Winter Camping is Spectacular

I just returned from a four day camping trip in Algonquin Park. Let me say that again. I just returned from a camping trip. The date today is January 1st, 2015. That's right, I was winter camping.
Many people thought I was crazy to go camping, in a tent, in the winter. This is actually the second time that I have been winter camping and I can only think of one word to describe it. Spectacular.
The last time I went winter camping was at the beginning of December 2013. It had been cold early that year, but the weather was quite good during my trip. The daytime temperature was around -4 or -5 degrees celsius and the nighttime low was about -11. It had also snowed everyday. Light fluffy snow which with no wind stayed on the trees. It was beautiful.

This year the trip was from December 28th to 31st. The winter had so far been quite mild. But that changed when we arrived in Algonquin Park. The temperatures started at about -8 degrees and went down from there. The first night dropped to -17. The second night went down to -24. The third night warmed up a little and got no lower than -19.
Again, many people will call me crazy, but it was a great trip. The key is being prepared. Dressing properly ensured that I was warm throughout the day. Good boots, snow pants, hat, gloves, and a warm coat are vital. At night you need plenty of firewood. A good fire will keep you warm as you have dinner and wait for bedtime. Most nights, bedtime was quite early, probably just after 9pm. Keep in mind it is dark by 5pm. Then I would climb into my tent.
To sleep well you need to be bundled up really good. I had an air filled thermarest type matt under me to keep me off the cold ground. Then I got inside a fleece sleeping bag insert which was inside my sleeping bag (which is rated to -12, but I think that means it will keep you alive not comfortable). Then I wrapped myself in two comforters. I was toasty warm.

What impressed me most about this trip over last trip was the extreme cold. There are a lot of logistical things that you need to consider when it is that cold versus when camping when it's warm. Also the way nature reacts to the extreme cold was amazing.

First, the logistics. I have already mentioned that you need to dress warm and bring good bedding. Setting up the tent was a challenge. First, you have to shovel away as much snow as you can from where you are going to put your tent. get it as close to actual ground as you can. And remember that the ground is frozen solid. It's important to bring a hammer or something heavy like an axe to hammer the pegs into the ground. That hammer will also come in handy when you need to pry the frozen tent pegs out of the hard ground when you pack up.
What are you going to drink? Water? I brought some water and a couple of bottles of Coke as a treat. Normally I get more water out of whatever lake I am camping on. But wait. It is winter. The lake is frozen! No problem, there is plenty of snow and ice around that you can melt to drink. But how do you melt it? Build a fire each time you want to drink or use a stove each time you want to drink. It was a constant challenge to keep the water in your water bottle as actual liquid. Within thirty minutes to an hour it was starting to freeze up. I only tried to drink one of the bottles of Coke that I brought and that was a thick slush.
Fortunately where we were camping there was a comfort station that was heated and had toilets and drinkable water. But that was a ten minute hike away from where we were camped. So even if we filled our bottles there, it would be starting to freeze shortly after returning to camp.

Food was another challenge. Normally when I go camping I am worried about bringing perishable food because you can't keep it cold. No problem in the winter. I had the opposite problem. Much of the food I brought for breakfasts and lunches froze solid and I couldn't eat it. I brought portions of stew for dinners. That was fine. It froze, but I heated it in a pot anyway. But I still had to boil water first in order to thaw it enough to get it out of the plastic container it was in. I suggest bringing mostly dry foods like cookies, nuts, chocolate, granola etc. at least for lunch and snacks.
Sleeping was interesting. I was warm because I was prepared for that. What I wasn't prepared for was the weather inside my tent. As you breath, you expel moisture. Normally that is just taken up by the air. But not when it is this cold. The entire inside of my tent became covered in frost. At times I could feel it falling like snow onto me. I kept my face under the outer comforter for the most part to keep it warm. That resulted in the top edge of the comforter freezing solid due to the moisture in my breath.

Also, if you bring anything electronic as I did; I brought my camera and I had my phone, find a way to keep it warm. Electronics do not like the cold and screens on phones or cameras can crack if the get too cold. I kept boiling water and putting a hot water bottle in my camera bag with my camera and phone. I had to replace the bottle every eight hours or so. At night, I kept my camera and phone inside my sleeping bag with me.

The most spectacular thing about this trip was nature. Not only was it beautiful, it was also surprising. I was most surprised by the sounds. At night when everything else was quiet it was particularly noticeable. The forest was making all kinds of sounds. There were twigs cracking, and snapping, sounding like a firecracker going off. This was most prominent on the night that it got down to -24. I am guessing that it was moisture inside the wood freezing and then splitting it.

The other sound, which was loud and almost continuous was from the lake. It sounded like someone's stomach rumbling, but very loud. It was a gurgling groaning sound. I can only assume that it was the ice as the lake froze. Since water expands as it turns into ice it creates huge pressure pushing the ice against the shore and itself. When you look at a frozen lake you can often see the pressure cracks. But hearing it was amazing. I suspect the sounds will diminish as the winter goes on and everything settles into the cold.

Normally when I camp I go backcountry camping. I will hike or canoe in. Both times that I have done winter camping it has been at a drive in site simply because there is so much more gear to bring in order to keep warm. We may try hiking in next year. If we do it will mean hauling the gear on sleds. The other option, one I kind of like the idea of, is to rent a yurt. A yurt is a large tent. The ones in Algonquin have heaters inside and bunk beds. This means that you have a place to get warm and to keep your stuff warm, but you can still head out for the day and enjoy the cold and the spectacular beauty that is winter camping.

The Ice Event - A Personal Tale

The Ice Storm (or event as I'm calling it) began Dec 20th and continued through Dec 21st, 2013. The temperature was just right for freezing rain; a degree or two warmer and it would have just been rain; a degree or two colder and we would have had snow.

Throughout Saturday the rain continued and the ice accumulated. Layer after layer built up. It looked beautiful but was treacherous for walking and driving. Everyone knew the potential existed for power outages due to trees and power lines falling due to the weight of the accumulated ice. It was just a matter of waiting to see if it would affect us.
For me the power remained on throughout the night on Saturday until about 2 am Sunday morning when it went out.
I was up at dawn and decided to take a walk outside with my camera. Walking was difficult. It was more like skating with boots on. I had to be very careful and tried to avoid walking under trees. Every sixty seconds or so you would see or hear a branch falling. Of course many branches were already on the ground, in the road or on top of people's cars.

It had stopped raining when I first went out but started again while I was walking. It cut short my photographing of the scene. I returned home covered in a thin layer of ice. Fortunately the house was still fairly warm.
The power stayed off until close to 10 am. Then it returned. I thought that we had got off quite easy. Many other people lost it and did not get it back. The only thing I didn't have have cable and internet. That actually did not return until Thursday night. It is amazing how much we rely on things like the internet in our modern world. You don't notice how much you use it until it is gone for five days. So the rest of the day was fine, no cable, no internet but I had power.
I had power until late Sunday night. Then, boom, gone again.

This time it stayed off. The house did get cold, although not too cold if you were snuggled up under a blanket. I was babysitting my five year old niece. We had a good time. I cooked dinner on my camp stove, we listened to music on my ipod (until it ran out of power), and played with toys by candle light. The biggest concern I had was the battery on my phone was dying. I was using that to get updates on the power situation and to keep in contact with people.

The power stated off until Monday morning.
It was nice to have it back on. There were many people just blocks away that went with nothing until Boxing Day (Thursday).
We did loose it again Thursday for a few hours. A birch tree in the neighbour's yard had a broken branch dangling over the hydro wires. I guess once the sheath of ice had worn off the wire and the branch, it started to smoke. The neighbour noticed and asked me what we should do. Since the branch was now starting to burn, I told her to call the 911 and ask for fire. They were on the scene in under two minutes. As they arrived the whole branch was in flames. It was less than a minute after they arrived, as we stood in the backyard watching it burn, that there was an explosion which both put out the fire and took the power out again. Fortunately it wasn't too long before crews came to remove the branch and power was restored.

All in all it made for an interesting and memorable Christmas.

Fear Is The Only Variable - Paranormal Investigation

It is Halloween and it seems that everyone is suddenly interested in all things paranormal, ghostly and supernatural. For many that interest continues year round and for a lucky few, they get to investigate the paranormal.

I have been part of a paranormal investigation group, the Paranormal Researchers Of Ontario or proo(f) for the last two years and had been on a few investigations before that.
Proo(f), the (f) stands for fear, is currently made up of five members. The co-founders, Brad and Katie Mavin, and Paul Silliphant, along with newer member Rob Di Venanzo and skeptic, me, Ben Stacey.

Left to right: Rob Di Venanzo, Ben Stacey, Katie Mavin, Paul Silliphant, Brad Mavin

Wait, what? Skeptic?
Yes, I am a skeptic when it comes to the paranormal. I do not believe in ghosts or spirits or any of those things. So why am I with a paranormal investigation group?
There are multiple answers. First, ghost stories are cool. A good story about ghosts or a haunting can be really scary and enjoyable. Most ghost stories are even better when they are purported to be based on a true story. So why not investigate those "true stories".
Second, and probably more importantly for the group, I think it is very important to have a skeptical viewpoint in a team of investigators. It helps keep objectivity. There are many groups that are made up of only whole hearted believers, or people that want to believe. For a group like that it is too easy to jump to the conclusion that anything that happens on an investigation is paranormal. Just because you hear a bang or a bump, does not mean that it is caused by something supernatural. If you are really interested in discovering if something is paranormal, you absolutely must look at all evidence objectively and skeptically.
Proo(f) is very good at that. Even those who have a strong belief in paranormal activity will question every bit of evidence that we gather.
I also think that as a skeptic, I have to be open to being skeptical about what I believe. If we were to ever get some evidence that we could not explain or debunk, I must at least remain open to other explanations.
Thirdly, I am a film maker have been documenting our investigations and producing web episodes of those investigations. You can see some at http://www.youtube.com/proofcanada
And of course it is a lot of fun.

I should also be clear that, even though I don't believe that anything is paranormal, it is obvious that people have had experiences that they attribute to the paranormal. Also the fear that you feel when walking alone in an empty, dark, supposedly haunted building is real. The emotional responses that some of the members of the team experience are real. Even when we have worked with mediums, I believe that to them, what they are doing is real. I don't for a second doubt that they believe they are doing what they think they are doing. I do doubt that what they are doing is paranormal. And most importantly I trust that no one in the group will ever fake anything. It serves no purpose. And if anything ever was faked it would eventually be discovered.

As I said, the fear is real regardless of whether it is caused by anything paranormal or not. The excitement on an investigation when something strange happens is also real.
So I wanted to share just a few of the experiences we have had as a team that we found to be either scary, emotional or exciting.


The Curse of Valentia

In the hamlet of Valentia, Ontario, there is a horse farm that has had some strange activity. In 1804, at a trading post that was on or near the property, Ogetonicut, of the Ojibway tribe killed the post operator, John Sharpe in a revenge killing for him having murdered his brother Whistling Duck. Ogetonicut was killed while being transported to stand trial when the HMS Speedy sank in a storm. It is rumoured that Ogetonicut may haunt the property.
There is also the story of the "Lantern Lady", a women who lost her husband and infant son in a house fire approximately 150 years ago. She was returning up a laneway from running errands into town when she discovered her house on fire. People claim to see a woman carrying a lantern along this laneway.

At this investigation we had a medium with us. While in the laneway he suddenly sat down and began to channel the "Lantern Lady". Katie questioned him/her. We were unable to verify any of the information that she got while questioning. The interesting thing was what happened as the channelling session came to an end. Upon saying good-bye to the "Lantern Lady", Katie broke down in tears. She was sobbing uncontrollably. She felt the emotions of the woman. She felt that the woman had her arms wrapped around her.

