my climbing partner and I were practising falling intentionally as an exercise in getting over the natural fear that we all feel when there’s nothing but rock and air below us. There was more slack in the rope than we’d realized and I fell further than expected. My ankle twisted as I bounced off the cliff right before the rope caught me. So much for an exercise in getting over the fear of falling!

Even though I went back to climbing again not too long after the injury, it’s taken me a long time to make a lot of progress in terms of skill. This summer and, in particular, the last few weeks something seems to have changed. We’re having some beautiful autumn weather with crisp mornings and sunny afternoons. I’ve been climbing at a new crag that I just love. It’s protected from the wind and the leaves are all changing colour to a vibrant yellow. Maybe it’s my love of autumn or perhaps it’s just that I’ve climbed a fair bit this season, but I found myself trying harder routes and doing well on them.

Spectacular Maligne Lake – a canoeist’s dream

After a wonderfully relaxing time paddling Alberta’s only canoe circuit in Lakeland Provincial Park, Sil and I decided to head to Jasper’s Maligne Lake for yet more canoeing. The two couldn’t be more different! Maligne Lake is a striking turquoise colour and it’s surrounded by spectacular snowy mountains. You paddle beneath lush avalanche slopes (where you might spot a bear if you’re lucky!) and relax around campfires as you watch the sunset illuminate glaciers high above.

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Yamnuska’s Intro to Alpine Climbing

Glaciologists estimate that the Canadian Rockies will have no glaciers remaining by 2050. That’s shocking for a landscape that was carved out by massive iceflows and is one of the world’s premier places to enjoy and explore alpine terrain. It also means big changes for the millions of people living downstream of the rivers fed by these glaciers. It’s hard to imagine how these cities will function and survive with only seasonal water flow.

That’s a bit of a round-about way to introduce an article about a course on alpine climbing, hosted by the guiding company Yamnuska, that I took part in during the latter half of August. Alpine Climbing is all about accessing these kinds of wild landscapes in as safe a way as possible. It’s a combination of mountaineering, rock climbing, ice climbing, and efficient movement over rugged terrain. My motivation for signing up with Yam for this course was to experience this alpine world for myself and to gain the skills to become a more autonomous climber.

August snowstorm on Mount Rundle – an exciting start to a great week

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Lakeland Canoe Circuit

A year and a half ago I met travel writer Leigh McAdam at the rustic Shadow Lake Lodge near Banff. It was a cold and snowy February evening and we’d each chosen the lodge for a relaxing cross-country ski get-away. Leigh and I got to talking and it turned out we’d done a lot of the same adventures. It was great sharing stories of places we’d both been and I was excited about the book she was working on. Discover Canada: 100 Inspiring Outdoor Adventures has now been released and it’s a treasure trove of fun ways to enjoy nature in Canada. One such trip that she’s recently featured on her blog is Alberta’s only canoe circuit. Last week Sil, Jim, Susan, and I made the drive up to Lakeland Provincial Park to paddle the 38-km route and we couldn’t have been happier with Leigh’s recommendation.

We picked up a canoe from Jamie at Lakeland Expeditions. Jamie was very helpful, meeting us in Lac La Biche the evening before we planned to start paddling with a canoe and all the gear. We spent the night car-camping at Touchwood Lake. It looks like the kind of campground that can get pretty busy at the height of summer but it was peaceful and offered great views on a late-August weekday.

Touchwood Lake – storm clouds and forest fire smoke

The canoe circuit starts with a 3-km portage along a wide and gentle trail to Jackson Lake. Continue reading “Lakeland Canoe Circuit” →

Climbing in the Ghost

There’s a little-known oasis of rock and forest only a short drive from the buzzing metropolis of Calgary. The name gives a hint as to its mysterious allure. This is The Ghost.

I’ve travelled to many places and experienced many landscapes but perhaps my favourite is the front-ranges of the Canadian Rockies. Gun-metal grey cliffs rise above green valley floors, piercing the sky with their unforgiving jagged towers. This is an abrupt landscape. In other places the flat grasslands of the prairie slowly give way to rolling foothills. Those foothills gradually become bigger and steeper, eventually revealing rocks and cliffs. Before you know it, you’re in the mountains. Here in the Ghost it’s different. Imagine peacefully strolling along a calm, flat field of verdant green when suddenly you run up against a massive vertical cliff.
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England’s Coast-to-Coast Trail

Having recently taken part in the TGO Challenge, a walk across the Scottish highlands from the west coast to the North Sea, I got to reminiscing about another great coast-to-coast walk.

Back in the summer of 2012, Michael and I walked Wainwright’s coast-to-coast trail in northern England. It goes right from one side of the country to the other – from the North Sea, across 300 km of mountains, moors, and classic English countryside to the cliffs of the Irish sea. Here’s my journal and some photos from our adventure…

Usually, people walk the trail from west to east and stay in B&Bs along the route but we chose to go in reverse and to camp as much as we could. This let us save what we felt was the most beautiful (and difficult!) part for last.

We actually started 20km south of the usual ending point (Robin Hood's Bay), letting us enjoy an extra day of walking along misty sea-cliffs. — We actually started 20km south of the usual ending point (Robin Hood’s Bay), letting us enjoy an extra day of walking along misty sea-cliffs.