The Social Cost: Things are never straight forward. There seems to be a genie watching our plans and throwing us curve balls in order to tempt us to bail on our hike or provide us with opportunities that could be more fun.
On the first weekend, May 29th, I have an engineering BBQ reunion announced a week prior. Another friend has offered to host. All I have to do is show up with the coleslaw and cold beer and enjoy catching up with old friends. I think my friends live interesting lives and I miss not getting together with them more often. My cousin is married to one of my class mates (with two adorable children in tow) and so it's a dual bonus - I get to visit family and friends at one event. There are friends flying in from New York. Most of the crew from University are available but I have the first weekend of the hike. What do I do? I've come across this before. The day I decide to bear down on my diet plans, I go to Costco and suddenly they are offering my favourite foods at every sample table. Of course, no other times does this happen. So this time, I stick to the plan but there is a price because it may be a while before we all have this chance to get together again.
Olivia pays a price as well. Her basketball team is having its end of year party on the second hike weekend. Plus, her best friend has chosen to have her birthday party that weekend. Even before the first hike, I explain to her that I would understand if she would like to stay home. But Olivia is committed. There will be other sleepovers at her friends house and she has been with the team for 4 years and has never missed a party until now. Olivia wants to hike. The offer stands, however, if after the first weekend, Olivia hates it, she can opt to stay home to be with her friends.
The Dollar Price
The Membership:
A Bruce Trail Family membership costs $50 CAD. Individual memberships are likely cheaper. You get one free Club membership with your overall Bruce Membership (the trail to divided into "clubs"). So I selected the Peninsula Club as our home club. The end 2 end hike, Wiarton to Tobermory, costs $10 per hiker which they ask for at the beginning of each day's hike. You can pay ahead and get the equivalent of one hike free which equates to $100 per hiker. Because there are two of us, I pay $200. This is tax deductible but you need to ask for a tax receipt.
A roof over your head: A typical B&B in the Bruce runs around $80 to $95. There are a few motels with good reviews which we will stay at later on. During the hikes, (I am writing this after the first weekend - I am not a disciplined blogger as yet) the Glen Miller Motel in Wiarton gets good reviews from the hike group. The club also talks about the Coach House Inn, closer to Tobermory, which has a swimming pool. The Motels run around $80 per night and offer continental breakfast with the plan. There are also camp grounds available which are an option for the more hardy and frugal. I want a hot shower, no sandy flip flops and a soft bed with no mosquito's buzzing around my head. Motels or B&B's are where it is at for me.
The Cost of Good Service
I think the love affair between the Bruce and its B&B's is now old and stale. In booking places, I have found two things to watch out for.
1. If you are allergic to animals such as cats, even when the B&B says "No Pets" , they may have pets. Olivia and I are allergic to cats and to sleep in a home with cats would seriously detract from our sleep and enjoyment. I had to cancel out of two B&B's (well in advance). The B&B's are not forthright with this info because they all want your business. The only way I found out was by perusing the B&B photo's and seeing cat photos or a cat in the background. For one cancellation, the owner actually reprimanded me for not looking at the "right" website which more clearly showed that they had cats. Which leads me to point two.
2. I am finding the B&B service is mediocre so far. There are more than a couple of B&B's that are up for sale where it seems like people just want out or the second generation of owner wants to upgrade to the large groups or go "spa retreat". At one B&B, when I commented to the owner that though they served breakfast starting at 8 AM, we needed to be out the door by 8:15- 8:30 AM - what could we do, she told me that we should eat fast. This doesn't mean we won't have stellar experiences - and I will let you know the ones that stand out - but so far the service is not really great.
The Equipment
I started shopping in February for our hiking needs as I did not want to take the financial hit all in one month. We both bought good hiking boots. I have nearly square feet, so Keen offers a wide boot which is very comfortable for me. I took all of my orthotics with me when shopping so I could size the boot properly. No blisters after weekend #1's 34 km. My boots cost around $130 but good shoes are worth every penny when it comes to comfort. Olivia gets Columbia boots from the States (we picked them up during one of her basketball tournaments) and they cost us $50. Olivia has narrow feet.
We did most of our shopping at Hiker's Haven in Oakville. I find the prices slightly better than Mountain Co-op in Burlington. We both bought Camelback back packs with 2 litre water bladders (total is $261). In addition to the bladders which we kept in the B&B kitchen fridge overnight, we also froze 500 ml water bottles in the B&B little freezers. On the cool Saturday, May 29 - 20 deg C - we had water to spare in our back pack bladders by the end of the 17 km hike. On the Sunday when the temp crept up to 26 C, we ran out of water 3 km before the finish. I mean flat out - frozen water gone, bladders bone dry. A lot of the hikers ran out and we were sharing water amongst the group. This shed light on a very important hiking pearl of wisdom. Food is important but carrying enough water is paramount. Next time, Olivia and I will each carry an extra 500 ml - which means each of us will have 3 litres of water in total at the start of the hike.
We also bought two adjustable ski pole style walking sticks - $40 for a two pack. Though I have never used a walking stick, the $40 is the best investment I have ever made. I am an ankle roller and have had physiotherapy on my right ankle more than once. A swollen, purple ankle could pretty well toast my plans for summer hiking. More than once during weekend #1, I caught myself on the pole as I went down, rolling on my ankle. Olivia used her pole on the Saturday of the first weekend and then didn't on the Sunday. She stumbled more on the Sunday and I have suggested that she use the pole for subsequent weekends. Walking poles are a very good thing.
Olivia buys a plastic spork which she now uses at all of her meals ($2.95). The spork resides in our cutlery drawer - not so far in the back pack. Olivia is techno-gadget freak and stands to inherit the techno-geek crown for our household from my husband. Though I am an engineer and relatively techno-savvy, my husband is even more so. I have a suspicion that Olivia has also surpassed me. I don't have a spork and so far Olivia has not actually used it on the hikes as we have bought sandwiches at the Tim's in Wiarton for lunches (set them next to our frozen water bottle in the pack) - which do not require a spork. But between the spork and water hose that we use to access the back pack bladder, Olivia is pretty happy with her outfit. We need to figure out a way to post our hiking location by GPS - which is only a matter of time before she figures it out.
Finally, after weekend #1, I have one other investment to make which will mean a trip back to Hiker's Haven today. The Bruce has indigenous rattle snakes, the Mississauga rattler. One seasoned hiker in our group was hit in the boot a few years and shook his head at our low boots, ankle socks and shorts. The Hike leader on the second day, wore Kevlar gaiters (with high boots and pants). I am going to purchase Kevlar gaiters today. The snakes are not aggressive but they will strike if provoked - at least from their view point.
No comments:
Post a Comment