You can watch what happened here:



The Haunted Museum

Our investigation at the Scugog Shores Museum gave us two really interesting pieces of evidence. The first was also an emotional response. The church has a room at the back known as the weeping room or the moaning room. During funerals, that is where the casket would be for people to say good-bye to the deceased. People report hearing crying and moaning from that area of the church.
We had one of the museum interpreters, Rosie, with us. While conducting an investigation in the moaning room Rosie suddenly began to cry.

Watch here:



Afterwards, Rosie was fine and we continued to investigate the room. This time we were using two tools. The first is a spirit box which scans through the white noise between radio stations in the hope that spirits may be able to communicate through it. The other tool was an app called the "Ghost Radar". It has a large database of words and the idea is that a spirit can draw from these words to communicate. Nothing happened with the spirit box, but the "Ghost Radar" did give us a couple of interesting responses. The first was the word "husband". Interesting because there were likely many widows saying good-bye to their husbands in this room.
The second was the name, "Lee". This is interesting for two reasons. Joseph lee was a circuit minister in the area and could very well have preached at this church. And, the Lee House, Joseph Lee's actual house is part of the museum.

Watch here:


The Asylum

This is my favourite place. It is an abandoned former mental institution. If any place looks like it should be haunted, this is the place. It is dark, creepy and falling apart. We have investigated this place on three occasions.

In one room, Paul, who is quite sensitive to spirits, although not a medium, felt the presence of a young boy. Meanwhile the medium who accompanied us was sensing a different spirit. Paul left the room and we asked if he was okay. He said, "no". I followed him into the hall where he began pacing, trying to get the spirit to leave him alone. He asked for help from the medium. The medium, not realizing that it was a different spirit with Paul wasn't able to immediately help. It wasn't until we got outside and Paul became more forceful with the spirit that he was left alone.

The kitchen area of the Asylum is reported to have a lot of activity. Upon walking into the kitchen, the team's K2 meters (the sense electromagnetic fields) started to go crazy. I should point out that there is no power in the building so they could not have been influenced by bad wiring. What I found most interesting was that the audio on the video camera was also receiving interference and it was in sync with the meters spiking. So we had a bunch of unexplained things happening then suddenly some real world fear. Coyotes. A large pack of coyotes began howling very close by and it was getting closer. The building has many walls down so being inside would not offer any protection. We quietly moved on.

Watch here:


Finally, here is a good example of why it is important to be skeptical of all evidence. On our third visit we were accompanied by a TV crew, We had a host, producer and camera guy. At one point we left the host alone in a room for a few minutes to conduct a solo vigil. She was scared, as I would be. In fact at one point I had to walk back through the building alone to get extra batteries for my flashlight. I don't mind admitting it was scary and I felt like running. Anyway, she did fine.
It was after that that the producer discovered a voice message on his phone from an unknown caller. The message was the sound of screaming and moaning. Then the host checked her phone and also had a message. Hers was even creepier. She was scared by it. Genuinely scared.
Now as paranormal investigators, what do we think? Well, it was creepy and made for a good story, but that is not evidence of paranormal activity. What was it then? There are people that say spirits can leave messages of voice mail or answering machines. Could it really be that? Our first thought was that it was a prank. In fact the host also thought so, she thought we might have played a prank on her. We didn't. We wouldn't. When she realized that none of us had her cell number she was even more scared.
If it was a prank, who could or would have done it? The most likely culprit would be one of her co-hosts. One is a total skeptic and often makes fun of her for believing in such things.
Over the next week we tried to figure out who may have done it. I questioned her co-host and he denied it. He even offered some other possible suspects.
At this point we looked a this piece of evidence as something cool and creepy but not likely paranormal.

Watch here:


A few days later, her co-host admitted on air that he did prank her. She seemed a little annoyed at this.
Much of the team were also upset that a prank was pulled.


This represents one of the big problems with anything paranormal. Those that believe or want to believe tend to be very eager to accept any evidence as proof of the paranormal without question. They get upset when someone tries to debunk that evidence or if that evidence is proved false.

Proo(f) always questions the evidence. Whether it is an anomaly on video, an EVP (electronic voice phenomena), a photo or like in this case, a voice mail, we question it. We look for the real world and more likely explanation first. We suspected it was a prank and it turned out that it was. I think it is a great example of doing a paranormal investigation right, that we questioned the evidence and made no conclusion one way or the other until we had proof.



Be sure to check out www.proofcanada.com

The Conjuring - Great Film - Lousy Audience

Saw The Conjuring. A very well made, very scary movie. See it!

 However, try to see it with a small audience or at least an older audience. I have never in my life been to a film with a worse audience. The vast majority of the audience were under 20. I have questions for all of you under 20 years old.
Since when is it okay to text and keep checking your phone throughout the movie? Did you not see ...the public service announcement at the beginning asking you to have respect for the other viewers and turn off your phone?
Who taught you that is was okay to talk through the whole movie? I don't mean a little whisper here and there, I mean talk, normal voice, making "clever" comments or just talking about things unrelated to what's on screen! Did you really think that this would not annoy the people around you?
Oh, and after the film I went to use the toilet. It seems that people under 20 are not yet potty trained. WTF?
I would really love someone under 20 to respond to this and explain how any of those things are okay. It boggles my mind. If you are the future of humanity then god help us! And I don't even believe in god.

Anyway, The Conjuring, great movie. Watch it in the quiet of your own home when it comes out on bluray.

A Long Awaited Journey - The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.




WARNING: This review may contain spoilers.

I was delighted that we got to see Bilbo write that line in the start of the Red Book. Yes, I am a fan of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings books. I have read each probably twenty to thirty times over the years. I know them well. But just because I love the source material it doesn't automatically follow that I will love the films. In adapting any book to film there are many ways that it can be screwed up. When Peter Jackson made the Lord of the Rings films I was both excited and worried at what the result would be. However, he did a fantastic job (although not perfect. There are a few things that I would have done differently). I was much less worried about The Hobbit.

In a word, I would call The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey, excellent.

I did see the film twice. The first time in 3D, the second time in HFR 3D. Lets talk about the technology first. Peter Jackson chose to shoot The Hobbit in 3D at a high frame rate (HFR) of 48 frames per second. This is different than films we are used to seeing which are shot in 24 frames per second. The idea behind shooting at a higher frame rate is to produce crisper, sharper, more lifelike images. At 24fps there is much more motion blur in each frame and strobing can occur when the camera is moved about quickly. You get much less motion blur and strobing at 48fps.
There have been many reviews both good and bad about HFR.
It certainly does produce spectacularly real images. Even the Warner Brothers logo (the first thing you see on screen) looks like it is physically there in the theatre with you. Some people have complained that it makes it look like you are watching a high quaity video. I disagree. It does look different than what we are used to seeing. One effect that I did notice and others have talked about is that occassionally some fast motion looks like it is sped up. It is not, but it appears that way. I'm not sure what the physiology is that would cause that effect, but it is interesting. Another thing to note is that, as with any new technology, the film makers will need to adjust some of their techniques. I found that the HFR made camera movements more noticeable. So camera operators will have to be more careful when they shoot.
Ultimately whether you like the look or not will be a personal preference. My feeling is that it will take some getting used to. We are used to seeing movies at 24fps. But I liked it and think it will be here to stay.
By the way, 24fps was never some magic number that gave the best look for films. It was simply the lowest frame rate (so less film could be used) that you could sync sound to when sound was added to pictures. They could have chosen any other number but it was 24.

Now, the film itself.

With The Lord of the Rings, I had many issues with how some of it was adapted to film (although still loved the movies). I have far fewer issues with how at least this first part of The Hobbit has been adapted to the screen.
It starts with Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) writing the first lines of The Red Book of Westmarch (the book that in the Middle Earth universe tells the tale of The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings). "In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit". What a wonderful beginning.
We are then treated to the story of Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thráin, son of Thrór, King Under the Mountain and the coming of the dragon Smaug to Erebor, the Lonely Mountain. It is an action packed prologue in which we get to see the amazing dwarf city in the mountain and are teased with quick firey images of Smaug.
We then get into the real story 60 years before the events of the Lord of the Rings. Bilbo (Martin Freeman) meets Gandalf who is seeking someone to share in an adventure. Bilbo wants nothing to do with adventures but he is visited by the thirteen dwarves of Thorin Oakenshield's company and suddenly finds himself involved in one.
The scenes in Bag End with the dwarves are nice. There are even two songs. The book is full of songs.
Once on the road the adventure begins. Most of the scenes from the book are there. We have the meeting of the trolls. This scene is a little different than the book but the heart of it is the same. We go to Rivendel, climb the mountain passes where the company barely escapes a battle between stone giants, then the company is caught by the goblins (orcs) and Bilbo is separated from them.
The scenes with Bilbo and Gollum are amoung the best in the film. They are funny, but you are aware of the peril that Bilbo is in. The game of riddles is fantastic. The ultimate point where Bilbo has the chance to kill Gollum but doesn't ("It was pity that stayed Bilbo's hand" - Gandalf - LOTR) is quite emotional. You did feel pity for Gollum.
The film ends after the Eagles rescue the company from the fir trees. The company is left high atop a rock where they get a long didtance glimpse of the Lonely Mountain. And then we (big spoiler) get our first real look at Smaug. He stirs from his sleep and opens an eye.

There are many things that have been added that were not in The Hobbit, but have been taken from the appendices of the Lord of the Rings. These are events that actually occured during the time of The Hobbit and tie it in with the Lord of the Rings. I think they add to the enjoyment of the film. Some of the highlights are Radagast the Brown entering Dol Guldur or the council between Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel and Saruman.

By the way, Cate Blanchett's entrance in the film is stunning.

Some people have complained that the film is too long. I disagree. I like that they have taken the time to tell the story. Too many films are rushed. People also complained that the Lord of the Rings had too many "endings". This of course is nonsense. LOTR could have done well with more material and time added.

The few issues I have with The Hobbit are more about Peter Jackson's style than anything else. He seems to like the over the top action sequences. At times I found that I really had to suspend my disbelief to buy that anyone could have survived a fall for instance. They also seem to ignore the geography of Middle Earth or the time passage in order to conveniently move the story along.

Overall, it is a fantastic film. Martin Freeman is Bilbo Baggins. You can't really imagine anyone else as the Hobbit. The thirteen dwarves are a challenge to get to know (in the book it is the same), but a few, Thorin, of course, Balin and Bofur have so far been developed quite well. I found it particularly satisfying to get to know Balin. It makes the scene in the Lord of the Rings where they find Balin's tomb in Moria more impactful.

Now we have to wait for part two. I will be interested to see how far that will take us. I suspect probably up to the destruction of Lake Town which would leave the battle of five armies and the journey home for part three.

 

The Transit of Venus

Venus passed between the Earth and the Sun today, June 5th, 2012. This is called the Transit of Venus. If you missed it, you will not be able to see it unless you live for another 105 years. The next Transit of Venus will be in 2117.

So if you missed it, I got some photos for you.




Update:

Now NASA has released its footage from the Solar Dynamics Observatory. Naturally it puts my photos to shame. It is incredible to see the Sun in such detail. Enjoy.

Annular Solar Eclipse May 2012

For those in the right place on the planet, an annular solar eclipse was visible on May 20th, 2012. The lucky ones witnessed a "ring of fire". This is where the moon has almost completely covered the sun leaving only a firey ring visible around the edge. This is different from a total eclipse in which the entire suns surface is covered. In the case of an annular eclipse, this does not happen because the moon happens to be at its furthest point away from the Earth in its orbit thus making it appear slightly smaller.

A "ring of fire" would be spectacular to see. Unfortunately from my location near Toronto, Canada we did not see that. Those watching would see a small section carved out of the sun right at sunset. And for those that were not watching, I did the watching for you.

Watch the video: