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Summit Hike in Wakefield

ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Summit Hike in Wakefield
on: September 10, 2016, 03:38:54 AM
After reading about the Fish River Hike I got the urge to go hiking.  The problem is, I'm really not able to hike very much these days- after all, I have more screws in my anatomy than many compact cars!  Ok, maybe I exaggerate, but with two screws in one ankle and eight more (plus a metal plate) in the other, let's just say that I'm no longer built for excessive walking on rough terrain.



So, since it seemed like such a bad idea, we headed out bright and early this morning planning to hike a trail that leads to the summit of a small mountain- or maybe it's a large hill, I don't know.  And, frankly, I don't care if my topological jargon is correct- for someone with my mobility issues it might as well be Kilimanjaro. 



Unfortunately there are no parking lots near the start of the trail so I had to park a little ways away- not far for the average person, but far enough for me!  For those wondering what gear I have with me, that's a Benchmade River knife clipped to my Maxpedition Sitka, my trusty Tilley AirFlo hat and Pebble Time watch.  Not pictured is the MTO edition Leatherman Surge and my trusty yellow scaled Victorinox Compact.  Water was carried in two 1L Brita Sport Bottles.



After what seemed like a lengthy walk that I was way overdressed for (through a neighborhood!   :ahhh) we arrived at the beginning of the Summit Trail.  The trail went up very sharply from the get go.



I was new to the use of trekking poles and I only decided to bring one with me to see what I thought, as I thought they would be more of a pain than they were worth when I wanted my hands free for things, but I decided early on that they were well worth their weight, and next time I'm bringing both!



We weren't very far down the trail when we started getting the sneaking suspicion that maybe we'd gone too far already... but as we didn't hear any banjos and the trail was extremely well marked, we decided to risk the wrath of Satan and the allegedly sexist police.   :facepalm:



Luckily the trail was well marked so we could concentrate on footing in a number of places.  It may not look that difficult, but it was quite a climb, and the trail was not that smooth.  Megan lead the way and suggested the best routes and warned me of dangers that she figured I might have trouble with.  Moments after the above photo was taken we spotted four deer in the woods off to the right, but I was unable to capture anything on camera. 



The terrain ranged from small rocks in dirt/mud to very large rocks that remind me a lot of Blind River, the town my father's family is from.  It makes sense, as this area would also likely have been covered by the giant glaciers known as the Canadian Shield as well, and I remarked a few times that the place would be extremely fascinating to any geologists or geographers.



As we got closer and closer to the summit the view started to get nicer and nicer, and my lack of mobility became less and less of hassle as we both enjoyed slowing down and looking around.  We didn't actually know where the summit was, but we figured we must be getting close.



We were right- the summit wasn't far, and we enjoyed the view for several minutes while we re hydrated, something we very much needed despite trying to drink regularly on the way up.  We would be taking a different path down than we took to get up and, like the one coming up, we had no idea how passable it would be.  Megan assumed going down would be worse than coming up, and having had numerous surgeries from various encounters with gravity in the past, I was not in any position to argue.



The trail indeed dropped very sharply, which makes sense, as we were roughly (according to my GPS tracking app) a mere 165m (540 feet) higher than our starting point.  The distance of this hike may not have been as great as some, but the elevation change was very drastic!  My tracker app also says that with all of the ups and downs we took, overall we climbed over 1km high!   :ahhh



I decided to get a little brave and forego my trekking pole for a bit, but that didn't last very long.  In fact, not only was I very interested in getting it back out again, I was wishing I had brought the other one as well.



Some of the rocks we encountered were pretty cool- I have lots of photos of some of the cool rock formations and piles that we saw, but I decided not to waste everyone's time with pictures of moss covered rocks.  Mostly.  This one is different because I had some fun with it.



I wanted Megan to get below me as I posed, clinging to the rock.  I figured if she got low enough it would look like I was climbing it, which is something I used to enjoy doing but can't really even consider doing these days.



The image is far from convincing, but she refused to get a lower angle because it made my butt look big.  Silly me, I thought it was the cheeseburgers that made my butt look big....  :facepalm:



Playing aside, the descent continued, with some of the trail being quite manageable, and some being quite challenging, even for Megan, who has cat like reflexes and mountain goat-like agility.  There were a few spots that were very awkward for both of us.



