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Jay Gaulard

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Fitness & Recreation Blog Posts

Blog posts the fall under the Fitness & Recreation category. Read all I have written about this topic.

Moose Tracks in Snow Country

February 24, 2014

Since we arrived in Maine, we’ve had a sort of obsession with sighting a moose. We don’t want to necessarily bump into one while walking on a trail, but we sure would like to see one. As we are well aware, moose can be aggressive and unpredictable, so seeing one from afar would be fine with us.

Yesterday was a really great day for hiking in the snow. This past weekend’s temperatures were in the 40s during the day and 20s and 30s at night. This allowed for some snow melt and re-freeze, which was perfect for staying on top of the deep snow. Walking in the snow is difficult enough, and adding just one extra inch of softness beneath the foot can really break a day.

Ever since we took the hike up to the base of the mountain to look at the camp the other day, we’ve been interested in seeing what else is up there in the woods. I’m constantly on Google Earth trying to plot our next trip. Yesterday’s plan was to simply go a bit further up the Northern trail until we hit the river, look around a bit and then turn back. What we discovered after hiking for about an hour was a trail that was much longer than anticipated. I made the decision to go all the way, meaning continue through the whole 3 1/2 mile loop that would bring us back to our road. I have to say, I’m glad we didn’t wimp out because the scenery up there is stunning. I’m still in disbelief that this type of terrain is in our back yard. Literally, a few minutes on an ATV would bring us smack in the middle of endless trails for hiking and riding. And by endless, I mean that we could walk to Canada if we wanted to.

I’m going to post a few of yesterday’s pictures below. Take particular notice of the moose tracks we found. These tracks were ultra-fresh. I’m guessing the moose crossed our path just a few minutes before we arrived, judging by the condition of the snow. What a sight that would have been. A little freaky, but still cool.

Also, I do want to mention that being a few miles in the woods without another human soul nearby can be a bit unnerving. As much as I like to think I’m a rugged mountain man, I have to confess that there is still some getting used to the whole thing. The silence is awkward and just the fact that there’s no one to call if something happens can get to me. Needless to say, I pay close attention to my surroundings and am very careful where we go and what we do. For future hikes, I plan on being more equipped to defend against an animal that is either protecting its territory or looking at us as its next meal.

Anyway, enjoy the pictures.

Jay Walking Down the Mountain

This was the area we first began taking pictures. As soon as we came over the ridge, I was like, “Whoa.” And to think, we weren’t even planning on bringing the cameras. I wasn’t expecting to see mountains or diverse terrain.

Moose Tracks in Maine

Further down the mountain a bit was where we saw the moose tracks cross the snowmobile trail. It was shocking to say the least because I just assumed the local moose stories to be folklore.

Moose Print

Large Moose Print

These are pictures of a moose print. When we first took a few pictures, they looked big to us. Then, I realized there wasn’t a comparison picture, so I decided to use my foot to show you how big the print actually was.

Traveling Down Mountain

This is a ridge that leads down to a valley where the river crosses the trail. Right before the river, we made a right to continue around the long loop.

Snowmobile Sign

These signs are usually placed before and after a bridge that spans a small river. It’s just a reminder for riders to respect the fact that the landowner’s are allowing them to ride through their property.

Maine Pine Trees

Pine trees began accumulating in the valley close to the river. If there was more sun, I would have taken more pictures of the area because it truly is beautiful.

Jay Standing Above Valley

Laura took this nice picture of me modeling on the edge of the valley. This one is a keeper.

Winter Sun Through Trees

The sun and clouds were doing strange things yesterday and offered some unique shots.

Beautiful Valley in Maine

This is the beautiful valley I’m talking about. Kind of hard to believe I can walk out our front door and hike there in less than an hour.

Spotted Maple Trees

Towards the end of our hike, we passed a small area that held oddly spotted Maple trees. It was a small area, which made for a nice picture.

Hiking Trail Map

This is the route we took yesterday. Like I said, I estimate it to be 3 1/2 miles. But I’ll tell you, hiking it in the snow sure felt like 10. Thank you Google Earth.

Filed Under: Fitness & Recreation Tagged With: Hiking, Snow


Looking at Land in Maine’s Backcountry

February 20, 2014

Today, Laura and I accomplished a task that has been on our agenda for some time. We’ve been meaning to get up to the end of the road and hang a left instead of a right. As you already know, taking a right down into the woods brings us to the river and the bridge. Taking a left brings us into a wide variety of logging roads, turned snowmobile trails in the Winter and dirt access roads during the other three seasons.

I have a buddy who’s interested in some land. The parcels he found just happen to be located at the end of our road, up towards one of the numerous mountains in the area. And actually, the land is right at the foot of the mountain, which makes for some pretty decent views.

Today was warm and sunny. I’d say it was about 40 degrees. The trails were packed down nicely and weren’t all too terrible to walk on. Getting up the hill brought on a bit of sweat, but otherwise, things were good.

Now, just to let you know, the land we looked at today is what some new age folk term, “off the grid.” A few years ago, it was called, oh I don’t know – land. But now, off the grid has joined the ranks of sustainable, organic, green and carbon footprint. Back in the day, those things were just called, “growing stuff.” I’m not sure why I mention this. I suppose it’s because I needed to fill you in on the fact that there is no electric power back in these woods and vehicle access is restricted to any time but Winter.

For my buddy, I’m going to post each picture and then give a description below. And just to let everyone else know, the land back there is magical. There are miles and miles of walking trails and to build a cabin and live off the land would be just short of what man was put on this green earth for. We don’t require much. Just to have our backs to a mountain and our faces look out over the great state of Maine. Ha!

End of Our Road

This is the end of our road, looking into the trail. The corner property is 5/8 of a mile up the trail.

Looking Back at the Road

Right after I took the first picture, I turned around and took one of the road we just walked off of. See those power lines? Kiss them goodbye.

Walking Up the Snowmobile Trail

Further Up the Mountain

I took these pictures a bit further into the trail. We’re just climbing up what I wasn’t expecting – an incline.

Maine Off-Grid Land For Sale

We reached the land. This is the corner lot with the camp on it. I have more pictures of this below. The trail to the right runs North and the trail to the left runs West.

Snowmobile Trail Running North

This is a better view of the trail running North. I have another one too.

Trail Running West

This is the trail that runs West and that continues up the hill. The camp is on the right.

Better View of the Trail Running North

And again, a better view of the trail running North. The lots for sale are all along this trail. I think they are two acres wide by six acres deep.

Looking Back at Trail Entrance

This picture was taken as I was standing at the intersection and looking back down the hill. There’s a better picture of the view down below.

Land For Sale

If you look closely, you can see the cabin to the right of the sign.

Off-Grid Cabin in Maine

This cabin isn’t for sale. This is located further up the hill and more West.

Driveway of Camp For Sale

This is the driveway of the camp for sale. It’s under a few few of snow. Sorry about that.

Looking East on Snowmobile Trail

Just looking back East at the intersection from up the hill. Now, the camp is on the left.

Cabin in Maine #1

Cabin in Maine #2

Cabin in Maine #3

Cabin in Maine #4

Cabin in Maine #5

This is the best we could do. The camp is very difficult to reach without snowshoes. I tried to walk up the driveway and fell in. I got snow in my shoes for you.

Off-Grid Cabin in Maine

Another Off-Grid Cabin in Maine

These are two more cabins further West. I do not believe they are for sale. Pretty sweet though. These guys have the right idea. Do you know how far back this is? Not a sound.

Snowmobile On Trail

Snowmobile Riding Away

While we were up there, a guy on a sled passed us by. We waved and took his picture. Then, he stopped and asked us if we were alright. Nice guy. He was probably just wondering what in the heck we were doing back there.

View of the Maine Hills

I marvel at marvelous things. This is the view from up there.

Walking Down Trail in Maine

Just a picture Laura snapped of me walking back down the trail.

Sumac

This is a wonderful shot of Sumac. The trail was also lined with wild Raspberry bushes. A whole lot of them.

Well, that’s it. Did you enjoy? I hope so. Personally, I’d love to build a cabin up there and live off the grid. It’d give my life a bunch of meaning. I think you have to be “one of those people” to understand why someone would want to do something like that, but take my word for it when I tell you, it would be worth every minute.

Filed Under: Fitness & Recreation Tagged With: Hiking


Launch Fuel Review – Q5 Combat

February 14, 2014

I’ve got to tell you something. And I’m going to be honest with you here when I say that I’m just a regular guy. Sure, I train Jiu-Jitsu, but really, I haven’t ever gotten into the whole “health” thing when it comes to physical fitness in between BJJ classes. I don’t work out, I have never touched a kettlebell and I certainly don’t know what the Paleo Diet is. Or any diet for that matter. The most I’ve done to step up my game was to buy some protein shake to assist with my energy level before jitsu classes. A long way back, I was having issues with my face turning purple half way through sparring matches and not being able to catch my breath for the rest of the night. Beware – those were the old days. Don’t think I just let you behind the curtain of one of my weaknesses.

All right, I may have just lied. About six months ago, I purchased one of those canisters of Gatorade mix to make my own drinks to bring to class. I figured that Gatorade had sugar in it and perhaps that would give me the extra boost I needed to compete with the beasts down in St. Augustine at Fighting Chance. I was but a mere pale Northerner who happened to pass through Florida for a few months and who was seriously not ready for the amount of sweat I would leave there. It only took a few classes for me to realize I needed something more than straight-up water.

