Cabin Fever cured by snow riding

What a rollercoaster day- I was hoping to ride with the journalists but ended up shuttling Mount Zola for them.
ThenI was hoping to fly to Whistler for the night with them too but couldn't go at teh last minute.
Having had my hopes up I suddenly got a case of cabin fever- I have been here for 10 weeks now with only 2 days away in Lillooet- I need to go shopping and get out for a while.

I was a bit miserable when Nat and Pascal found me, so we went for an ATV ride up the Around the Lake trail to the snowline and the Alien Station at the peak- great views over all the snow peaks and lakes, and great fun on the quad bikes! It fair cheered me up.

Snow!

This morning on the commute to work (5 mins walk down a dirt road) I glanced up at my fave view of the mountains then stopped dead in my tracks and took a 2nd look! "Snow on the mountains!" I ran inside in excited fervour!

Today we are riding with Mountain Life journalists and there is snow on the mountain tops! Exciting! Winter is coming!

But is Summer really over :-(

I hope this shoulder season isn't too anti-climatic from this awesome Summer and then that Winter surpasses my last winter!

Search and Rescue

My hangover took a bit of recovery today, I worked, then Daryl, Elisha and Judy helped me clean the carnage in my cabin, then I laid on the loungers on the beach and snoozed off my hangover in the sunshine.

I was due to retire to my cabin for a mellow fire and a snooze after dinner, when Jeremy asked me to go rescue a couple who had got lost mountain biking. So I took the pickup and an ATV and some warm clothes and water for them.

I ended up hiking up the Pearsons trail in the dark on my own for an hour til Ifound them. Anbd boy were they happy to see me! They'd bitten off more than they could chew. As beginner mountain bikers but fit road bikers they had gone up Taylors to do Camels Pass but missed the singletrack turn so ended up on the High trail which they were not skilled enough to ride so had to walk a lot. Eventually they saw smoke from Eldorado cabin and went there. Luckily it was occupied and the guide there called me on the Sat phone to request I meet them on the Pearsons/high trail junction.

I got them back by 9:30pm after they'd been out there 9hrs and it was dark and cold. Jeremy got me very drunk free as a reward. But having just done a big hike and being rather sweaty and dehydrated it really took its toll within 2hrs of shots of jaegermeister bombs and beers and Black seal rum (140% proof)- I was more drunk than I have been for a very long time. So much so I could not make it to my cabin and I just went upstairs and collapsed in staff accomodation spare bed!

Honestly I used to be such a sober character- what has happened to me!?

Birthday Party at my cabin

Nat's birthday party and everyone descended on my cabin. We had a fire inside and a fire outside, Daryl brought a birthday cake and Vodka jello shots! Chris has his turntables and a good mix of music all night. We sat riund the campfire telling tales then we ate, we drank, we hugged and we danced until 4am.

Eyes were glazed and smiles were permanent by the end of the night and I retired for a very short sleep for tomorrow I will be hungover!

My cabin is a great venue for a party but the cleanup is not as much fun!

Gun Slingers

Tonight we went out with JJ and Brennan's guns and had a shooting party. We shot their 22 rifles which was easy and I hit a few cans straight off. Then we started moving up to big shots!

I shot a 40-75 which had a bigger kick and then a 12 guage shot gun that even knocked JJ backwards on his feet and really kicked my shoulder and hurt it. Finally I fired the 30-30 again- cool! Better with ear defenders of course! No hearing loss this time!

It was a great eveing with a top gang of friends! We are all turning into Rednecks!

Nat's biking initiation

Nat was the 1st member of staff to ask me to take them biking but until now she never made it so as her birthday treat (punishment) we went to ride the North Cinnabar to Mowson pond trail.

The first few sections were hysterical as she moved at great speedlooking every part the mounatin biker, right kit, right bike, right body postition ... but wrong braking technique. All I could hear were screams and giggles as she bit the dust a few times in the first few 100m of descent. At one point all I heard was "I'm literally hugging a tree right now!" lol.

Well her skills improved but her fitness was lacking and by the lookout she was suffering a smokers cough, so we laid down on the fallen tree and snoozed and ate lunch and stared at the view for a long break. It was such a hot day!

By the time I got her out to Mowsons pond she was pretty speechless and I thought maybe I'd overdone it she was so worn out- I was not sure if she was mad with me or with herself (her fitness).

Anyway she went straight to bed after a post ride beer and a quick dinner! Ooops!

It's tough round here there are no beginner trails so no breaking in gently!

Logging!

Today I drove this truck full of logs for the renovations, down a logging road very slow and cautious as it was very back heavy. It's a really old Ford F350 pickup and I felt like I was in "The Waltons" driving it! Old style steering wheel, brakes you have to do a leg press to stop with, steering that is questionable and a huge turning circle!

Dale and Scott chainsawed the trees and manoeuvred with their tractors and huge Caterpillar until the logs were loaded. I'd jam them on the flatbed of the truck and then precariously drove them down to the mill on a logging road.

I sure am really experiencing backcountry life here!