But, we continued on as the trail wound down and around until we finally made it back out to where we came in and I lumbered through town to get to where we had parked.  By this time I was not walking as gracefully or quickly as I had when we started- quite honestly I was in a fair bit of discomfort, so when I realized that we had parked next to this gorgeous section of the Gatineau River I decided to just walk right into the water, hoping the cool current would help reduce some of the swelling in my ankles.



Then Megan decided that we required some medication, so we headed off to the local pub for a pint and some nachos, both of which were just what the doctor ordered!



All in all we had a great time.  There were some moments where my discomfort became real issues, but in the end I am glad we went.  I had a great time and I hope to continue to try to keep pushing my boundaries, although to be honest, I do feel a little pathetic by how much effort I had to put into this adventure.  But hey, as old and broken as I may be, I'm not going to let a little thing like massive pain keep me from doing the things I want to do!

I hope you enjoyed my photos and adventure!

Def
« Last Edit: September 10, 2016, 04:03:21 AM by Grant Lamontagne »
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


us Offline Poncho65

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Re: Summit Hike in Wakefield
Reply #1 on: September 10, 2016, 05:59:37 AM
Great write-up Grant :cheers: I had as good of a time reading the story as I did looking at the pics :tu: Seems like you both had a great time :like:


us Offline David

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Re: Summit Hike in Wakefield
Reply #2 on: September 10, 2016, 06:29:34 AM
Achieving the summit no matter how high is a grand experience.   :tu:   :)
What? Enablers! Are you serrrrious? Where? I dont see any.
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us Offline Aloha

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Re: Summit Hike in Wakefield
Reply #3 on: September 10, 2016, 07:51:12 AM
Trekking poles sure are worth their weight when descending.  Would wrapping your ankles help any?  It would seem they'd be more stable while still allowing for movement. 

Great pics and lovely terrain.   Thanks for taking us along.   
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nz Offline Syncop8r

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Re: Summit Hike in Wakefield
Reply #4 on: September 10, 2016, 08:19:48 AM
Looks like a lovely walk.  :tu:  Thanks for sharing and good on ya for getting out and doing it.


ca Offline Toolslinger

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Re: Summit Hike in Wakefield
Reply #5 on: September 10, 2016, 09:36:01 PM
Nice writeup and pics! :cheers:

Wakefield is a nice place to visit.


cy Offline dks

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Re: Summit Hike in Wakefield
Reply #6 on: September 10, 2016, 09:40:47 PM
Nice - I thought that Megan was tiny, until the last picture  :)
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us Offline Aloha

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Re: Summit Hike in Wakefield
Reply #7 on: September 10, 2016, 11:38:40 PM
She was blazing the trail ahead of the boss.  I'm sure every now and again she had to stop and wait for him to catch up  :).  What I was wondering was, what did she carry?     
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us Online SteveC

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Re: Summit Hike in Wakefield
Reply #8 on: September 11, 2016, 12:05:14 AM
Thanks for sharing, looked like a nice hike and beautiful scenery   :tu:


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Summit Hike in Wakefield
Reply #9 on: September 11, 2016, 12:16:21 AM
Trekking poles sure are worth their weight when descending.  Would wrapping your ankles help any?  It would seem they'd be more stable while still allowing for movement. 

Great pics and lovely terrain.   Thanks for taking us along.

I speculated that hiking or work boots that supported my ankles better might be advisable, but it's summer, and we get so little of that in Canada and I am going to wear light sneakers (the ones I wore are actually boating sneakers, and are mostly mesh) or sandals or flip flops and enjoy it.

Maybe when the weather gets colder we can experiment with more supportive footwear, but I'd rather have to be airlifted out than wear heavier footwear this time of year!

Def
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Summit Hike in Wakefield
Reply #10 on: September 11, 2016, 12:20:30 AM
She was blazing the trail ahead of the boss.  I'm sure every now and again she had to stop and wait for him to catch up  :).  What I was wondering was, what did she carry?     

Megan carried her phone and wore her Tilley and that was about it. 



Besides the important stuff that is- Merrill hiking sandals to protect her pedicure!

Def
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


england Offline DaveK

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Re: Summit Hike in Wakefield
Reply #11 on: September 11, 2016, 01:06:32 AM
Cool hike Def - thanks for sharing  :tu:

I always find coming down to be much worse than the climb too (dodgy ankles and knees here too due to RA), but the jury's still out on poles for me. I tried using one a few years back and it caught me out a couple of times by slipping. I managed to avoid injury but it crossed my mind that it could have been quite nasty on such a rocky descent. What I probably need is a tactical zimmer frame I reckon, no doubt Cold Steel will have one available soon :P

Glad you enjoyed it anyway - walking is the best way to relax that I've found- you can really switch off :)

PS: Fiona has some "walking sandals" similar to Megan's and she loves them. Personally I prefer a proper boot as they make me feel more confident about my ankles. Probably all in my head but who cares!



I used to come here a lot.


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Summit Hike in Wakefield
Reply #12 on: September 11, 2016, 03:59:21 AM
Nice writeup and pics! :cheers:

Wakefield is a nice place to visit.

We've been to Wakefield a few times now and always enjoyed it.  It is a beautiful little town and so close that it doesn't make sense not to go.  Next time you are up that way, get the nachos at Hibou. They are a bit pricey but extremely good.

Cool hike Def - thanks for sharing  :tu:

I always find coming down to be much worse than the climb too (dodgy ankles and knees here too due to RA), but the jury's still out on poles for me. I tried using one a few years back and it caught me out a couple of times by slipping. I managed to avoid injury but it crossed my mind that it could have been quite nasty on such a rocky descent. What I probably need is a tactical zimmer frame I reckon, no doubt Cold Steel will have one available soon :P

Glad you enjoyed it anyway - walking is the best way to relax that I've found- you can really switch off :)

PS: Fiona has some "walking sandals" similar to Megan's and she loves them. Personally I prefer a proper boot as they make me feel more confident about my ankles. Probably all in my head but who cares!





I'd tend to agree with you if I was working, or if the weather was bad.  But, in the summer, on my own time I would really rather not waste time with socks or boots.  Hell, if I wasn't so unattractive I'd probably have left the shirt behind too!

Kidding aside, if my ankles weren't seriously messed up I'd have worn sandals too.  Worse, now that I know what it's like, if I were to do it again I'd probably wear sandals too. 

And bring another pole!

Def
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


ca Offline jzmtl

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Re: Summit Hike in Wakefield
Reply #13 on: September 11, 2016, 05:14:29 AM
Looks like a very nice trip, I'm surprised you didn't bring your stove and cook lunch on the summit.  :D


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Summit Hike in Wakefield
Reply #14 on: September 11, 2016, 01:29:22 PM
Looks like a very nice trip, I'm surprised you didn't bring your stove and cook lunch on the summit.  :D

We gave it serious thought but we knew there were a lot of nice pubs at the bottom so that became our goal!

Def
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


mc Offline Gerhard Gerber

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Re: Summit Hike in Wakefield
Reply #15 on: September 12, 2016, 02:30:19 PM
Hi Grant

Nothing seeming about it, the grass (and trees) are definitely greener on your side!  :rofl:  :tu:

I would truly love to hike in terrain like that, places where I can sleep in my hammock!  8)

Why don't you get braces or more supporting boots considering your injuries?  Also, another vote for 2 walking sticks.....


I did the 16km hike at Okapuka again yesterday, this time with 2 friends, there's about 400m of flat bits and the rest are crazy ups&downs, it was heartening to feel the increase in fitness from the Fish River hike, so the Okapuka trail was much easier than the previous occasion 2 months ago, which motivates me to keep going.

I've come to the conclusion that pain is part of this process no matter the sport, the pain must just go away once you warm up a bit  :facepalm:


ca Offline Grant Lamontagne

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Re: Summit Hike in Wakefield
Reply #16 on: September 12, 2016, 03:27:45 PM
If you need to spend a night on this hike you've done it wrong!  :P

Braces are for the weak and sensible.  Not doing it in sandals or flip flops was as much as I was willing to compromise!

Def
Leave the dents as they are- let your belongings show their scars as proudly as you do yours.


 

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