This morning I was greeted with this from the deck:
Boxing Day, Snow Day–who can tell the difference?
Still more snow. And as forecast, it warmed up just enough to change to rain so sidewalks are now slushy messes and roads have rivers running curbside, topped with layers of slushy snow that might fool you into thinking they’re solid until a vehicle drives through and sprays you from head to foot with a delightful slurry of ice, water and mud.
The forecast over the next four days calls for rain or a chance of rain, so presumably at least the new stuff will wash away, leaving the crusty old stuff still lingering until New Year’s Eve, where 3-7 cm of new snow is forecast. Snow on New Year’s Eve–what could possibly go wrong?
On top of this, I now have that feeling in my sinuses and chest like I’m coming down with a cold. Just as my sore back is finally on the mend. Typical.
I make no promises that I won’t spend the rest of 2016 complaining about the weather and my possible cold. Good night!
As foretold my the ancient prophecies and my post yesterday, it was a white Christmas as the crusty, icy snow from two weeks ago is still lingering around in plentiful amounts. Fortunately, it was also clear so I took the opportunity to go for a walk and keep my back from seizing up. Win-win as long as I didn’t fall. Which I nearly did, multiple times.
As I headed out one of my primary objectives was to find the least slippery route. The majority of sidewalks are clear, as are the streets so this was pretty simple until I got to Hume Park. Once there I got my first look at the Great Tree Destruction of Early Winter 2016. This tree fell near the kids playing area, intent on squashing a tot or two. It had already been cut up by park workers or passing lumberjacks.
One less tree to pester people in Hume Park
The next timber that had timbered was across the trail at the bottom of the stairs leading into Lower Hume Park. This is the same spot where two trees came down during the windstorm of August 2015. It is a very popular spot for trees to fall over, apparently. No one had touched this one yet but I was able to climb over it without issue. (UPDATE: This tree was finally cut up and removed in April 2017.)
Another one bites the dust. Well, snow.
The stairs, which I did not take a picture of because it likely would have resulted in many broken bones, were covered in compacted snow that had developed an icy sheen. The compacted snow was also lumpy. This had the following effect when placing feet on the steps:
impossible for feet to rest solidly, causing them to slide
sliding on an already slippery surface causes more sliding
with little room to accommodate aforementioned sliding it becomes very easy to slide off the current step, land on the one below and then continue the process until the bottom of the staircase is reached, where one would arrive in a pile of broken bones and contusions
I went down the stairs by gripping the handrail with both of my gloved hands and clutching as if my life depended on it, which it did, probably. Even so, I still had my feet give way a few times, nearly causing me to go down express-style. At this point, I knew I would not be coming back up, no matter which way my route went from here.
The third fallen tree was leaning over the sidewalk on North Road, just before the turn-off onto the Brunette River trail. I didn’t take a picture of it because the sidewalk here was not in good shape. It also didn’t look that dramatic as it wasn’t blocking my path.
A short way down the river trail I came across fallen trees #4 and #5. These had been cut and cleared but the debris area indicated they had come down on the trail, intent on taking out hungry squirrels or people out walking in the snow because it’s pretty. While I did take a picture, I prefer this image instead, showing the amazing power of sewers to melt snow. There is a sewer line that parallels the river and every manhole (peoplehole?) cover was a snow-free zone. This batch of eight was big enough to have a picnic on, albeit a stinky picnic.
Sewers: fighting snow since ancient Rome
Fallen tree #6 was at Burnaby Lake. I ventured as far as the Cariboo Dam, where I normally start my runs. The first shot shows the uprooted tree from just behind. It fell away from the picnic area, so only wandering polar bears would have been at risk. The sun is already low in the sky because we have about 40 minutes of sunlight per day right now. Good ol’ winter.
Burnaby Lake, now with one less tree
This shot gives a better view of the trail, which is now a slick, icy insurance claim waiting to happen. I knew it would be like this but it was still kind of depressing. It’s going to take a lot of sun or a lot of rain to clear this out before running can resume. And we are expecting more snow, possibly in as soon as a few hours. I will need to develop an unnatural love for treadmills, for unnatural is all it would be. Or take up knitting, which is currently not affected by snow.
Good conditions for running if you are a snow leopard or abominable snowman
And so it was here that I ended my snowy trek, turning back and heading up to ride the SkyTrain home. It was nice to get out and despite being 2ºC I managed to keep up enough of a pace to not feel cold. But I’d rather be running because when I’m running I’m not within eating distance of Bugles, Ferraro Rocher or other evil concoctions I have foolishly kept in the household.
Two days ago I took a stroll along the Brunette River trail, one of my usual jogging routes. It was sunny out but given the (evil-sounding) polar vortex, it was also quite chilly–below freezing, in fact, something that doesn’t happen too often in these parts, especially during the day. It is this continued polar vortex that has allowed the snow to hang around much longer than normal.
Specifically, this snow:
While it is very pretty, trying to run on uneven, compacted snow is less than ideal. In fact, it is probably a good way to fall and go splat, and having done that once this past summer, I’m not eager to do it again in the winter, with the bonus of snow, ice and freezing temperatures tossed in.
Today, two days later, it clouded over and snowed again, piling more snow on top of the existing snow. Tomorrow is forecast to be above freezing, meaning additional snow will actually be rain and bring about the slushpocalypse. The good news is if we get enough rain and it stays above freezing the whole mess will be gone in a few days or so and I can finally run outdoors again, as nature intended.
I won’t promise this will be my last post about the weather, but there’s a 50% chance it’s the last one I’ll make for the rest of the year (13 days).
It’s better than molten lava pouring down the streets.
It makes things ever so slightly quieter outside, creating a pseudo-small town ambience.
There’s no chance of it piling up between May and August (note: this may change in a few decades).
Provides opportunity to build cool forts at no cost (cool forts–get it?!)
As far as we know, snow doesn’t cause cancer.
The current forecast calls for 3-7 cm of snow on Saturday. This qualifies as a moderate amount of snow. Sunday’s forecast is 22 mm of rain, turning the freshly fallen snow into less-than-fresh piles of slush. Fortunately (?) the rest of the week looks wet enough (and above freezing) that it should wash away whatever remnants of the white stuff that survives the weekend.
Running on Sunday is looking a tad dicey, though. I’ve never run in slush and it’s not something that makes my socks roll up and down in excitement, either.
We got a copious amount of snow, enough that it can’t be described as a dusting, not even a mega-dusting. I’d say it was a mini-dump, enough to be a bother when walking on sidewalks that haven’t been shoveled but not enough to paralyze the area.
Today, with slightly warmer temperatures, the snow became rain and most of the plowed/shoveled areas are now bare again. Yay. The areas that were not touched are covered in a slushy, uneven mixture of water-logged snow. If this stuff freezes (and temperatures are set to go down again thanks to the ominous-sounding Polar Vortex) it will turn into an uneven mixture of jagged ice ready to impale and injure. Not so much yay there.
All of this beings me to my weekend run. I have no idea what the trail at Burnaby Lake would be like except that it would probably be some variation on the slushy, uneven mixture described above. While you can indeed walk on this stuff and stay mostly upright, attempting to do at a higher rate of speed greatly increases the risk of falling on your hiney. I prefer not to do this.
And so it is that for the first time in a long time (possibly ever, though I’d have to check) that I was unable to run due to snow. I’ve actually run in the snow before–once–and it was surprisingly pleasant. But that was when the snow was minimal (a light dusting), very dry and therefore easily compacted under foot. Looking back, it was almost exactly seven years ago (December 13, 2009). That’s long enough to seem like ancient times now. I had yet to run 10K at that point (though I did run 7.99K in the snow).
Now, I have both a Fitbit and an Apple Watch and the Fitbit expects me to walk 10,000 steps a day. The watch has several metrics in its Activity app designed to make sure the day is not spent on a couch pretending to be a legume. With the weather outside being frightful and the thought of lounging about indoors delightful, I had to come up with a plan if I wanted to keep my activity streaks intact (with the bonus of, you know, actual activity which is good for you).
My solution was to go to Metrotown. Walking end to end in that mall probably takes the average person 12 hours. I can do it in less time, though it is a test of my navigation skills. Sunday afternoons tend to be crowded, so I was constantly adjusting my pace, slowing and accelerating, slipping past mega-strollers and people glued to their smartphones. I also did a little shopping, mostly of the window variety. Eventually I realized a more optimal path could be found outside the mall, as the sidewalks skirting the exterior had little traffic, with the bonus of no Christmas music.
