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Editor’s Letter
WHAT AN ENTHUSIASTIC SHOW OF SUPPORT!
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We thought–we hoped–but we never expected this! FIRSTLY, I HOPE YOU ENJOY our fall issue as much as you enjoyed our summer edition. We know you’ll find the articles and photos in this issue informative and pleasing throughout.
Well, I’m happy to say that Ottawa (as hoped) has embraced Ottawa Outdoors Magazine with a tremendous amount of excitement and support. If you check with any of the outdoor gear stores and magazine shops, you’ll find Ottawa Outdoors Magazine has been selling off the shelves at a fast pace all summer. We attribute this to not only the Yours truly, climbing and local writing and feel of the magazine, but to fellow rapelling outdoor enthusiasts who make up our writing and photography staff. Kudos to them all!
Below are just a few of the emails we’ve received from people who you’ve probably passed on a hiking trail, or perhaps met paddling on a nearby waterway. We’re grateful for the kind and appreciative comments we’ve received, and we’re delighted you’re reading the magazine now. Lastly, we’re pleased to publish some of these comments as a “thank you” to all who have written to us.
Hi. I just picked up your mag and read it from cover to cover; great stuff, from trips and techniques, to gear and food! The accuracy and clarity of your information is also first rate. Great job! Lorne Clark I am really impressed with the content and quality of writing in your articles. I think they have a good punch and a lot of spunk. What I found most appealing is that most articles could apply to any age group. Antonia Mcguire Whenever I get into Ottawa I look for your magazine at the newsstand, and I’m looking forward to picking up the next issues. David Netz It’s great that an Ottawa-specific publication has been created catering to the outdoors. Congratulations! Tim Allard Just want to compliment you on your magazine. I certainly enjoyed the articles, especially the one on my favourite canoe escape, the Barron Canyon. Again, I am really impressed. Thank you. Rainer Bloess
No, thank you. :) Enjoy the read, and we’ll see you in our winter edition.
Happy Trails.
Dave Brown Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Ottawa Outdoors Magazine
Publisher/Editor-in-Chief
Dave Brown Managing Editor Allen Macartney Editor Lesley Cornish Contributing Editors Ken Parker Dominique Larocque Design and Layout Dave Brown Graphic Designers Dave Brown, Wah Phung-Lu Contributing Writers Cheryl Christensen, Eric Martinat, Fiona Trip, Matt Staneland, Mike Clarke, Ross Francis, Mike Waddington, Mark McCann, Yann Troutet, Tony Gariano, Wanda Purton, Cathy Brown, Mark VanKooy, James Roddick, Ken Whiting, Jason Yarrington, Chris Bourne, Julie St. Jean, Scott Shailer, Brian McCullough, Ryan Brown, Angie Brown Contributing Photographers Mike Beedell, Suzie Beaulieu, Peggy Sarson, Jean Levac–National Capital Race Weekend, Wilderness Tours, Jonathan Hayward, Allen Macartney, Frontenac Provincial Park, Martin Paquette, Yann Troutet, Carl Desbien, Simon Villeneuve, Paul Villecourt, Kristen Ritchie, Dave Lauzon, Ken Lange
ADVERTISING Please contact: Dave Brown Publisher/Editor-in-Cheif Ottawa Outdoors Magazine is an independent publication published seasonally. Email: Advertising@OttawaOutdoors.ca Tel: 613-860-8688 SUBSCRIPTIONS See inside back cover of this issue.
Ottawa Outdoors Magazine 2706 Alta Vista Drive, Suite #107 Ottawa, Canada K1V 7T4 Tel: 613-860-8688. Internet: www.OttawaOutdoors.ca
CONTRIBUTIONS
Ottawa Outdoors Magazine welcomes story and photo contributions. All photos should ideally be shot with colour slide. No unsolicited contributions will be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. Publisher assumes no responsibility for return of unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or artwork. CANADIAN / U.S. POSTMASTER: Return undeliverable covers to 2706 Alta Vista Drive, Suite #107, Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1V 7T4. Return postage guaranteed. Indexed in the Canadian Periodical Index ISSN No. 1204-69556. © Copyright 2002. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any materials published in Ottawa Outdoors Magazine is expressly forbidden without consent of the publisher unless otherwise agreed between partners. Printed in Canada.
ARE YOU AN OUTDOOR ENTHUSIAST WHO WOULD LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE?
HIKING – 4 A tale of two great great trails: Wolf and Luskville Falls:
Enjoy a few hours respite hiking on a couple of our favourite trails and settle any restless feelings you may have.
