Snowshoeing Adventure :

Although we are back in a Covid lockdown, outdoor exercise remains an exemption, which we take full advantage of by walking everyday, if only for an hour loop around town. 

Yesterday, with sun and cold north winds in the forecast, we headed out to snowshoe in one of our favourite forest trails (Hawk's Ridge & Voyageur Trail), just a 5 minute walk from our home. Snowshoeing in the forest will shield us from the cold north winds.

Heading out

I'm wearing traditional First Nations' mitts (moose hide & felt), given to me as a retirement gift. 

They were made by one of the ladies of our local First Nations Community.

 

Careful Trudy, one wrong move and all that snow will come down on you!

Turning onto the Voyager Trail. Appears nobody has been on it!

Rabbit trail! 

Preferred area for rabbit because the dense Spruce trees provide cover from the elements & protection from predators.

Arrive at Hawk's Ridge. Perfect time for a well-deserved rest!

View from Hawk's Ridge overlooking Lake Superior.

• Distance snowshoed: 13.3 kms
• Temperature in Forest: - 22C
• Temperature outside shelter of Forest: - 28C with windchill

Walking in a Winter Wonderland :  

Hello all,

This is my 1st time posting to a blog, so please forgive me if I go off the rails once in a while!

For those who don't know us, we are Dan & Trudy from Marathon, Ontario, Canada. The town of Marathon (population: 3200) is situated on the North shores of Lake Superior, the largest fresh water lake in North America. We are both retired and since 2018, we've been escaping several months of our winter by travelling to Portugal. 

As avid walkers & hikers, we joined the CVO Ramblers, where we were fortunate to meet Geoff & Sue, Linda & Russell and many other interesting people. 

In 2019 & 2020, Linda & Russell invited us to participate in some of the AWW walks, which we enjoyed. 

Back in Canada, we've continued to correspond with Geoff & Sue and Linda & Russell, which included photos of our walks/hikes around our neck of the woods. Recently, Geoff added us to the AWW mailing list and hinted we add a post to your Blog of our hikes here in Canada. So here goes...!

Residing in Northern Canada, we don't have to travel far to enjoy the forest, lakes, rivers and whatever Nature has to offer. 

Today we awoke to falling snow, moderate winds and -19C, with the windchill. The Weather Network was also warning of a possible snow storm, with stronger winds and an accumulation of 15 - 20 cm of snow throughout the day. We decided to stay local for our walk. A walk from our home to Penn Lake Park Trail and return (10.3 kms). 

Trudy dressed for the walk!

Hard to tell by the photo but the winter storm is rolling in!

Arrive at Penn Lake Park Trail - located on the edge of town

Penn Lake Trail

Really enjoy walking through the forest with freshly fallen snow! 

 

Forest trails are an excellent way to escape cold winter winds. 

(We've had windchills lower than - 40C) 

Small bird house for "Summer" birds, which have long since flown south.

Section of Penn Lake, which is covered with at least 1 1/2 feet of ice.  

Back in Town! 

Had to walk on the roadway, as sidewalks now covered with at least 6 inches of snow.

By this point, I could hear Trudy saying: "I wish we were in Portugal, I wish we were in Portugal"

With the winter storm and the added strain of walking through snow, we were exhausted upon our return home. Fortunately, our reward, a slice of Trudy's French Canadian meat pie and salad.  

After lunch, I headed back outdoors to shovel the snow off the driveway & walkway...

 

Finally from the Fonte: a fond farewell from the famous five for the foreseeable future Wednesday 13th Jan.

At the start of the week the Famous Five were down to the Fabulous Four after our leader for this week's Wednesday walk twisted his knee. We think it was due to jigging around laughing at the chaos caused by Brexit. That meant no route, no leader and no guide dog!  An executive decision saw us stick to the plan to meet at Fonte Ferrea with a view to setting off and seeing where the fancy took us.  We drafted in Alan to boost us back to the famous five and to have great company, expert photography and knowledge of the area.  

For those who are interested in Fonte Ferrea, All about Portugal.pt says it's a " Picnic park, located in the midst of pines offering its shade. Pleasant spot with various tables and benches. The chalybeate waters are famous for its attributes for centuries. This park has excellent access and offers backup outfits for visitors"  Well we didn't get any backup outfits but we did enjoy the pleasant spot, the pines and the excellent access!

The starting lineup L to R : Sue, Alan, Jan, Tony and Julie. 

The view we know and love.  You never tire of the postcard perfect views. 

Weighed down under the burden of responsibility.  Or was it the very steep hill that Julie suggested we go up!!!  First climb. 

Oh decisions, decisions.  Up or down, left or right?  Still with such glorious views it didn't seem to matter much.

There seemed to be a way down into a valley and we could see tracks on the hills opposite so down the firebreak we went.....oh dear,there was no way across the stream or through the thick undergrowth.

Then the very steep uphill out of the valley. Oh well we’d discovered where not to go. Jan decided that the fire brake wasn’t tough enough for her and climbed straight up the hillside.

Across the N2.  A welcome drinks break with stunning views on the way up to Bispo.

  

At the trig, Bispo.  We didn’t even have to argue over who was the youngest!  Jan volunteered.  Alan said he’d captured the best of Jan. 

At last, a sign.  Well several of them.  An easy decision - on down to cross the N2 again. On the way down we had an interesting lecture on Vitamin D from professors Alan and Tony.

Are there leprechauns under here then?  Tony and Jan check out an "Irish" bridge

Beautiful tree heather.

Missing much loved pussy with a €100 reward. The consensus of the group was to buy a lookalike for €5 and deliver the beast to the grateful owner.  Devious beggars! 

A sunny spot for lunch.

Off back up a hill.

Right, decision time again!  We voted to go a bit further up to Cova de Muda. Jan informed us that muda is the German for tired.  Alan said he just kept hearing Covid de Muda.  So onwards and upwards to Covid Tired.  Seems appropriate.

Jan taks the high road and Julie taks the low road and Julie's feet are wet afore Jan's  On the way back to Fonte Ferrea.

Afternoon and still frost on the ground.  On the trail back to the cafe. 

Jan showed us the national winter sport of West Yorkshire - ice jumping

The result!

A final socially distanced drink together.  See you all soon.

The stats.

Goldilocks and Four Friends Go Walking

It is too early.

It is too cold.

It is too long

The sun is too low

The hill is too high

The slope is too steep

The water is too deep

The steeping stones are too far apart

It is too warm when climbing the hill

The blister is too big

Ah! but the walk was just right.

We met at Font Filipe on a glorious bright morning on what we assume to be our last get together for a while. You would have thought that all the talk would have been about Covid and Brexit (there are no pork pies in Tesco Almancil), but no: it was about cars.

"my car started to beep at 4 deg C and when I got to the fonte it is now only -3.5 deg C"

"my car started to beep at 3 deg C and when I got to the fonte it is now -3.0 deg C"

"my car started to beep at 5 deg C and when I got to the fonte it is now -1.5 deg C"

"my car is old like me and does not have a outside temperature thermometer"

It was cold even if the temperature had the same large standard deviation about the "mean" as the dis-agreement about the final distance of most AWW walks. It was cold! Lots of layers for most and gloves for the hands at the start.

David, Frank, Miriam, Ros and photographer Ken. 
Ken used the orange filter on the camera to photoshop Frank,s blue knees.

After coffee and biscuits (Ken said that Ros's chocolate biscuits were better than Frank's) we were just about to set off.

A sixth illegal guest turned up. Jack. We could not turn him away. He accompanied us for most of the morning, but left as we got out of the valley and away from the stream.

Jack Frost

Round the corner, we came across some solid puddles. Ros wanted to go back home to get her ice skates. She wanted to initiate the Algarve Elfstedentocht (as we all know this is Welsh for the skiing race that links all 6 cities is Wales and was last held in 1997: the last time the snow / ice was more than 15cm thick )

It was fascinating for all, including Bica who put his foot in/on it and recoiled suspiciously.

However we could not stand around all day wondering what it was and we were off again. Frank is getting a little better with his photography and decided to take a selfie of his new slim self.

The early morning sun is very flattering: I like the long shorts

There was lots of water. 

Frank had put down some stepping stones on his recce the previous day

But we had to leave the shade and water behind and come up into the sunshine and heat. 

As is normal, it is heads down and concentrate.

We got to the first ridge. Everyone stopped,and turned to take in the great view over to Rocha da Pena. As is normal it was really to suck in gasps of air but they said it was to look at the view

So the gloves were off and the other 3 layers as well. It was warm, steep and mutterings started from those that had any breath with which to mutter.

But as always happens we got to the top and had lunch.

Some sat down and scoffed their sandwiches; others stood and stared at the sandwiches; while others gazed out over the 7 Kingdoms which were laid out from this hill which is higher than Cerro do Negro, but does not even have a trig point.

Replete, we set off downhill.  As is normal the photographer went to sleep after lunch and only woke up as we neared the end.

Striding out, head high on the flat.

And as we had started off from Font Filipe, there has to be a photo of cute pigs

Miriam went over with a gorgeous red apple to place in their mouth and tried to entice them onto a spit at home.

And it was back to the cafe at Amendoeira for a drink.

Goldilocks comment was 'that beer was just right'.

Distance              16.3km

Pace                     3.8km/hr

Total time            4hrs 55mins

Elevation change  560m (I was told that it was all up, despite it being a circular walk)

Temperature            -3.5 deg C to +12 deg C

Fun                        Had by all as defined by the leader

See! there was only one hill.

Frank M

14th Jan 2021