Now that I have that out of the way, I want to let you know that a guy named Colin emailed me a while back and asked if I’d be interested in trying out some of his Q5 sports supplements. He wanted to know if I’d give a review on my site (this one). At first, I was a bit hesitant because I’m not good at lying and Colin seemed like a nice guy. What if I didn’t go for his product? Would I just not write a review or would I write one and tell the truth? Whatever. I probably over thought the whole thing because before I knew it, I was holding five mini canisters of a variety of what Q5 has to offer. And since I received the supplements on Friday and Friday is the day Maine’s premier BJJ school, the Foundry, holds open mat, I figured I’d give the contents of one of the canisters, Launch Fuel, a once over. I had already eaten my, before class, bowl of pasta and was ready to try out a glass of Launch Fuel.

Sport Supplement Powder

Q5 Launch Fuel

Honestly, there are only a few things I care about when it comes to sports supplements, and as I mentioned above, I really don’t have a lot of experience with them, so some of what I look at are merely speculative. But I think if I were one of those supplement junkies, I would certainly look at price, taste, mixture and performance. I know ingredients are in there somewhere, but the Google search I made for “Launch Fuel Reviews” right before starting this post provided me with quite enough articles where this stuff’s ingredients were covered ad nauseum. I’ll simply link to those reviews at the end of this post. As for what I’d like to do – I’d like to give you the simple man’s review of one particular supplement. And I want to give it to you from a guy who works on the computer, who mows the lawn, who splits wood and who likes to roll with the best of them. But I want you to remember, I’m 40 years old and I don’t compete. I wear no-name rash guards and my next gi will be the cheapest one I can find. I am in no way flashy, so don’t expect to find any review on this blog cover the ins and outs of what things are made of and why I should care. Remember, cost and performance come in first with me.

Price

As of this writing, 30 servings of Launch Fuel cost $58.50. You be the judge of whether or not it’s worth it to spend $1.95 on a drink before and during class or a competition. It’s probably the same cost as a regular sports drink, so I’m sure you’re not spending any more than you normally would. You’d have to try this product a few times to see if it worked well enough to justify what you’d spend on it.

Taste

This is where I have experience, as I’m sure you do as well. If something doesn’t taste good, it doesn’t matter how good it is at helping you out – there’s no way it will last. Some how, some way, it will languish in the market and better tasting products will take its place on store shelves. Luckily, I can tell you that Q5 Launch Fuel tastes really good. And I was surprised at that because I’ve never had faith in the supplement segment of the sports arena. Launch Fuel tastes just like those little tarts you can wear around your neck. You know, kind of like pez candy. And now that I think back, I recall that it tastes really good. I actually finished drinking it and wanted more.

Mixture

There really is nothing worse than pouring some powder into a glass of milk or water and having it float on top of the liquid, only to stay there for an infinite length of time. No matter how much you mix it, all you get are clumps of nastiness. I know they’ve come a long way with having supplements mix easily into what you’re mixing them into, but they still have a long way to go. As far as Launch Fuel, I’d say that the powder mixes fairly easily. It took about a minute to completely dissolve into very cold Maine water. And I even have pictures to prove it. The only thing you’ll have to take my word on is the timing.

Adding Sport Supplement Powder to Water

Dissolving Sport Supplement in Water

Stirring Sport Supplement in Water

I promise you, it mixed easily. All I did was fill the glass with water, kind of stir it with a knife and there you go. Ready to drink.

Performance

This is where things get tricky. I can either say, “Yeah man, this is the best stuff I ever tried,” or “I didn’t feel a thing.” I guess the truth and some background on what exactly happened would be more appropriate.

I’m not sure if I mentioned this already (it’s been a long post), but when I tried Launch Fuel out, I was heading to open mat. Usually, open mat lasts for a few hours and while there, I get to roll with a wide variety of guys and gals. Some are heavier than me and some are lighter. I generally last for about six or seven – six minute rounds. That’s right around the time I see people start to sit against the wall and talk. Which is fine because that’s around the time I’m exhausted.

On the day at hand, we had a full house. A full house means there were about twelve people on the mats, which is good for me because I like a variety of bodies to slap my triangle on. Seriously, I need to switch gears to a more varied plethora of submissions, but I’ll talk about that later. Anyway, it was the perfect day to try out Launch Fuel.

My report is this: at the end of eight – six minute rounds last Friday, I sat there wanting more. I can’t tell you why that was. I’d be lying if I said it was because I tried a spectacular new sports supplement called Q5 Launch Fuel, but I will tell you that I drank it before class and after class I was still interested in kicking someone’s ass. You be the judge as to why that was. I just lay out the facts. I still had energy, I still had stamina and I was interested in rolling a few more rounds. Simply put, I wasn’t tired.

There. That was my review. If you though that was fun, just wait for me to cover what’s in the next four little canisters Colin sent over. We’ll see how those affect my fighting ability and whether or not they aided in my surviving open mat down at the Foundry.

Filed Under: Fitness & Recreation


Triangle Defense with Dean Lister

January 31, 2014

A few years ago, I visited a NAGA tournament to support a few classmates of mine. While I was there, I saw a kid, probably no older than seventeen or eighteen, competing in another area while wearing a bright red gi. I wasn’t sure what to make of the gi, but when I watched this kid submit his opponent by triangle, I thought he was the coolest thing since sliced bread.

I’m not sure – but I think there’s something about the triangle choke in BJJ that makes it special. It’s rare, it takes skill and not everyone has the body style to support it. And it just looks good. I’d even go as far as saying that it looks magazine cover good, if executed by the right person at the right time. Much more magazine worthy than a hidden clock choke. Of course I’m just talking about style and ego here because I’m sure there are many more efficient and higher percentage submissions out there, but I bet if you asked any prospective BJJ white belt what they’re interested in learning right off the bat, they’d say the armbar and the triangle.

Anyway, I saw a video this morning where Dean Lister demonstrated a fairly basic triangle defense. I believe he called it an escape, but for the purposes of this post, we’ll call it a defense. Someone tries to throw a triangle around your neck, you defend against it to move onto greener pastures. Done.

I’ve been playing with my triangle for years now and I’m fairly confident that I can submit about 80% of my opponents with it. I’ve got sort of a system to go about things. I’ve also got long legs which doesn’t hurt the situation. While I’d say that 80% is high, there are those in that 20% I would never be able to triangle. Those are the players who are either too heavy, too strong or just way better than I am. They don’t even let me get the beginning of my setup. They see me walking through the door, slap my hand and immediately take my legs out of the equation. And to be honest with you, that 80% is most likely getting smaller because as I roll with people more and more, they learn what they need to do to steer clear of the lower half of my body. Our first roll together, yeah, I can sneak a few triangles in there. The next day, about half. The next day, they’ve learned to throw some wrestling kung fu my way and pin my legs to the ground. I find myself in the very annoying position of trying to escape side control. Really? Side control?

But still, I know what needs to get done for me to submit my opponent this way. And really, it’s all in the hips. If I can’t move my hips to line up correctly and make my body perpendicular to my partner’s, all I’m going to find myself doing is squeezing the poor guy’s head until it turns purple. I may even pull the back of his head down in case my instructor’s looking or something, but let me assure you, I most likely won’t get the submission. Unless, of course, it’s a new guy and he has no idea what’s happening.

Take a look at Dean’s video and then I’ll talk about the major points below.

Dean Lister Shows Triangle Defense With Keenan Cornelius

Okay, did you watch it? Good. Let’s go over what you would need to do to prevent my long legs from getting in the way of blood flowing to your brain or air getting into your lungs. I’m going to use myself in this discussion because I know no one’s brain better.

Resistance – The first thing Dean mentioned was that you need to resist your opponent’s attempt at getting a good connection. If you’ll notice at 1:42, you see Dean bringing his right arm across Keenan’s body to plant on the ground. Forget about MMA for a second and only think about sport BJJ. When I throw my legs around the upper portion of your body and start getting in position for a triangle choke, what’s the first thing I’m going to try to do after getting a nice tight high guard? I’m going to start pivoting my body to the right. As I said above, I’m going to attempt to move my hips in perpendicular fashion to yours. By posting your hands to the ground and positioning your arms to block my hips, you effectively thwart my attempt and keep our bodies aligned in parallel.

The reason I called this escape a defense above, is particularly because of this very first counter to the triangle. If planting your hands next to my hips and keeping space between your neck and my inner knee was all you were to do, you’d probably tire my legs to the point of me giving up the position. We’ll call this a good triangle resistance.

Survival – Just a few lines above, I talked about moving your head in such a way that would aggravate the connection I’m trying to achieve between the innermost portion of my knee and your neck. In order for my triangle to be successful, I surely need that connection. If you were to dive into my position as Dean mentions in the video and bring your shoulder over to block me, you’d be in good shape.

Escape – At 3:10, look at the way Dean walks his body in the opposite direction of where I would want my hips to move. If I need my hips to travel in one direction and my opponent essentially walks them to another, he’s going to escape my triangle. Or at the very least render it ineffective. I may play stubborn for a while and just hold on, but all I do with that is take a few years off the life of my knees. And they’re bad enough as it is.

Check out how Dean keeps walking to his right. He goes and goes until the triangle is broken. Most guys, including me, can’t take that kind of pressure, especially against someone who’s got his hands planted to the ground in such a way that I’m basically stuck. In other words, I’m getting stacked and the only one who is allowing it to continue is me. Pure stubbornness.

So really, if you’re trying to get out of someone’s triangle, the first line of defense is to see it coming from a mile away. Start working your way out of a submission that hasn’t even begun yet. If your opponent does manage to get his legs up there and in position, DO NOT get lazy. There’s nothing I love more than watching someone allow me to swivel my hips around and get all comfy because once I’m in good position, they’re toast. If my hips are where they’re supposed to be and, as instructor Seth says, I’m looking into your ear, you can fight all you want. Once I tighten my hamstring, you’re going nowhere. It’s that little tap tap tap I’m looking for that makes it worth the time.

If your opponent gets past the seeming point of no return, start working one of the many triangle escapes out there. Grab the leg, throw it to the ground. Screw up your opponent’s setup and move your body the opposite way of where your opponent wants it.

Do you have a take on this? What’s your favorite triangle defense? Once you feel you’re stuck, what do you do?

Filed Under: Fitness & Recreation Tagged With: Jiu-Jitsu


Back From a Long Break

January 30, 2014

I have no idea why I stopped writing. I think it was because I needed to get some things in my life together. Moving from Florida to Maine would do it – I think.

Anyway, this is just a quick post to say that I’m going to be diving back into this blog. Can you believe that my last post was on August 23? That’s pretty crazy.

What’s been up in my Jiu-Jitsu world since August? Well, I moved out of Florida for one. I hesitantly left Kevin Synan (from Fighting Chance down in St. Augustine) and the gang. I have to say – that hurt. I think the worst part of it was that I never really got to say goodbye to anyone. One day, I decided that it was time to head back up North. That was it. I made a call to a realtor and here I sit – in Maine. I think it took a total of three weeks to move from Florida, once I made an offer on the house we’ve been looking at. Getting everything together pretty much ate up all my time. I didn’t training for about a month.

I think an apology is in order here as well. Since I’ve arrive in Maine and began training at a pretty awesome school called, The Foundry, I completely stole Carlos’ game (don’t tell him). Well, perhaps not completely, but let’s just say he had an impact. And so did Kevin. Grips, grips, grips. I tell almost all the students I roll with how important grips are. And I brought that here from down South. Spider Guard – well, let’s just say I’m still working on that, but it’s coming along. I do remember the importance of how the one handed grip needs to be pinned to the leg.

As I just mentioned, I’m now training at the Foundry in Farmington, Maine. I am seriously thrilled to be training with this great group of people. For all I know, they are wondering who in the world this dude from Florida, and before that, Connecticut is. Just me. I move around a lot, I suppose. But I think I’m here to stay. I’ve been bitten by the Maine bug and am really having the time of my life. The cold is not an issue. It just makes me roll harder.

I think I’d like to continue here what I started in Florida. Talking about technique, talking about what I love and what bothers me about BJJ and everything in between. The guys up here are extremely technical, so that shouldn’t be an issue. I’ve already picked up a few sweet tips.

Man, a lot’s happened. Eddie Bravo vs. Royler Gracie at Metamoris 3? That’s going to be good. Talk more soon…

Metamoris 3 Gracie VS Bravo The Rematch

Filed Under: Fitness & Recreation Tagged With: Jiu-Jitsu


Hiking On the Snow Trail

January 23, 2014

We ventured back out to the trail on Tuesday. It was very cold, but we really didn’t feel it through our jackets, hats, gloves and boots. And Laura wore her Baffins with the studs. She had to pull me up the hill at the end of the hike. I was slipping all over the place. Her studs held well and brought us home.

Since this is the same trail we walked last week and since I already gave you the rundown on what it’s all about, we’ll keep this to another walking tour, chock full of pictures. We’ll keep things easy.

Laura took some of these and I took some others. She used the standard 18-135mm lens and I used the extra wide-angle 10-20mm. You’ll probably be able to figure out who took what by using that bit of information.

Small Bridge and Stream in Snow

This is the first small bridge I was talking about the other day. The stream leads about a mile down through our back yard. It then turns to swamp and eventually finds its way into another stream and then the larger river.

Moose Rub

This is what I suspect is a moose rub. The tree damage is about 8 feet high. We can’t seem to think of any other animal that could do that besides a bear scratching. But after doing a few quick searches, I do think it was a moose. And there are quite a few of them (moose rubs, that is).

If you don’t know what a moose looks like, here’s a video for you.

Bull Moose Rubs His Antlers

Snowmobile Trail in Maine

This is the main snowmobile trail that leads to the larger bridge.

Old Stone House Foundation in the Woods

Remember I mentioned there was an old foundation that was made of stone back there in the woods? Well, here it is. I couldn’t really get any great shots because of the snow, but you can bet I’ll get inside that thing once Spring rolls around.

Bridge Over Small River

Snowmobile Bridge

Ah, the bridge I’ve been talking about. It looks as though someone or someones recently did some work to this bridge as shown in later photos. You can still see the tags on the ends of the lumber.

Wild Raspberries

For some reason, we’ve got a whole lot of wild berries that aren’t eaten by the birds around here. In this case, we have wild raspberries.

Snowmobile Trail Facing North

Snowmobile Trail Facing East

After you cross the bridge, you come out there where the snowmobile trails open up. These are two pictures of the trails heading North and East. My friend at the end of the road owns the land we were on. He owns over 380 acres up here – a mile this way and a mile that. What a huge amount of land for us to play on.

Rabbit Tracks Through the Snow

These are rabbit tracks through the snow. Laura seems to think these are snowshoe hare tracks. I took a look at comparable pictures and agree.

Water Rushing Down Frozen River

Some of the river was frozen while other parts were not. In this case, the water was flowing enough to give Laura and chance to take a picture of it. And just to let you know, the cloudiness in the water from all that rain has disappeared. The clarity is back, as I’ll show you in just a bit.

Ice Chunks in River

Obviously, the river water was much deeper last week when it froze. Now that the level has dropped, all the ice cracked and sits in chunks. It sort of looks like Krypton from Superman.

Texture in Ice

There were areas of ice that had some interesting texture in it. All I can think of is that the ice melted some and then re-froze, creating this.

Icicles Coming From Rock Wall

The area under the bridge is made of stones. Water came through those stones and created icicles.

Veins Through Chunk of Ice

Here’s another example of something interesting that happens when water freezes. It’s a chunk of ice at the side of the river. This time, there are veins running through the ice.

Under the Bridge at Frozen River

This is the other side of the bridge. Like I mentioned before, you can still see the tags on the edge of each piece of lumber.

Very Clear Ice

Yes, the clear water came back and here’s the ice to prove it. Can you believe it? The river is about a foot deep here and I was looking straight through the ice as small bits of wood and leaves tumbled by.

Strange and Odd Snowflakes

I’m not sure if these can be classified as snowflakes, but they were snow something. Strange things too. They were large and somewhat bulky looking.

Snowmobile Bridge in Winter

Say goodbye to the snowmobile bridge because in just a few short months, this will become the ATV and hiking bridge. Miles and miles of riding and hiking.

Filed Under: Fitness & Recreation Tagged With: Hiking, Snow


Camping at Minus 40 Degrees

January 20, 2014

I’m really getting into this whole Winter thing. At this point, I’d confidently say that I prefer it over Summer. For most of my life, I avoided Winter. It got in the way of me riding my bike down to the lake to go swimming. I mean, it did offer those occasional snow days from school, but other than that, it was just cold. And the fact that I never admitted that it was indeed Winter by dressing like a fool, just made things worse.

When you move to the North country, you don’t dress like a fool anymore. When Laura and I head outside, we wear things that will keep us snug and warm. People ask me nowadays if we’re cold up here. I tell them that we’re really not. It’s not like it used to be – with me running around in slippers wondering why my feet were freezing. Most of the time, I wear boots in the house. It’s only when I get ready for bed that I notice how I’m dressed. It only took a few weeks up here for me to realize that fashion was out the window.

You know we’ve had our share of ice here. We’ve been slipping and sliding all over the place. I’ve been to the store a few times and have seen these rubber things that you can slip over your shoes. They have spikes in them to keep you steady on the ice. I almost bought two pairs when I remembered that I can easily stud our own boots for much less than what the store was asking for their solution. Check out what I did.

Ice Studs in Baffin Boot

I studded Laura’s new Baffin boots. I also did mine, but I don’t have Baffins yet. I just have my mud boots. I’m saving up for the Baffins. And if you weren’t aware, these boots are rated to -145 degrees. That’s pretty damn cold. Here’s a view of their side.

Baffin Boot

So how did I stud our boots? Well, all I did was pick up a few screws (80 to be exact) from the hardware store and screw them into the bottom of each boot. I got two sizes of screw – a half inch and a three eighths inch. And I made sure to get the hex head so it can grip into the ice. You should see us walk around now. No slipping at all. You can actually hear the screws scratching into the surface.

Screws

This really isn’t the reason I wrote this post. I suppose I got side tracked a bit. What I really wanted to show you was a video of two guys who camped out in Minnesota at minus 40 degrees. Awesome video. You should watch it and get all sorts of inspired to try something like this yourself.

Minus 40ºF Hammock Backpack Trip in Ely, Minnesota

Filed Under: Fitness & Recreation


The Mother of All Trails

January 18, 2014

Laura and I went for a walk up the road today. We usually get to the end, turn around and come back. Today though, our intention wasn’t to turn around, but to head down one of the snowmobile trails to see exactly what was going on. A buddy of mine, who lives at the top of the road, told me that he and his wife have three walks they take – a two mile, a six mile and a seven mile. We know the two mile. That’s just down the road and back. We have no idea what the others are and that’s kind of why we wanted to head down the trail.

The river that runs along the back of our property also runs parallel to the road we live on, so if we were to walk to the top of the road and make a right down the trail, we’d have to cross the river. I can’t really see what’s going on down there on Google Earth and have been wondering how in the world these snowmobiles have been getting by. I’m aware that the trails are maintained by snowmobile clubs, but really have no knowledge of anything beyond that.

Boy were we in for a surprise. First, we found that you can totally walk on snowmobile trails. The snow is packed and it’s not like walking in the back yard. That was a huge plus. We’ve been avoiding the area because we thought we’d have to trudge through and lose all interest after a short while. That wasn’t the case.

Second, about a quarter mile in, we found an old house foundation made of stone. I’d say it’s about eight feet deep. It’s really interesting, so we’re going to focus on that at a later date. Third, right after the foundation, we crossed a small bridge that spanned a tiny stream. I thought this stream was the river that ran along the property. I thought that since it was a mile up-stream, it was smaller. I was wrong.

Just a short distance past the stream, we started hearing rushing water. I thought it was cars driving on a road, but quickly remembered that we were in the middle of the woods. There were no cars. We walked a bit further and found this:

River in Maine

Ice in River

And what we didn’t know was that the snowmobile trails didn’t only cross the finely crafted larger bridge, they also ran up along the river heading towards only who knows where. Here are two pictures of that:

Maine Snowmobile Trail

Snowmobile Trail Along River

The only bad part was that we didn’t bring the camera. I had to take these with my phone, so they kind of stink. The sun wasn’t out anyway, so any pictures we did take with the cameras wouldn’t have looked very good.

We’re going to go back this week, or the next time it’s sunny out. The weather forecast is telling me the sun’s supposed to shine on Wednesday, but it’s also supposed to be 3 degrees. I’m not sure I can do that, but we’ll see.

As you can well imagine, we’re pretty excited to live so close to something like this. It feels like a big state park with all those Hemlock trees. And the trails to everywhere – that’s just something else. I can’t seem to “wrap my head around” it and I’m not one for repeating sayings like that.

Filed Under: Fitness & Recreation Tagged With: Hiking


Maine Walking Tour For Mid-January

January 16, 2014

Since yesterday was sunny and warm, we decided that it would be wise to get out of the house for a while. Ever since the arrival of this ice, we’ve been kind of trapped. You can’t really walk on the stuff. It’s just too slippery. Even after the application of sand.

We made it almost to the top of the road when we had to turn around. One of us was going to fall. The odds weren’t favorable – we had made it that far and pushing it wouldn’t have done any good. Especially since I had planned on crawling through the snow to the back of our property later on. I wanted to see if the big river was overflowing. To let you know, it wasn’t. It looked like the river on any other day, except it was dirtier because of all the ice and snow.

The snow, then rain, then snow, then rain again has made it extraordinarily difficult to walk through the woods. Laura and I left at the same time. She stopped for a while to take some pictures (below) and I plowed ahead to the back of the property. After my river disappointment, I plowed back and told her the trip wasn’t worth it. And by that point, I was sweating. If I haven’t mentioned already, sweating in the Winter is horrible. There’s not much you can do once your shirt is wet. If you take off your jacket at that point, it’s too cold. If you put your jacket back on, it’s disgusting. The trick it to not sweat in the first place. At the first sign of heat, remove your hat and jacket. Keep that temperature steady. One of these days I’ll follow my own advice.

When I came back, I decided to relocate my chainsaw and some gas mixture to the back shed. That’s where I do all my cutting, so walking it back and forth each time is pretty silly. And since I had the chainsaw so close, I decided to start cutting and splitting some wood, which made me sweat even more. But, I got another row done. Not bad for just a few minutes of chainsaw/axe work. I’m almost up to a full cord.

Here are the pictures of our walk yesterday. Laura is responsible for all these. I didn’t have my camera on me so all I was able to do was to model for one of them. Enjoy.

Walking Up Icy Road

This is the very bottom of our road. They sanded pretty heavily here and the sun hits it well, so it was the safest area along the entire road. The ATV in the background belongs to a kid who lives pretty far up. He rides it down in the morning, parks it and gets on the school bus. After school, he hops on it and rides it home. Only in Maine.

Horses in Sanctuary

This is a quick pic of the horses in the sanctuary across the street. I think they’re enjoying the sun because we’ve heard them whinny on a number of occasions.

Up-Close Woodpecker Tree Damage

I believe this is woodpecker tree damage. I guess there are insects in there, otherwise the woodpecker wouldn’t have wasted his time. There were two other trees we found that had the same damage, which was pretty interesting to look at.

Deer Prints in Snow

Deer Droppings

Where there are deer prints, there are droppings. We have some pretty decent deer activity on this property. I guess all the water is pretty handy for the deer. I found a few tracks in the snow all the way back to the river. Some marks were larger than others.

Cherry Tree Stump

Just a quick picture of the stump of one of the Cherry trees I took down in the woods. The lengths of wood are still laying under the snow. Right after I took this tree down, it snowed and I haven’t been able to get them out. It somewhat annoys me to know there is wood that needs splitting that I can’t split.

Moss Growing on Tree

I’ve always been somewhat amazed at how well moss grows through the Winter. For years, I’ve watched this stuff retain its softness on the coldest days.

Witch's Broom on Blueberry Bush

We have a number of wild blueberry bushes here, and I think all of them have a disease called, “Witch’s Broom.” From what I can gather, this is caused by the bushes being too close to pines or something like that. I’m not as sure of that as I am that it’s really difficult to get rid of. The previous owner told us that the bush usually stops producing berries and the Witch’s Broom takes over. What a shame.

Ice On Top of Snow

We have ice on top of snow all over the place. If it were totally frozen, it wouldn’t be that bad. But having it half frozen, half slush makes it horrible to walk on. You go a few steps on top and then fall through. Not very good for the spine when you suddenly fall down a foot. It’s sort of like walking off that bottom step you didn’t know was there.

Water Running Through Ice on River

The water has somewhat broken through parts of the ice in the stream. Now, we have water running beneath the ice and above the ice. It’s making for some pretty high water levels.

Horseshoe Hanging in Tree

Laura found this horseshoe hanging in a tree yesterday. I never noticed it, but I think it’s a pretty cool picture.

Filed Under: Fitness & Recreation Tagged With: Hiking, Maine


In Search of the Beaver Hut

November 23, 2013

I was talking to my mother last night after my Jiu-Jitsu class, trying to explain to her how cool the woods were in the rear of the property. I said, “Yeah, there are tons of pines and maples and the water is so clear in the river.” It’s difficult to imagine, I’m sure, because you need to see something to get the vibe of it.

I told her about the beaver dams and how I was going to search for the hut one of these days. Little did I know, this morning I would venture out in the cold wind to do just that.

I didn’t give it any real sustained effort. I basically grabbed my camera and made the same walk Laura and I already made. Only this time, I took a few pictures along the way. There’s a lot to look at back there and taking these kinds of up-close photos is the best I could do with little to no planning. I did cover a few bases though. Bases such as the water, the types of pine trees that grow here and also a beaver dam or two. I’ll show you below.

Clear Water in a Maine Brook

I took this picture about twenty feet away from the water. I’m not sure why it’s so clear up here. Probably has something to do with no silt or something. Whatever the cause, I can’t get over the fact that I can see straight to the bottom of any stream or pond I find.

Icicles in Beaver Dam

Fresh Log Taken into Water by Beaver

Beaver Dam

The beavers have been very active back in the river. Every time I visit the area, I see freshly chopped branches floating around. Also, it was windy and cold last night and icicles are forming in the beaver dam.

Pine Trees Along River

This is a little hideout I found along the river. For some reason, I thought of my friend Seth when I was crouched down under the trees last week. I crumbled up a few pine needles in my hand and man – what a strong pine scent. I’ll show him when he comes to visit. I’m not sure why I thought of him. I just think he’s interested in this kind of stuff.

Two Rivers Meet

This is a really nice part of the river where it splits and then comes back together, forming an island. There’s a beaver dam in front of and behind the island, creating higher levels of water than would normally be there.

Stone Wall Beside River

Oddly enough, I found two stone walls back behind and adjacent to the property. It’s strange because up here in Maine, it’s not like Connecticut, where there’s a stone wall every two feet. To stumble upon one was like finding a needle in a haystack.

Pine Tree Fallen From Wind

Broken Pine Tree

Butt of Broken Pine

I was pretty excited when I walked past this pine tree laying on the ground. Laura and I have been discussing places to search for our Christmas tree this year. The reason for my excitement when finding this tree was that it looked like what we have in mind. The only problem is, it’s too early to bring inside. I suppose we can leave it there in the woods and then see if it has any life to it in a few weeks. If it does, we’ll drag it back to the house. The tree fell last night because of the wind. You can see the fallen top, the butt and the tall stump.

Standing on Island in River

I took this picture while standing on the island between the two sections of river. I walked across one of the beaver dams to get there. It’s not a large island, but it’s fun to see the various sections of water around it.

Tips of Pine Trees in Maine

There are so many things to take pictures of here, I figured I would throw this into the mix. I got this shot just before I stepped back onto the beaver dam to get back to the regular trail I had come in on. I thought it looked good, so I went for it.

Cedar Tree

Norway Spruce Needles

Hemlock Needles

Norway Spruce

White Pine Needles

When talking about the types of pine trees we had around here with my mother last night, I explained how we had cedar, hemlock, norway spruce and white pine. I decided to grab a few pictures of them this morning for a better illustration. I think they look good in the sun.

Well, there you have it folks. Just a short post about some random things I discovered during this morning’s walk. I’m sure I’ll come across so many more interesting areas, so I’ll keep on taking pictures and writing about them.

Filed Under: Fitness & Recreation

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