Dale's Outdoor Life

A show not to be missed - The Toronto Sportsmen's Show

2009-03-11T20:28:00.003-04:00

For all you people local to the Toronto area, don't forget to set some time aside to go to the Toronto Sportsmen's Show in Toronto, Ontario from March 18 – 22. It is located on the CNE grounds in the Direct Energy Centre™, Exhibition Place. This show has everything for the outdoors person. The list of vendors and exhibits are to numerous to list here so why don't you visit their website to see what it is all about.

www.sportsmensshows.com/Toronto/

See you out there!

Navigation Tip#1 – Adjusting your Compass for Magnetic Declination

2009-03-04T21:54:00.008-05:00

I went through my hiking guides today to try to find a hiking destination. I wanted to find some place close to home for my first trek out. I decided on a destination near Fergus Ontario. It is on map 12 in the Grand Valley Trails Association Guidebook. I always like to look at the area on a topographical map to see the difficulty of the terrain. While looking at the topo map it reminded me to set the declination on my new compass.

A compass has a magnetic needle that points to magnetic north but true north is either to the west or east of magnetic north depending where you are geographically. Since I am located in southern Ontario and the magnetic declination of this area is approx 10° west of true north, I have to adjust my compass to reflect this. What this means is that if I never adjust my compass to the proper declination then I would be off course by approx 10° west. Depending on the distanced traveled this could be quite a distance off course. The degree of magnetic declination for your area can be found on the topographical map or at the Natural Resources Canada website.

geomag.nrcan.gc.ca/apps/mdcal-eng.php

Since we know the magnetic declination is approx 10° west, we can then adjust red orienting arrow that is attach to the baseplate 10° to the west of the N (north) or the 350° mark on the compass dial. What we would see is that when we point the compass north and the red orienting arrow attached to the baseplate is in line with the needle we will see that the N (north) is slightly to the right. The N (north) is now pointing toward true north and not to magnetic north.

This declination adjustment is very important when using a compass with a map as if this is not done, as we said before, you will be off course by approx 10° west.

So set your declination on your compass and pull out your topographical map and start planning your next outdoor adventure.

See you out there!

It's Official. I am ready for the Hiking Season!

2009-03-03T18:19:00.006-05:00

I made a purchase today that shows where my mind is. It is one of the most important purchases when it comes to hiking. Hiking shoes/boots. If your feet are not protected or comfortable then it is over before you take your first step. Hiking footwear is where it all starts. You need a shoe or boot, whatever your preference, to fit your feet properly. You need good support and a good fit to prevent blistering. They need to be durable and to act like a shock absorber because you are going to be on some pretty rough terrain and your footwear needs to be able to absorb at least some of the shock, if not most of it. With proper footwear you will be protecting your ankles, knees, and hips.

I have owned different brands of both hiking shoes and boots and really don't have a preference. What I have done is stick with the populars brands, such as Solomon, Merrell, and Columbia. I bought these brands because I know I am getting quality product and something that I can trust when I am out there on the trails.

My most recent purchase was Merrell Excursion hiking shoes. They fit my feet perfectly and are very comfortable. They do not rub anywhere which is important as this would cause blistering. Here are the features of this shoe:

Description

- Board Lasted Construction
- Nubuck Leather Upper
- Nubuck/Mesh Bellows Tongue
- Injection Molded TPU External Counter
- Anti-Rust Zinc Loop Lacing System
- Protective Molded Rubber Toe Bumper
- Polyester Mesh Lining Treated with Aegis Antimicrobial
- 4.5mm Ortholite Anatomical Footbed
- 2mm Tapered Nylon Grade 2 Insole
- Lightweight Polyurethane Midsole
- Merrell Air Cushion® Midsole
- 5mm Sole Lug Depth
- Vibram® Multi-Grip HikingTM Sole/Mont & TC5+ Rubber

It has everything that you would want in a hiking shoe. This is one area that you do not want to go cheap on. This shoe cost around $159 CDN, but I have the confidence that it will last even in the most rugged terrain for many hiking trips.

See you out there!

Geocaching – modern day treasure hunting.

2009-03-02T20:39:00.003-05:00

Looking for a low to no cost family fun outdoor adventure? I have found just that. Geocaching. What is geocaching? Well from the official Geocache website it is defined as “a worldwide game of hiding and seeking treasure. A geocacher can place a geocache in the world, pinpoint its location using GPS technology and then share the geocache's existence and location online. Anyone with a GPS unit can then try to locate the geocache.“ So to generalize it, geocaching is a modern day treasure hunt using your hand held GPS.

I have geocached in the Toronto and Kitchener area. I have gone solo and with groups of fellow geocachers. Both ways, to me, are always exciting. It is always rewarding when you find the geocache as it is just like finding treasure. You just never know what you are going to find. If you want to add another skill level to geocaching then try it at night, but doing it at night it is advisable to do it with a group of people for safety reasons. I will post some of my new geocaching adventures on here when the weather starts to warm up and I will post some pictures as well. Oh yeah, for every geocache there is a logbook that people sign and it is always exciting to see who has been there before you. You will be surprised as people come from all over the world to geocache. So no matter where you are, check to see if there is a local geocache in the area you are in and get out there and find it.

To get more information about getting into geocaching go to the official website and start a new outdoor adventure.

www.geocaching.com

See you out there!

Winter Hiking – ok Snowshoeing :)

2009-02-27T20:01:00.001-05:00

One of my favourite outdoor activities is hiking. I have hiked many sections of the Bruce Trail, The Grand Valley Trails, Oak Ridges Trail, Avon Trail, and the Ganaraska Hiking Trail. Hiking is a great cardiovascular exercise. Add snowshoes to this equation and deep snow and you have quite the workout. Snowshoeing can burn twice the amount of calories per hour as running and walking. It can also burn a lot of calories fast, 500 to 1000 calories per hour depending on your pace.

Don't forget to dress in layers when you snowshoe as you are actually working out, you will start to perspire and sweating is never a good thing when it is cold. Dressing in layers allows you to start to peal off the outer layers one by one as needed so you don't sweat.

Snowshoes are a great investment and comes in many different styles and types depending what you are going to do ie. Running, Recreational, or Mountaineering....most people will use the recreational snowshoes. I have a pair of Tubbs Adventure 36. These are great recreational snowshoe. They are very light and very durable. I also use trekking poles with removable baskets at the bottom just like ski poles have. The baskets help in deep snow. The poles are very useful when in rough terrain or going up and down hills.

So I hope you can give it a try just once as I know you will enjoy it as much as I do and just think of all those calories you will burn.

See you out there!

In these recessionary times don't Vacation, Staycation!

2009-02-26T11:13:00.000-05:00

The recession has hit all of us in one way or another. You can still enjoy all your outdoor activities in these hard economic times. You can even make a vacation out of it. The secret....Think Local!

People are afraid to spend their hard earned money in these uncertain economic times on far away vacations but you can still have a great time outdoors while keeping most of your money in your pocket. How? Choose the less expensive vacation option of your favourite outdoor activity by doing it close to home. With this option it might not even have to cost you a cent.

As outdoor enthusiasts we should try to help out our local economy as well, especially small business. Find your local outfitter and buy from them. Find your local campgrounds and book with them. Find your local hiking trails and support them. While you are supporting them, support the local businesses that are in those towns or cities. We need to keep the money flowing to get out of these hard times. Every little bit helps. Let the governments bail out the big businesses. We can help support the little guys.

Here is a very short list of websites to get you started to find your local outdoor activity:

www.campsource.ca
www.campgrounds.org/index.cfm?member=opca
www.gocampingamerica.com
www.canadatrails.ca/hiking
www.a1trails.com/hiking/hike_us.html

To get a better search for your local area Google it!
www.google.com

See you out there!

Bannock - An Old Canadian Outdoor Staple

2009-02-25T20:47:00.000-05:00

I thought I would share with you a recipe I use in my dutch oven. The recipe is for Bannock. Bannock is part of French-Canadian history with Scottish origins. It goes all the way back to the seventeenth century.

I sometimes use my 10” Dutch oven when using my kitchen oven or use my 12” camp Dutch oven with charcoal briquettes when I am outdoors. To achieve 350°F with the 12" camp Dutch oven, I put 15 charcoal briquettes on the lid and 9 charcoal briquettes under the Dutch oven.

Ingredients:
1 Cup all purpose flour
2 level tsp. Double-acting baking powder (I use Magic Baking Powder)
½ tsp. Salt
2 tbsp. Powdered skim milk
water

Directions:
1.Preheat Dutch oven.
2.Sift dry ingredients together. Stir in water to make moist but firm dough.
3.Place dough on floured board and knead. Handle as little as possible.
4.Place in Dutch oven.
5.Bake at 350°F for 5 minutes.

Bon Appetit

See you out there!

Control on the Trails - Simmons Flexi Skis

2009-02-24T19:53:00.000-05:00

To keep to a winter theme I want to tell you about one of my upgrades for my Arctic Cat snowmobile. I bought the snowmobile used but it was in great condition. I took it for a test ride and it was so comfortable and it was also a great ride. It was not until I started to ride on the trails that I did find a problem. It came with original skis from Arctic Cat. They were good skis but the carbides ran down the middle of the ski like every other ski out there. It loved to dart. Darting is when the carbides on the bottom of the ski like to jump into the tracks of the carbides left by other snowmobilers. It made it very hard to control.

I did some research and I decided on Simmons Flexi Skis. Instead of having a single carbide running down the centre of the ski it has two carbides running down both sides of the ski. These skis in my opinion are the Cadillac of skis. It has completely eliminated my darting and gives me a lot more control overall. To add to all of this they come in multiple colours so of course I bought the green ones.

Simmons Flexi Skis
www.flexi-ski.com

See you out there!

Lost in the Bush - Which way is North?

2009-02-23T20:53:00.001-05:00

Last November I was hunting with my brother-in-law Ty. It was reaching the end of the week of our controlled hunt and we did not see a single deer. Instead of doing what we normally do, which was go to our strategically placed tree stands, Ty went to his stand and I was voted to what we call push the bush. This means I would go off into the bush and circle around trying to stir up some deer and funnel them to Ty. My secondary objective was also to scout the area as we only knew a small part of the bush.

I knew the truck was parked due north so I started off walking due south with the truck to my back. The tree stands were about 1km to the west of me. I went in about 1.5km walking toward the sun and decided to turn to my right which would make me facing west. I lost sight of the sun as the trees were tall and I started to realize I was getting disoriented. When I checked my compass it was showing me facing east but I thought I was heading west. I started to not trust my compass. As it was November it can get a bit chilly out there. I wear camo mitts/gloves meaning the mitt portion of my fingers can be flipped up so I can use my trigger finger. So not to make noise the mitts use magnets to keep the finger portion to stay folded back. I thought my compass came into contact with these magnets, therefore magnetizing the needle. What starts to happen, and a possible sign of panic, is that the bush starts to close in on you. The last thing I needed was to be in a panic situation.

I tried to back track but when you are deep in the woods it all starts to look the same, especially when the sun starts to go below the tree tops. It gets pretty dark. It is not easy to walk a straight line in the bush. There are plenty of obstacles that get in your way so it is easier than it seems to go off course. Not trusting my compass I decided to stayed put. This gave me an opportunity to check out what my options were. What I needed was to determine what direction was north. That was the direction of the road and the truck.

The sun was starting to set lower in the sky so I had to start to think quick. It was getting too late to do the shadow stick method so I remembered that I could use my analog watch and the sun as a compass. I went to a small clearing so I could see the sun and pointed the hour hand toward it. The distance between 12 noon and the hour hand roughly points due south. I now knew what direction I had to head in - north. I headed in the direction my watch indicated as north. I kept checking periodically with the sun and my watch to make sure I was still headed in the right direction. I started to hear the odd vehicle driving in the distance in front of me so I knew I was getting closer to the road which was a good sign. After walking a short distance later the tree formations started to look very familiar. As I was looking up into the trees I saw Ty sitting up in the tree stand. It was a good feeling.

All that pushing the bush produced no deer but I did see plenty of signs of them in there. It is always a good idea to mentally know at least one point of reference and direction. For me it was knowing the truck and the road were due north. I always carry a compass with me. Now I carry two in case one fails, but I was also able to find direction using other methods such as my watch and the sun. It is always good to know at least two ways to do the same thing. BE PREPARED!

See you out there!

My Outdoor Carry Kit - Rule of 3's

2009-02-22T17:10:00.000-05:00

I thought you might like to know what I carry on me on all my outdoor adventures. Call me a pessimist but I was a boy scout and they definitely ingrained in my brain to BE PREPARED. I always want to be prepared for the worst case scenario. I think of the rule of 3's: 1. You can survive 3 minutes without air, 2. You can survive 3 hours without proper shelter, 3. You can survive 3 days without water, and 4. You can survive 3 weeks without food.
Knowing this I know my priorities. The rule of 3's is not set in stone. I look at it as guidelines as it depends on the situation but you can pretty much follow them in order most of the time. My kit sort of helps me allow the rule of 3's to be kept.

Rule number 1 is a given. Make sure you have air, for example If you are in a tube tent do not close both ends. Makes sense.

Rule number 2 states exposure to the elements can cause things like hypothermia therefore shelter is very important so you can control your exposure to the elements. My mutlitool has a built in saw which help me cut branches to help build a shelter and my lock blade to helps shape or sharpen the branches. It is also important to know how to make a fire. Fire does three things. One it helps you psychologically. Two use it for heat and three you can cook and boil water with it. Fire to me, next to shelter, is the most important for survival. It seems to me once i have these two things accomplished the rest of the rules fall into place...i guess it is because it puts me into a positive state of mind. I carry with me a magnesium firestarter with an embedded flint and a firesteel with flint and striker. When I do carry a lighter it is a windproof and waterproof but only use it if I really have to.

Rule 3 is very important, as it is in my opinion the hardest to do as one does not have too much control in where to find water and if you do how safe is it? For this reason this is why I carry Polar Pure iodine crystals.

Rule 4 as you can see is not a real high priority at the beginning of a survival situation but most people in a survival situation think of this one first. I would assume it is because of our civilized culture where we have an abundance of food that is easy to get. It is the first thing we miss when the panic switch is flipped on. That said we can see that survival is 90% psychological. If you are not thinking straight or positive you are doomed. Back to rule 4, gathering food is not as hard as it seems. It is always best to pick up a book on plants and animals in your area so you know what to look for and also to make sure you are eating safe food. I use my lock blade and multi tool to make a figure 4 trap or tie my lock blade to a stick to make a spear. I can also use my lock blade to create a point on one end of a long stick to make a spear as well.

As you can see with my small kit I can pretty much do what i need to do to get out of a bad situation.

My Carry Kit:
- multitool
- lock blade knife
- flint and striker
- magnesium firestarter
- Polar Pure iodine crystals
- pocket knife
- knife sharpener
- mini flashlight
- compass
- 2 carabiners
- first aid kit

See you out there!

Welcome and thank you for visiting

2009-02-21T19:01:00.000-05:00

My name is Dale. I live in southern Ontario. I have been an outdoor enthusiast for many years now. I have always loved the outdoors.

It's February and there is snow on the ground but not enough to go snowmobiling. My baby, an Arctic Cat Sabercat 600, has been spending most of this winter in my garage. The weather has been all over the place this winter. We got our share of winter storms, then not too long after, the warm weather follows then melts all the snow that fell. The snowmobiling season has been short this year, for me anyways. I myself have only been out on the OFSC trails three times this year. I have had enough teasing from Mother Nature for the season to say I am ready for the warmer weather so I can get out and go hiking. I can't wait to dig out some of my gear and give them the seasonal test drive. What I will try to do throughout this blog is to do some gear review and give you updates on my outdoor experiences. I would also love to hear from you and hear what your outdoor experiences has been.

See you out there!