Friday, December 30, 2011

Polar Challenge 26 to 30 Dec 2011




































































Calvin

I was surprised by the fact that there was relatively no snow in Canada during the winter time; it seemed as if it was still fall. The first thing in my mind about the trip was that we were not going to be using the snow shoes. I was right, but that never stopped our group from having fun. On the first day of the trip I met Daniel Awadalla, a new instructor at Monticle, and had the chance to see Raymond again. When we arrived at the campsite it was all wet and muddy, not what you would expect to see in the Canadian winter time. The first thing we did when we unpacked was to hike up towards Lake Huron; we were lost for quite some time. During the hike I had a chance to know Daniel a bit better and he also taught us things about winter camping, like wearing layers for example. When we arrived back at the camp lunch was already made for us and at the same time it started to snow a little. Unfortunately for all of us the snow was wet and in time our coats were soaked with water. That would be the end of the first day.

The second day was better since the snow was covering the floor; winter had truly found its way to Canada. The second day we had a really long hike, we took turns navigating, and Billy and I had a little argument of who was right about where we were. We still don’t know who was right but at least we arrived at our destination. The hike took about 5 hours so it was much longer than we expected. The snow had also stopped falling so at least we could walk easily. By the time we got back to the campsite it was 4 PM. In the end the whole day was spent hiking and we ate dinner after the hike, the dinner was also very good. At night we spent an hour or two in our yurts and we got to know Raymond a little better too. He is a really nice guy, he seems like he as experience to give to us. We talked until 9 and then we went to bed, well at least we did anyways.

The third day was spent cleaning everything up and packing our clothes. The whole morning was dedicated just for that reason. And near the afternoon we set up our tents, we didn’t sleep in them but it was nice to see how hard it was to set up a tent during the winter. We started to go home afterwards. By the time we got back to Monticle it was already 4 and we immediately started cleaning the equipment for that night’s dinner, a Hotpot.

Today we spent our time cleaning as well, just to make sure that we didn’t miss anything. We then put the equipment back to where they belong. After breakfast Billy showed us an interesting training program called TRX, it seems that only a certain group of people can actually by this program. When we tried it out it was really hard and most of us are just beginners. The workout only uses a simple system and does not require any weights. This is what has happened so far today.


Anthony Leung

Winter camping on the Christmas break but there was barely any snow when we got there but it started snowing like hell. First day of camping was hectic, snowing all day but its part snow part slush so everyone was cold and wet. Second day was much better because it had enough snow to be a winter but not enough to use snowshoes. We went hiking on the Old Shore trail for about 5 hours and went about 20 km and while we were hiking, Alastair needed to go take a dump, so there were no washrooms so he went to take a dump in the wild. Last day we packed up and drove to a remote spot to set up our winter tents to learn about it. The food was all hot and excellent and the sleep was luxurious but when we got back to sleep in the HQ after our movies, I couldn’t spell at all because Calvin and Jacky were alternating snoring so there were no peace. In the end I used my hood as ear plugs to silent the snores but it was pretty fun.


Jacky Su

The first time I ever went to winter camping, I felt that it was the most interesting experience I have had in a long time. The first day was the roughest but as time went on and we set up camp everything went together perfectly. We had a good hearty meal and good sleep that day. The second day of winter camping was very fun we had a long hike, this was because we got lost a couple of times and we didn’t anticipate how long the hiking trail was. We learned a lot about the new instructor Raymond, he was fun and interesting. Each night we had long chats and neat stories, long sleeps but early wake ups, and we always had energy to start the morning properly. The comfort stations were very weird because the toilets were mostly clogged and have the stench of poop. In times of need we had to resist the smell. I had a lot of fun during the trip and want to continue on for more winter camps.


Edwin Cheung

The first time that I went to winter camping. The first day Calvin, Jacky me and the ceiner member when to Monticle a day earnly. We get back and we pack. We buy food and pack boxes of cooking equipments. We have two tense too. The next We pack the equipment and wait for our intrutor and off we go to winter camping. We then have a long four hours ride to Mcgror park. I wait a bit for some time for the camp ground. After we reach to the camp ground We unload the our equipment and our personal stuff. Denial and Romen teach us the winter survial and Billy is cooking the sametime. Later we have a hike in the park. We have a deep sleep. The second day we when to when for along hiking around the park with them. We walk about 30m just like we walk down to downtown Toronto. But I felt more tired this time. The next day We pack up and went back to the HQ four another four hour trup back to HQ. we clean our stuff and have a movie night. We watch w movie konfu panda and Apollo 48. They are all good movie. Konfu panda teach me if you have inner peace you can be anything. The next we woke up and we have breakfest together. Later we wrote out blog and watch a movie call warrior. And Billy teach us about and gym equipment call TRX.


Ryan Hoang

This Monticle trip called the winter polar challenge was an exciting opurtunity to exceed my limit and do things that I normal thought were impossible. When we got to the site named McGregor. Once we were there a really nice instructor named Daniel taught us about winter safety and more importantly winter clothing. We learned the material that we should always be wearing fleece like materials. Cotton on the other hand is a material that should be never worn during the winter. after this we went to hike to a nearby lake. This hike was quite simple because of the issue of having no snow at all. There was however lots of rain making a really icy climate. When we got backed we were served a delicious meal of mashed potatoes and vegtables. During this time we had small chit chat and that was still interesting. After this we made a fire and with dinner we went to bad. This first night was comfortable because we were sleeping in a hut and not in a tent. The next day we had long enduring hike that was both tiring but hopeful. The only issue was that Alistar had the runs. The dinner was delicious but for some reason I had a slight fever and the rest of the day was pretty hazy. The next day we learned how to setup the tent and went to hotpot. The hotpot was great although the way we ate was not howi am used to. After that wewatched Kung Fu Pana 2 and Apollo 18. These were all great and with a good nights sleep I feel my fever has disappeared.


Jason

This was my first time going to winter camping . On the first night we went to a park called Point McGregor which is next to Lake Huron. It took us four hours to get there. We had our new instructor Raymon with us at the camping. We had some nice potato with sausage. Also our other new instructor Daniel lectured us what to wear for the winter camp. One of the things we didn’t do is snowshoeing. On the second day we went hiking for 28km for 5 and a half hours and had some fun having a snowball fight. On the third day we packed up and made tents. In the evening we had Hot Pot which I never did before. Then we watched Kung Fu Panda 2 and Appalo 18.


Alastair

The winter camping was the most interesting camping experience so far, mainly because I’m used to the heat in the camping, not the cold. However, there was an upside to winter camping, no bugs, no bugs whatsoever. The drive there was uneventful, and I was assigned three jobs to myself, interestingly enough…
Anyways, when we got there, the first thing we did was unpack the equipment, and we decided that Edwin and Jason would sleep in yurt 48 with Billy and Raymond, and the rest of us would sleep in yurt 50. The first day was just setting up for the next day, however we did have some lectures and some hiking. The next day was the real hiking, we hiked for 5 hours after breakfast, to Lake Huron. The last day was packing up and learning how to set up tent in the winter. We arrived back at monticle HQ at 4:00, and had a fast cleanup. Afterwards, we had hotpot for dinner.