I did this both yesterday and today and hit my goals both days. It was nice to meet my targets and yet silly at the same time. Who goes to a mall as part of an exercise regime? And yet it worked.
Now I’m just biding my time waiting for this damn snow to disappear. The next week is looking dry and cold so it’s probably going to hang around just long enough to tease a white Christmas before a deluge washes it all away. It’s our Christmas tradition.
A month earlier than last winter we got our first snow of the season today. With the temperature just above freezing the snow was wet, heavy and turned into a slushy mess on sidewalks and roads where it wasn’t shoveled or plowed away. For awhile when it was sticking to tree branches it was kind of pretty, though!
Environment Canada ended then resumed the snowfall warning for the Lower Mainland, so who knows if we’ll get more tomorrow. It’s dropping below freezing tonight which means things will be good ‘n icy for the morning commute. People here don’t cope well with the first snow of the season–or, really, just any snow at all. They cope even worse with ice. This is where teleporters would come in really handy.
Here’s a picture of the college at midday with the snow doing its thing. Like I said, it’s kind of pretty but my romance with snow ended after I got my driver’s license and that was…a little while ago.
It is snowing as I type this. I am disappointed my haiku did not have the power to control the weather.
As I have become tremendously soft and flabby over the winter I decided today to go for a walk rather than watch my expanded belly bounce as I attempted to jog. But it would be a long and brisk exercise-style walk, designed to improve my stamina and burn a calorie or two in preparation for the resumption of The Runs (not to be confused with diarrhea).
I headed out on my usual run route and shortly after stepping outside the first tentative flakes began to fell, mocking my decision to experience the outdoors. It was still well above freezing and the snow was curiously hard and bouncy, resembling small white rocks. I’m sure there’s a technical term for this. Rock snow. Or maybe it was just hail.
It relented and for awhile I forgot about it and focused on the walk around the lake. When I arrived at Caribou Dam I discovered a large section of the path, stretching from the dam to Silver Creek, had been cordoned off. It turned out the Beaver Rampage of 2014 had resulted in a copious amount of coal spilling and collecting in Silver Creek and the part of Burnaby Lake it feeds into. CN is tasked with cleaning it up before it kills all the fish, birds and turtles. They probably don’t mind if it kills the beavers.
Here is one of the nice signs explaining how the turtles will not be killed but a trout or two may choke on a lump of coal further downstream:
The only other thing of note on the trail were a few lingering patches of snow that were mushy or easy to avoid. There were plenty of joggers, some walkers and, of course, plenty of people with off-leash dogs because dogs must be free. Free to chase, jump, knock down, bite and maul.
I finished the 17 km or so at my usual pace of 6+ km/hr and unlike previous loner walks I escaped with nary a blister on my feet. Woot.
The visions of spring dancing in my head were abruptly ended when it began to snow on Saturday morning.
Come Monday night and it was still snowing. Despite this we are not up to our armpits in the white stuff because it’s been a heavy, wet kind of snow that packs down nicely, forming slick injury-making sheets of compacted slush.
Today the sun came out and it’s warming up, causing a gradual and pleasant melt. I trust this will be the last of the snow this winter. THANK YOU, MOTHER NATURE. MOVE ALONG PLEASE.
I’m now ready for summer. Only four months until the community pool at Hume Park opens. I hate swimming but it’s one of the official markers that you can doff the parkas and don the Bermudas.
Average pace: 4:34/km Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Distance: 11.42 km
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 12ºC
Wind: moderate
Calories burned: 774
Total distance to date: 2008 km
Similar temperature to Friday’s run but it felt a little more brisk today. In fact, the temperature actually dropped a little before I headed out. I managed to duck the rain again, with only a few drops hitting me as I came back home. My luck on that count probably won’t last much longer.
There was also snow on the North Shore mountains for the first time this fall. Damn snow. But pretty…as long as it stays up there.
With my hip feeling fine today the run went a lot better than the previous and I cruised to a nice pace of 4:34/km, only three seconds short of my record. I also hit a milestone by passing the 2,000 km mark. Normally Joan would pipe up and congratulate me for completing another 500 km (as she often does erroneously, bless her) but today I got nothing. This is only the fourth time it would have been legit but Joan was strangely silent. I’m wondering if a silent update to the Nike+ software on my iPod may have nuked all the celebrity athlete voices after Nike severed their ties with Lance Armstrong last week for winning the Tour de France seven times through the miracle of drugs. I guess I might find out the next I set a PR.