Wolf Trail – 6 RUNNING – 8
Trail Running: You’ve run in the city, but there’s lots more to think about when you’re pounding the dirt. Here are some tips.
Learning to run – 10
MT. BIKING –11
Get airborne with the bunny hop: Tired of wiping out just because you can’t negotiate the log in front of you? Master this move and you’ll increase your fun-factor by ten, and lower your physio visits by the same amount.
A trail with a view: Eagles Nest Loop – 13
CAMPING – 16
Are you prepared for wilderness adventure?: You may think you are, but most people don’t even know the five key survival ingredients. This article aims to change all that. Follow the advice in this piece and you’ll always have outings which are fun and safe.
Frontenac Provincial Park: Great trails and great for the family – 18 ADVENTURE RACING – 20
Don’t get lost: Read from three-time North American orienteering champion, Mike Waddington, and make your adventure races and your trips to the Gats more enjoyable.
Taking your first steps – 22
ROCK CLIMBING – 24
How to improve your footwork: If you are like most beginners, or even if you’re thinking of climbing this fall and winter, chances are you have overlooked the most important part: your feet.
KAYAKING – 36
Learning the “roll”: You don’t want to start kayaking without mastering this move. Now you can learn the “roll” one step at a time.
The three golden rules of whitewater kayaking – 38
CANOEING –39
Anatomy of a canoe: Okay, you know it’s called a canoe, and you might even know your port and starboard, but our job is to make sure you know all the other parts. Read on.
A canoeing adventure in Algonquin Park – 21
PROFILE: Val Hinsperger – 40
An accomplished runner, a mother of two, and a big part of Ottawa’s running scene.
2 – Editor’s Letter 14 – Guest Editorial 32 – K-9 Common Scents 33 – Environmentally Speaking 34 – The Bark 35 – Artistically Speaking 41 – Able & Active 42 – Urban Spice 44 – Gear Review 46 – Essential Cool Stuff 48 – Stargazing 50 – Survival Kids 51 – Pubs/Restaurants & Green Pages 52 – Escapes 53 – Ottawa Outdoors: Inside
LOST IN THE GATINEAUS LOST IN THE GATINEAUS How compounding mistakes How compounding mistakes left us alone and cold left us alone and cold throughout the night. throughout the night.
FEATURE – 26
Lost in the Gatineaus: Everything that could go wrong did. The swamps, the bugs, the injuries, the lack of water–and night is falling. Read how three of Ottawa’s own endured a day-hike that went terribly wrong.
By Cheryl Christensen, Mountain Equipment Co-op
OUR FAVOURITE PLACES not only speak volumes to us, but they also speak volumes about us. Whether we seek out these places to bring back good memories, to exercise, to slow life’s hectic pace, or to soak in pleasing sights, they recharge our batteries and renew our zest for living.
It’s healthy to remove ourselves occasionally from the clutter of daily routines, roles and obligations. Withdrawing to peace and tranquility helps us keep things in proper balance. This doesn’t mean we have to “give it all up.” We don’t need to sell off all our worldly possessions and move to a remote cabin in the solitude of a mountaintop to quiet our soul and regain perspective. (Wait a minute! Embracing a nomadic lifestyle and living out of the provisions found in my backpack does sound very appealing.) Usually, all I need is a few hours’ respite hiking on a couple of my favourite trails to settle restless feelings and feed the hunger in my heart.
Time to Head for the Hills!
And so, in the midst of an early fall heat wave, I happily accepted the task of hiking two of my favourite trails in nearby Gatineau Park, and recording the experiences. Yeah, it’s a rough way to spend a sun-drenched weekend out there in the woods.
Gatineau Park offers approximately 165 km of hiking trails. (You can check out the park’s web site at www.
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capacan.ca/gatineau/nature/eardley.) The two trails I selected are: Luskville Falls Trail and Wolf Trail – two of my personal favourites. Though both hikes share in the landscape of the Eardley Escarpment, which divides the rugged landscape of Canadian Shield and the St. Lawrence Lowlands, they each offer a distinct flavour to enjoy.
Luskville Falls Trail
Though perhaps the lesser-known of these two hikes, Luskville Falls Trail is no stranger to climbers in the region. This trail takes you on a 4.5 km promenade (with the occasional scramble over rocks) up the Eardley Escarpment and back down again. If the breathtaking views don’t get your pulse going just a little bit, the hike up probably will.
This hiking trail will take approximately 2.5 to 3 hours to complete, so make sure you plan and pack accordingly. Though the trail is not a long one, be assured that its steep slope can still offer a challenge.
At the parking lot, you’ll find a picnic area complete with outhouse facilities. Here, you’ll be able to take care of any last-minute requirements. Several animal-proof garbage cans are available for hikers to deposit trash or litter.
The Luskville Falls Trail is listed as being one with interpretive signs at key points. Although evidence of this feature remains in the form of podium style stands, the panels themselves are missing, taking with them the tidbits of scintillating information they possess.
Slow Beginnings, Then…
The hike starts off fairly gently with a set of stairs that bring you down to where you can start going up. In the spring, the trail follows alongside the Luskville Falls, which are often dried up in mid to late summer. In the autumn, the many lookouts will provide you with a front row seat to the bright colours of the changing leaves. At any time I’ve gone, I’ve also encountered plenty of bugs, so bring along bug juice. It’ll be a helpful sanity-preserver.
Signs along the trail remind hikers that this is a “restoration area,” and urge the public to remain on the pathway at all times. Even if you have the best of intentions, it can occasionally be a little tricky distinguishing which rocky terrain
Ottawa Outdoors Fall
Photo by Suzie Beaulieu.
belongs to the trail and which does not. The task is aggravated when the blue, square, hiker signs disappear from view. But do your best to stay on the trail.
The terrain gradually becomes increasingly rockier as you ascend, with the falls to one side and a rock face on the other. The thing I like best about this trail is that it starts off as the equivalent of a dirt sidewalk, then makes the hiker pick his or her way over and between rocks and boulders as it snakes its way towards a fire tower at the top.
Photo by Suzie Beaulieu.
It’s Picture Perfect
Stunning lookouts reward hikers repeatedly along the route. Not only do these lookouts provide a sampling of beautiful views to remind you exactly why you’re hauling yourself up a hill when there is nothing chasing you, but they also provide an excellent opportunity to catch your breath and re-hydrate. Even if you’re too fit to need a break, you’ll do yourself a big favour by taking a moment to drink in the scenery. After all, admiring nature and enjoying it is what hiking a trail like this is all about. There’s no need to rush the experience like your after-work commute home. Relax. Enjoy.
Just when it looks as if you won’t need to ascend any further, the path takes you down a little dip in the trail, across a small creek, and then up again on the last leg of your walk to the fire tower.
This portion of the trail is a little easier, and nicely perfumed by coniferous trees that line the rocky path. (This is also the area where I once saw a pretty big snake - the same diameter as a garden hose.)
Arriving at the fire tower at the top signals the end of your climb and provides you with an excellent venue. What better excuse for a pre-descent rest and picnic? Okay, so you’re not actually allowed on or in the fire tower, but the foundation of an old shelter nearby and some shady trees offer other prime spots to kick back, relax, snack, and attempt to correctly identify the large birds circling overhead.
The loop back down offers a chance to enjoy a different portion of the trail with its own variations of impressive vistas.
Though the trek down doesn’t force your heart and lungs to work as much as the haul up, it can still make your knees beg for mercy, especially by the end of the hike. For this reason, some people might appreciate trekking pole on this portion of the walk. One of these will both help “cushion the blow” as you step down repeatedly, and provide additional stability.
Soon you’ll find yourself back on familiar ground beside the falls, on your way to the parking
lot. Your next challenge will involve winning the debate on whether the road trip home should include a stop at the Tim Horton’s in Aylmer or the Dairy Queen in Hull.
How to Get to Luskville Falls Trail
FROM the Quebec side of the Champlain Bridge, turn left on Alexandre Taché. This becomes chemin Principale d’Aylmer, and true to its name, takes you through the main street of Aylmer before you join up with Jct 148. Continue on Jct 148 for a while, and look for a smallish, brown Gatineau Park sign on your right. Watch closely, because very soon afterwards you’ll turn right (rue Hotel de Ville). HEAD down the unpaved road towards the very obvious Eardley Escarpment, which juts out from the surrounding farmland, and turn left following the Gatineau Park sign. You’ll pass a horseback riding farm; very shortly after you’ll come to the parking lot and picnic area almost at the base of the Escarpment. THE SPECS
Distance: 4.5 km Estimated duration: 2.5 to 3 hours Level of difficulty: Moderate, very steep slope Anticipate: Lots of lookouts, the falls in spring, a nice view of changing leaves in the fall, a rest break at the fire tower at the top. Watch out for: Bugs (repellent recommended), occasionally sparse signage, some bears in the area.
Facilities: Unsupervised parking lot with picnic area, outhouses (not always with toilet paper), animalproof garbage cans for litter that you pack out.
