awesome – HIKES & HAMSTRINGS

“You want a Curry Goat?”

Today is a day to be remembered. A while ago Robbie and I realized that he had never tried Trini/Caribbean food. Well, maybe he had tried something at some point, but he had never had roti like I’d get back home. Then I thought about it and realized I had never had Trini food in Calgary! I’m sure there are a few places to go to in Calgary, but I’m only familiar with Joycee’s Caribbean Foods in Bridgeland. After a few hours of shopping we were starving and so we decided to finally go to Joycee’s and have roti.

It was awesome- Joycee’s was also a small shop, so they sold Jamaican patties, Trinidad style green seasoning, Ovaltine, Milo, Peardrax and plantain chips, among many other things of course. We headed to the back and looked at the menu. There were so many familiar items! Doubles caught my eye, but for $3 each, they seemed a bit pricey. I know the title mentions curry goat, but that’s not what we ordered. We decided on a vegetable curry roti and a chicken curry roti.

After 20 minutes or so (they were cooking it in the back), our meals were brought to us and we wasted no time! Little did we know how hot they were! Temperature hot! We were burning our mouths from the potatoes, chicken and cauliflower. But they were so good. There’s nothing like a West Indian curry roti to remind me of my roots :). And Robbie seemed to enjoy it, which was awesome because now that we’ve finally crossed Joycee’s off the list, I don’t think it’ll be the last time we go there.

www.Farm-To-Fork.ca

I flew home on Wednesday night for a short visit with the family, but first up on the agenda- attending Dan and Danny’s launch party for their Farm-To-Fork website. Dan has been working on an amazing project for about a year, and the amount of progress the Farm-To-Fork team has made is nothing short of crazy awesome.

So what has Farm-To-Fork been all about? I can’t say it any better than Dan and Danny themselves, which is why I’ve copied the following from http://farmtoforkguelph.wordpress.com/history:

Do all of the problems we face require huge investments and extensive bureaucracy to solve them? Or, can a different way of thinking and some data create small (but scalable) solutions? Can we make a difference, not by solving massive problems, but by creating one positive outcome at a time? These are the questions that Dan Gillis¹ and Danny Williamson² asked early in 2012. Searching for a community problem to tackle, they took several supportive, but unsuccessful meetings.

A friendly suggestion pointed them towards the Institute for Community Engaged Scholarship at the University of Guelph (U of G). Without delay, Linda Hawkins³and her team connected them with the Guelph Wellington Food Access Working Group (FAWG). The Farm To Fork (F2F) team learned an important lesson from FAWG: the quantity of food available at food banks and food pantries will always be a challenge, but these agencies face another pressing concern. Often, those most in need of food support are subject to the poorest quality food: fewer fresh vegetables, fruits and meats; and more white breads and pastas. The challenge? How do we make sure our neighbours in need have access to the right kind of food to help get them back on their feet?

The F2F solution? Instead of being reliant on blind donations from donors, why not let food banks and food pantries tell donors what they need on a weekly basis and then let donors tell them what they will provide? Working with students from the University of Guelph, the F2F team created two prototypes of a web interface that will connect farmers, backyard gardeners, and citizens to food pantries and food banks in their area. This winter, Dan, Danny, and U of G students are preparing a final prototype for spring beta testing.

¹ Assistant Professor, School of Computer Science, U of G. ² Consultant, Williamson Consulting. ³ Director, Institute For Community Engaged Scholarship, U of G.

In a nutshell, they have taken a step in making sure those in need have access to fresh and quality food by connecting food banks and food pantries with local donors. Lots of people attended and there was so much enthusiasm for the project. Throughout the year, they’ve had interest from groups in Germany, Kentucky, and Australia. Amazing! Congratulations to Dan and Danny, their team of students, and all of the community partners who helped make the www.farm-to-fork.ca launch an absolute success!

Grizzly Col: So Close!

After months of being closed, part of the Highwood finally opened up! The flood had really damaged the area, and a quick google search online will show the destruction that occurred. I thought that the Highwood would be closed for the rest of the season, but nope! So when Jess asked if I wanted to go hiking on Sunday (which, of course, I did), I knew the Highwood would be an awesome area to go. With the larches turning colour, it was going to be beautiful. After considering a few choices (Pocaterra Ridge, Wasootch Peak), I suggested hiking to Grizzly Col at the Pocaterra Cirque.

What I did not count on, though, was the winter. Oh Calgary and the mountains… how much I dislike winter at times, though the snow makes the mountains look so pretty. I guess I was just expecting a little while longer to enjoy our 1-week fall. Snow came early in the mountains, and as we drove on the Highwood Pass toward the parking lot, our altitude continued to rise. Before we knew it, there was snow on the ground and lots in the mountains around us. That didn’t stop Jess, Dave and I from hiking though.

As expected, Pocaterra Cirque was so pretty, especially with all of the golden larches covered by snow. I really love this area, and as long as I’m in Calgary, I will make it a point to hike in the Highwood at least once each fall. After taking photos and stopping to eat lunch, we pressed onward. Mount Tyrwhitt and the rock arch loomed in front. We would not be ascending this mountain, but heading to the pass overlooking the continental divide. Grizzly Col (which I believe is the mountain to the left of the pass) looked quite snow-covered, so the plan was to assess that climb once we arrived at the pass. But as we ascended, the wind became fierce and at times was so strong that it stopped us in our tracks. Thank goodness I was prepared with my winter gear- ‘crampons’, gaiters, my alpine jacket, a hat and gloves. We weren’t all as prepared, and the wind was a bit concerning. In addition, the clouds were dark. Fearing a storm and potential white-out conditions, we opted to head back shortly before reaching the pass. Safety first!… (which is a motto I repeated throughout the weekend after the cougar incident). Like I mentioned, there will always be next time.

Highlights of the hike (other than time spent hiking with friends, of course…): hiking in the snow! I enjoy winter hiking and it’s something I want to do more of. So step 1- take an avalanche safety course :). The other highlight: crossing paths with wildlife! Not bears or cougars or Rocky Mountain sheep this time… but three quails. So cute.

Start: 11:50 am; End: ~ 4:00 pm

Sunrise Over the Rockies

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned to Shari: would you be up for a morning hike to see the sunrise? Of course, being the awesome person she is, she said “yes”. So we decided to get a few people together for a Sunrise Hike over the Alberta Prairies. It would be an early morning hike where we would leave the city around 4:30 am and head out to the mountains, climb to a vantage point, and enjoy breakfast and hot tea and coffee while watching the sunrise in the horizon. It sounded wonderful!

So on Saturday morning, Robbie, Tushna, Shari and I headed out to Mount Yamnuska with the intention of hiking to the east ridge. There’s a lovely spot there to set up shop and watch the sunrise. As we pulled into the parking lot we realized how dark it was. Super dark. We strapped on our hiking bags, layered warm clothing, and switched on our headlamps. We were off!

Things would not go as planned. Within 5 minutes, Robbie stopped and flashed a light: “Did you see that??” He had seen two eyes, staring at him. We didn’t want to jump to conclusions at that point, so we cautiously proceeded. Then another few minutes later, he proclaimed: “Over there! Do you see it?” And lo’ and behold, something was watching us- this was clear. Not only was it watching us, it was silent and following us. As we walked along the trail, it had walked in parallel. Then we all heard the rustling. There was most definitely something moving over there… and it wasn’t that far away. The sounds weren’t loud enough to be a bear walking through the forest, so we think it was a cougar… and that’s not an animal we wanted to go up against!

That was that- we high-tailed it out of there, looking back cautiously. Of course, we were choked that the hike did not go as planned, but we were thrilled that we left unscathed! That is the most important thing. Safety first.

But this certainly did not deter us from watching the sunrise. We had lots of goodies- bagels, cream cheese, muffins, coffee, tea, and strawberries. We headed to Canmore and drove up the Spray Lakes road and stopped near the top of the Grassi Lakes trail. We ate, chatted, and then bundled up just in time to watch the sunrise over the mountains, casting a wonderful orange and purple colour on the clouds. The surrounding mountains were all dusted with a fresh snowfall, which made the scenery pretty amazing. I reminded myself that I feel so lucky and blessed to have such great people in my life and to live in a place where I can experience a sunrise over the Canadian Rockies, whenever I choose to. It was a pretty incredible morning :).

Bourgeau Lake and Harvey Pass

View from Harvey Pass, Banff National Park

This hiking season has been about the “Classics“. In previous years, I was determined to “bag peaks”, or hit as many summits via scrambling as I could. But this year was a bit more tame. I opted for a more hiking approach: to spend lots of time in the outdoors, hike among different scenery and locations, and try to enjoy some of the hikes that Banff and Lake Louise have to offer. Earlier in the season, I’ve ventured to the Lake Agnes and Plain of Six Tea houses, hiked around Tunnel Mountain to the hoodoos in Banff, and got completely lost on the Cory Pass and Mount Edith Circuit. This past weekend, Shari, Bjorn and I would hike to Bourgeau Lake and Harvey Pass, which is another classic hike in Banff National Park.

About 8 km west of Banff is the Bourgeau turn off. We parked, geared up, and began the hike. It was a late start, but we were in no rush. The first few kilometres through the forests on a well-travelled path seemed like it went on forever, but it was worth the trek to Bourgeau Lake. The backdrop of Mount Bourgeau was stunning! We plugged onward, ascending the rocky path toward Harvey Lake and the pass.

The section between Bourgeau Lake and Harvey Pass was gorgeous! Little waterfalls; green trees with golden grass and shimmering tarns lined the path toward the pass. Once we arrived, the view was beautiful. In the distance, Mount Assiniboine rose high into the sky. To our left, Mount Bourgeau taunted us, since it was too late in the afternoon to begin the summit ascent. We could see Sunshine Road and the gondola to the top of the mountain, which was crazy to see in the summer. I wonder what hikes are in that area! It was a long trip back to the car but the day trek was well worth it. The weather was beautiful and the company was great- ingredients for an awesome hiking day.

The only not so great thing? The black liquorice candies that Bjorn brought. Apparently they love them in Denmark, especially the salty kind. Thanks for sharing, Bjorn, but my palette was not ready for such an acquired taste!

Stats: