Fit Frog Adventures

Calgary’s Best Urban Hikes Series: Inglewood, Harvie Passage, The Bird Sanctuary and The Blackfoot Diner

lori — Mon, 13 May 2013 19:54:59 +0000

The Blackfoot Diner milkshake is

“Like sucking cake through a straw”

I am having a lot of fun researching my new book, a brand new version of my book Calgary’s Best Hikes and Walks. On Mother’s Day, my family joined me to test a new route for the book in the Inglewood, SE area. We started at 15 St, SE and followed the Bow River Pathway to Pearce Estate Park and the new Harvie Passage Whitewater Park on the Bow River. Harvie Passage water park replaces the deadly weir, the drowning machine as it used to be known.

The Harvie Passage website explains the benefits that will come out of the new weir project.

“Countless benefits will flow from this project – for people, fish, birds and wildlife, and the environment itself. This new park will provide a central connection node for numerous public amenities in the area, including the Calgary Zoo, Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, Pearce Estate Park Interpretive Wetland, Sam Livingston Fish Hatchery, East Village and the future site of the Calgary Science Centre. A reconfiguration of the river-bed will result in an aesthetically attractive passage through the centre of the city, while respecting fisheries and the aquatic ecosystem. Naturalization of the area will improve local habitat, movement corridors and riparian functions, allowing all kinds of wildlife to pass freely up and down the river. Perhaps most importantly, the hydraulic roller known as the “drowning machine” will be eliminated, giving safe and unrestricted access to emergency safety patrols, recreational paddlers and fish.”

Harvie Passage is across from Pearce Estate Park and the Livingston Fish Hatchery. The park is home to many trails for walkers, abundant bird life that flock to the wetlands, picnic tables, the Fish Hatchery, and the Bow Habitat Station, where kids can learn to fish in stocked bonds. YOu can also get a tour of the Fish Hatchery.

Continuing east along the Bow River Pathway, we passed wetlands full of the sounds of red-winged blackbirds and we saw an impressive beaver house with significant square footage! We continued past new and beautifully renovated older homes in a hidden neighbourhood along the Bow River; a neighourhood tucked away behind the industrial area off Blackfoot and 17 Ave., SE .

We arrived at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary and the start of the train yards. My son loves trains so we did did a photo shoot beside a parked rail car before strolling the pathways of the bird Sanctuary. My son reminded me of the time he and his friends got “kicked out” of the Bird Sanctuary for some enthusiastic owl discoveries that they had at a friends birthday party. Too loud, too much running. Enthusiastic boys in nature, lets put a stop to that says the naturalist.

The kids were set on a burger for lunch, and it was lunchtime so we started the search. Within minutes we arrived at the infamous Blackfoot Diner Truck Stop. I had heard of it but had never eaten there.

It’s legit. It’s a truck stop and it was the perfect stop for our Mother’s Day lunch.

The kids ordered the burgers and a milkshake (and people wonder how we get them to walk so far…) My daughter summed up the milkshake experience in a way that I never had, “it’s like sucking cake through a straw”. And it was! They were chocolatey, creamy and sweet. Yum. The bugers were tasty too, topped with “crappy cheese” (when my daughter was little she thought that Kraft slices were called “crap” slices and hence the name crappy cheese). She likes the cheese slices. They are just another “treat” that she can’t get at home.

We continued west on 9 Avenue past some industial areas but soon were back into the newly developed part of 9 Avenue. A turn north on 15 St and we were back in the neighbourhood, soaking up the smells of poplar buds and enjoying the sights of flowering fruit trees. Inglewood is the hot spot in Calgary, and not just because it is a micro climate of warmth. Gardens are fuller and pear trees live strong. Inglewood is one of the most interesting neighbourhoods to walk in Calgary. You never know what might be around the next corner and that is what makes for a fantastic urban hike.

Wildflowers

lori — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 16:16:31 +0000

Rummel Lake, Kananaskis

lori — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:06:24 +0000

Kids winter biking to school video! Self-propelled, independent kids in Calgary

lori — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 16:07:37 +0000

My son and his biking pals made the Calgary Herald newspaper in the fall of 2012 after being spotted biking to school in a snowstorm. And they have made the Calgary Herald again in March 2013 due to their cycling habit.

They bike year round, on their own, no overseeing parents. This used to be commonplace, but nowadays, parents don’t let their kids enjoy the independence that they so love and crave.

The kids were asked to present at the Safe and Smooth Symposium on March 21, 2013. I produced this video for the presentation. Check it out!

Snowshoe the Rockies (with the kids!)

lori — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 18:33:31 +0000

It’s time to play in the snow! Grab your friends and your family, a duffel bag full of clothes, your backpacks, some snowshoes, a crazy carpet, a shovel (for building snow forts at the trailhead!) and a heck of a lot of yummy food and thermoses of hot drinks; you are going snowshoeing in the Rockies!

Snowshoeing is as easy as walking! It’s simply left, right and repeat. There is no skill needed, no technique. But you do need to have some cardiovascular fitness because it can be challenging when you step off the beaten trail. And that, by the way, if the best part (the whole point) of snowshoeing! Get into the deep, powdery snow! Play, fall down and pounce. Snowshoeing generally follows some well know hiking trails, but snowshoeing is not as much about destination as it is about playing in snow.

There are some wonderful snowshoe routes in the Kananaskis Rockies as well as in Banff National Park and Yoho National Park. The main thing to know about choosing a wonderful snowshoe route is to be aware of and to avoid avalanche terrain and to ensure that you have the topographical maps (and know how to use them!) so you do not get lost or end up in avalanche terrain. And remember, cellphones rarely work in the the mountains so the motto, “BE PREPARED” is a good one to follow.

Our next snowshoe day is this weekend, January 20th and our next FAMILY FUN club Fit Frog snowshoe is on Saturday, Feb. 9th! Both outings will be full of powder pouncing and route finding and having fun in the snow. And if you are keen to take a weekend away, join us for a Family Fun getaway in YOHO National Park based in tiny Field, BC on February 15-17, 2013.

SNOWSHOE PRESENTATION
If you want to know more, or see a slide presentation to help you learn all you need to know to get started snowshoeing, get in touch and I can come and speak to your group!

Come on out and join us! Make winter your new favourite season!

Self-propelled kids in Calgary, cycling to school, even at -30!

lori — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 19:42:20 +0000

Journalist Tom Babin at the Calgary Herald just did a fantastic story on some cycle commuting kids in Calgary. One of them, my son, was part of that gang. Like I said in my previous post when I critiqued the Alberta Walkability Project, the built environment plays a minor role in getting people to be more active on a day to day basis. What makes these kids bike instead of taking the warm school bus is that it’s fun to bike!! It’s fun to bike on any day and especially through the snow and ice. It’s also fun to do it with your friends. Simple really. Let’s all get active because it is fun and feels great!

Take a look at the Calgary Herald story here!

Here are the Elboya School Grade 5-7, cycling kids!

“Alberta Walkability Roadshow” research missed the big picture and won’t get people to walk more

lori — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 20:38:38 +0000

We have all heard that walking is good for us for a whole bunch of reasons. And in case you have not heard why walking is the best acitvity for your health, then check out one of my favourite presentations on why you need to walk more by Doc Mike Evans. The bigger question is why do people walk? Or better still, why don’t people walk, or exercise, more? Active living, or incorporating activity into your every day, is the goal of all health advocates. The active living message has a hard time competing with our multi-tasking car culture. Living in an active way is a no brainer as far as health goes, but for most people, driving to and getting cheap stuff at Costco or Walmart, is a bigger priority than the health benefits of walking to the local store.

So, what’s a health advocate to do? How do we get people to focus in on their health while they are rushing from one activity to the next, eating prepared meals, sometimes while driving?

In my 20 years of leading people on thousands of urban and wilderness walks in Calgary and Alberta, writing guidebooks on urban walking and biking in Calgary, promoting active living through through presentations, and through my magazine and newspaper articles, I have learned why people walk.

Why people walk

The majority of people who choose to walk, to be active daily, do so for these reasons:

1. For fitness and health

2. For friendship (mostly women)

3. To attain a goal or reach a destination (mostly men)

The Alberta Walkability Roadshow project launched by Alberta Health Services in 2011, is, on the surface, admirable. Their goal is to help Albertans integrate activity into their day-to-day lives; a fantastic idea. The problem with their research is that the initiative leads to a lot of long term, built environment talk as a way to get people to walk. There is a lot of focus on making it nicer for people to walk, on signage for walkers, infrastructure to encourage walking, and having useful things for people to walk to in their communities. Don’t get me wrong, I do agree that all of this would be wonderful. I would love all communities in Canada to be set up for walkers and cyclists. I would love it if more people would walk for transportation as I do everyday in Calgary. However, this is not a reasonable, immediate goal for most of Canada. With the exception of high density cities like Vancouver and Montreal, most communities are being built or redesigned for cars. Small towns and cities across Canada are losing their main street life due to the Walmart fungus. Walmart is always on the outskirts of communities and once it gets a hold, all other services, like the supermarkets, the liquor store, the McDonalds, the Tim Horton’s, follow.

The Walmart phenomenon: my on foot research in Woodstock, New Brunswick

My research on this Walmart phenomenom was done in Woodstock, the oldest town in the province of New Brunswick. I grew up in Woodstock, a town of 5000 people, and now my family and I spend our summers there. The little town situated along the Saint John River, is historic and picturesque. Unfortunately the town and the province moved ALL services out the downtown core. And I do blame the town and province for the death of Woodstock’s downtown core since it was the shortsightedness of the town that allowed Walmart to locate on the TransCanada Highway, away from all neighbourhoods. The province then moved the liquor store out to be close to Walmart. The supermarkets, fast food outlets and movie theatre are also nearby. The location of these services means that most people need to drive to get groceries. And since cheap food is a priority pretty much everywhere nowadays, including Woodstock, the McDonald’s drive-through always has a line up at lunch.The built environment is set in Woodstock and in many small towns across Canada and it is not set up for active transport.

Get people walking right now: A Grassroots Initiative

In order to get people to start walking today, right now, there needs to be more grassroots initiatives in all villages, towns and cities across Canada.There needs to be a lot less talk of built environment, walkable communities and walking for transportation and a lot more encouragement for people to just walk for recreation, for fun and for fitness. And once people start enjoying more walking, get hooked on healthy behaviours, then perhaps these people will begin to recognize the value in having a walkable community.

How to get people to WALK MORE

Through my hands on, grassroots workshops, I help recreation departments in all cities and towns create walking programs and that easy to operate, and inexpensive. The goal? Get community members walking, right now!

1. Start of “Walking for Fitness” program with walking guides. Research and create a variety of routes in and around the town or city. Provide route maps!

2. Make it social and fun! Create a variety of walks to attract a diverse group; “Coffee shop hikes” or “Family Treks“

3. Provide a goal or add some brainwork! Create a program called “Hiking Training” to attract the goal oriented people to the group. Work towards the goal of doing longer hikes and add these hikes to the ongoing walking program. For example, in Woodstock , NB, the town walks could build fitness for the upcoming trek to Mount Carleton.

4. Create walking maps! Many people may like to head out on walks independently.

Creating a walking culture

Or better yet, create a culture of self-propelled living! Waiting for a community to become more walkable, to have the infrastructure to make walking or cycling pleasant and easy, is not a short term goal for most communities. And most communities need to make a change now, get people moving now, in order to combat the health decline of its citizens. It is critical that more people see the value in walking, the benefits to active living. Once they are hooked on an active lifestyle, then and only then will they start to make a push for more walkable communities. A walking culture is created when people just start walking more. Get out there!!

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lori — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 22:03:41 +0000

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lori — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 14:15:56 +0000

Glaciers, lakes and waterfalls! Hiking the Iceline Trail and ratatouille at Takkakaw Falls

lori — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 18:15:27 +0000

In Yoho National Park, BC, there is a hike that has it all. The Iceline Trail is a switch-back climb to glaciers, water features spreading across glacier scraped rocks, lakes and views of Takkakaw Falls, Canada’s highest waterfall, pouring off the Daly Glacier. We hiked the Iceline last weekend, on a spectacular blue sky fall day. We’ll repeat this fantastic getaway next summer, on August 23-25, 2013. It will be a lodge based catered getaway! Great hikes and great food. Hard to beat that.

So, back to our recent adventure. We arrived at Takkakaw Falls campground the evening before the hike and set up camp. The campground is a walk-in camping area and carts are provided at the parking area so that you can wheel your supplies in. Our kids LOVE camping! What kid wouldn’t love a campfire, a swiss army knife for carving marshmallow roasting sticks and getting good and dirty in the fresh mountain air and ending the day with sleeping in a tent.

Cool weather camping tip: The temperatures last weekend reached high 20′s in the daytime and then dropped below freezing at night so we had to bring extra sleeping bags to put on top of our Thermarest sleeping pad to stop the cold from the ground from reaching us. We also need more covers throughout the night as the condensation from our warm bodies and breathing froze on top of our down-filled sleeping bags. Wet or damp down is not as warm as dry down. Be sure to shake off the frost before it melts or, if the bag is already damp on top, put it out in the daytime sun to dry off.

We met up with some Club Fit Frog hikers and headed up the Iceline Trail early on Saturday morning. We climbed well above Takkakaw Falls and enjoyed sunshine the entire day. My kids are 10 and 8 years and are used to hiking for many hours at a time. One question I often get from friends is “how the heck do we get our kids to hike for 6 hours without whining?”

Don’t focus on the destination! We are not destination focussed hiking family. It turns out that kids are much better at enjoying the journey and are not so caught up in the goal, the end point, the destination. So change your approach to hiking and make it fun. Explore more. Check out the rocks, scrambling through creeks and over boulders. Carry lots of tasty snacks, treats that only come out on the hiking trail, and encourage kids to eat and drink. Food keeps them full of energy! And talk lots as you walk. Discuss things, enjoy being together, sing songs.

After a great day on the trail we headed to the campground to start preparing dinner. Ahh, a cold beer! Our chicken was marinating and we needed to chop veggies for ratatouille. New potatoes from our little backyard garden finished the meal (okay, chocolate brownies was the ultimate finish).

The campfire was stoked and dinner was soon on the grill. The kids worked on carving sticks and we enjoyed a cold drink in the sun. After dinner, we went for a walk to get closer to Takkakaw Falls and throw rocks in the river. The sun was setting, the temperature dropped and so we moved in closer to the fire. Soon the sky was full of stars. Another fun, active outdoor weekend. Join us next August as we explore the area once again!