In the latter part of August and in early September, I still got out to hike, paddle, or play tennis every day, but if the weather was iffy or the time available was short, I chose a local hike which would take 60 to 90 minutes. I have scores of routes for such occasions, three of which are shared here. … Continue reading →
I chose to read the first book in the Cork O’Connor series, his first book of 23. Unfortunately, this book did not resonate for me. I found it neither interesting, nor believable. The premises of the book were sound, but the execution was weak. At a number of spots, I cringed. I hung in there … Continue reading →
The Bute Lakes area is located off the McConnell Forest Service Road, east of Lac le Jeune, and north of Ross Moore Lake. There are a number of old double tracks, some single tracks, and ATV routes around a cluster of small lakes and marshes. I have hiked his area a few times in the past, but not … Continue reading →
The hike to the Pillar above Pillar Lake is short and steep. It is too far to drive as a destination, but it works well as a second outing if paddling Pillar Lake first. At the end of August I launched my kayak from the Pillar Lake Recreation Site and paddled the shoreline (5 km). I was just under … Continue reading →
Before They Are Hanged is the second book in the First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie. It carries on the story from where the first book left off. In my review of The First Law, I praised the book for being very readable, but also full of great characterization, dark humor, and clever dialogue. I suggested the plot was minimal … Continue reading →
On a sunny August morning we got an early start to hike the Mara Trail, starting at the trailhead on the Tranquille – Criss Creek Road. On a hot day, this is not a great choice for a later start. There is no shade and the hills seem to bake in the afternoon sun. Conditions were more moderate for us … Continue reading →
We chose to do a shorter hike (4 km) in Roche Lake Provincial Park, a route we have done quite a few times. We started near Roche Lake. A signed backroad heads east to Black Lake and beyond. The road is high clearance for sure, but 4WD in the spring. In about 1 km we arrive … Continue reading →
On a hot and somewhat smoky day I got an early start and hiked the western edge of Kenna Cartwright Park. The Trans Mountain Pipeline is buried but there is still remediation work to do, The construction equipment and some materials are in place, but there is no activity on the pipeline track at this time. I have used a … Continue reading →
On a warm summer morning I took my grandson up the Mara Canyon Trail, his first time on this intriguing route. The trail is also called the Cinnamon Ridge Trail or the Hoodoos Trail. We parked at the end of the dirt road, an extension of Ord Road, past the golf course. We hiked up into the dry … Continue reading →
Faceless Killers is the first book of 14 crime novels in the Wallender series by Swedish author Henning Mankell, written between 1991 and 2014. Wallander is a police inspector in the town of Ystad, located southeast of Malmo. The books were written in Swedish and translated into English. There have been several TV series and movies made of the Wallander … Continue reading →
When the weather became hot and the valleys were wreathed in smoke, we ventured up to Sun Peaks to take the chairlift up the mountain to hike the subalpine trails. There will have been 3 days of hiking on the mountain this summer. On the second I took the grandkids on a loop route up through Crystal Bowl, then down … Continue reading →
The Blade Itself is the first book in the First Law series, a grimdark (speculative fiction that is dark and possibly violent) fantasy novel. It is similar to Game of Thrones in some ways, but it is lighter reading with interesting characters, some gallows-style humor, lots of battles, and with clever dialogue. We never really get a sense of the … Continue reading →
When the weather gets hot, I go to higher elevations and do shorter hikes or combine hiking and paddling. On this hot summer day I launched my kayak from the Lodgepole Lake Rec Site and then paddled around the lake, once in each direction. I then secured the boat and hiked single track trails nearby. It was an early start, … Continue reading →
The Women is a novel based on memoirs of an army nurse during the Vietnam War. The author chooses a well-to-do naive young lady (Frankie) who wants to contribute and make her family proud. As a newly graduated nurse she enlists and after basic training lands in the war zone, as a novice in a Evac Hospital. The experience is … Continue reading →
When the weather gets hot, we adjust our activities accordingly: an early start a higher elevation location no long hill climbs routes with some shade varied activities On a day that was forecast for 42ºC (107º F), I drove to Stake Lake. I was first on the lake, paddling around the lake twice, which took … Continue reading →
Embassytown is another powerful science fiction novel by China Mieville. The setting is on a planet on the edge of humanity’s expansion. Humans have an outpost there (Embassytown), allowed by the sentient native aliens, the Ariekei. Their technology is biological in nature, but has been adapted to support human life. The Ariekei’s means of communication is so fundamentally different from … Continue reading →