Other than that, everything on the run went well. The cool temperatures make for a curiously pleasant run experience and so far I have not committed the errors of under or overdressing (currently going out in shorts and a long-sleeved t-shirt).
With the weather looking pleasant we decided today would be a good day for a hike. We first thought to return to Brothers Creek, to see what it looked like when you aren’t up to your waist in snow but given that it’s a good four hours or so, Jeff suggested Dog Mountain instead.
Dog Mountain is billed as an easy hike and the roundtrip would only take us about two hours. The reward at the end is a spectacular view of the Lower Mainland. We piled into the truck with water bottles and granola bars at the ready and arrived in the early afternoon at the ski area atop Mount Seymour. The place was fairly brimming with people off to touch nature while it wasn’t snowed under.
We set off sans the usual walking sticks but an easy hike with minimal elevation gain (estimated at around 25 m on the way in, according to Jeff’s GPS app) shouldn’t require them. As it turned out they would have been a bit handy because while the trail is not treacherous or unduly steep, it does involve a lot of up and down climbing over rocky and root-filled terrain, one of those ‘pick every step’ kind of hikes with only a few respites.
One such respite came a km in at First Lake, a small and positively quaint mountain-top lake with wild grass growing around it. We paused to take in the scenery but forged ahead, as it was only another 1.5 km to get to the scenic vista.
Further along we encountered the remains of last winter’s snow pack. There was enough to make a snowman. We did not do so.
A lot of the trail was rather muddy. Because I have the world’s worst balance I made sure to get my feet as muddy as possible, in particular my right foot. At one point the path consisted of water, mud and a few small strategically-placed rocks to allow relatively dry passage. I took two successful steps and was making the third when my balance shifted backward. To keep from falling I set my right foot down in the mire. It squished nicely.
We both ended up with mud smeared over our calves. I’m not even sure how that happened. I also stepped in some mud on the way back and managed to make it squip over the edge of the trail, flying down and plopping into water below us, a mildly impressive trick I could never pull off again.
And yes, dogs. A number of people–and there were quite a few on the trail–had brought their dogs with them. The bigger ones in particular seemed to handle the rugged terrain quite nicely, what with the four feet and all.
Jeff compared me to a mountain goat when I stood glued to the side of a rock face as I contemplated my next move but I don’t think mountain goats contemplate all that much because they have four legs and a proper sense of balance.
We reached the vista just over an hour into the hike and the view was indeed spectacular, although it was dulled somewhat by fairly thick haze. The people around us were feeding stellar jays straight from the hand. Our food, however, was not for the birds, so we ate it ourselves.
The trip back seemed quicker, as it often does and apart from dinging an ankle on a rock and getting a small cut as a result, we returned to the truck without incident.
Overall it was a fun afternoon, though not quite what I expected in terms of terrain (when I hear that a trail has no or minimal elevation gain I tend to think of it as groomed and civilized, which this one is not). We may return in the winter to snowshoe the whole thing. That ought to be good for a few (dozen( sore muscles.
Today started with temperatures well below freezing and another blanket of snow fell (damn snow) but we saw the return of a more typical weather pattern follow than has been seen in recent years as temperatures slowly rose and that snow turned to freezing rain and then plain old-fashioned rain.
Torrents of it.
This left the roads and sidewalks seas of slush. I opted not to return to running. I’ll monitor the weather over the weekend but with warming temperatures and the relentless assault of ‘liquid sunshine’ I suspect the snow will not be an issue for more than the rest of today.
At long last the three months of non-running officially comes to an end today. I am relieved more than anything.
I had joked that on the day that I was first able to resume running again we’d get a major snowstorm. It turns out I accidentally predicted the future as Environment Canada has issued a snowfall warning for Metro Vancouver tonight, warning of ‘significant snowfall’. Ho ho.
I’m also going to be busy doing that ‘wait for a vague but large block of time’ for delivery of a new bed tomorrow and on top of that am hoping to squeeze in the time to get to a career fair downtown, even though these things usually amount to a whole lot of not much.
So I can jog tomorrow but I’ll be up to my shins in snow and too busy, otherwise. Maybe I’ll jog in place inside for 10 minutes just to make the muscles know they’re there.
