Fundy Dragonfly

Out for a 5K hike on trails of a local city park. Terrain varied from snow and ice to frozen dirt and slushy mud puddles. Hiking boots were a good choice!
Carried my Durston Kakwa pack loaded up with 13 kg of gear and water. Despite the cold drizzle, the time passed quickly while listening to a Stephen King audiobook.

Had just under 1 litre of veggie chilli leftover from weekend camping trip. I’d eaten enough chilli to satisfy me for awhile so dehydrated the remainder: 6 hours at 135F to give half litre of dried chilli. This may be a future lunch in the office or another day on the trail.

I inspect all of my down-filled quilts following each outing for punctures, tears or stray feathers. Best to catch a problem at home before it becomes an issue out of the trail. Tiny holes & tears can be patched.
It is common for single feathers to work their way thru the outer fabric during routine use. Resist the urge to simply pull those feathers out & discard. I find that at least 9 times out of 10, I can get the feather back into the quilt or jacket by locating & pulling the feather from the other side.
It might not sound like a big deal to lose 5 or 10 feathers from a full size quilt however those small losses add up over multiple trips especially if they are coming mainly from one area of your insulation. Campers pay good money for down-filled quilts and jackets. Look after your gear & it will take care of you for many years.

Few pics from weekend winter camping at Fundy NP with friends old & new. At one point or another, there were 14 of us from New Brunswick & Nova Scotia who gathered in the park for this event.

Day 2 of our winter weekend saw steady snow flurries most of the day and warmer temperatures (near zero Celsius). Precipitation turned from snow to sleet overnight then froze a thin layer of ice on our tarps and vehicles.
I enjoyed a solo hike thru the park and along part of the golf course. This area had copious amounts of ice under the thin layer of snow making walking quite treacherous in places. No serious falls or injuries.
Back in the campground, our group of six enjoyed time outdoors, ate our fill of tasty food indoors, shared laughs and played board games.

Weekend winter camping with fellow hammock camping friends. The park was practically snow-free on arrival Friday with -12C and 40 km/hr wind gusts (felt like -19C). Slept warm for 7.5 hours. Nice to have adjacent dining shelter with wood stove!

Another day checking out snowshoe trails in one of our city parks. A bit colder but less windy than yesterday.

Spent most of the afternoon snowshoeing in behind Crandall University 😉 Trails were in good shape after a snowfall earlier this week. Conditions were sunny and windchill-25C though -14C in the woods.
Enjoyed a flask of hot black tea and a pastry at the midpoint break. Lots of animal signs in the fresh snow. Only saw 3 other people snowshoeing all afternoon.