Saskatchewan Gypsies

It’s Maureen’s 65th birthday. We were up early and soon out on the cobblestone road that would take us through the town and have us make the first leg of our trip. We made our first stop for a coffee at Huntto. We began the day with a partner for Maureen, another woman who had stayed at the same auberge.

We enjoyed our café au lait while watching other pilgrims pass by while stopped at the Ferme Ithurburia which was also an auberge. I imagined that some people who began their pilgrimage later in the day would stop there for the night. Our destination was at Orisson as we didn’t want to push it too much for the first day.

We arrived in Orisson early and had to wait for the auberge to be ready to assign us a room for the night. We had a lunch on the terrace while waiting and met up with a number of others who were stopping in Orisson. Finally, we got our passports stamped and our beds. When supper came, the one woman who had been walking with us told the others, there were thirty-six of us in Orisson, about Maureen’s birthday. Everyone sang Happy Birthday and it was just perfect.

We arrived in Bayonne in the morning and didn’t have to wait too long for the connecting train to Saint Jean Pied de Port. That train only took us part of the way and we had to switch to a bus as there was an issue with the track. Once in SJPP we went to the Friends of the Pilgrims Centre to register for the Camino, noting that we would be starting the next morning. We picked out the pilgrim shells that we then put on our backpacks.

Once we went to our hostel to put our bags into our room, we went for a walk. We were hyped and made the effort to wander around Saint Jean and take photos rather than give in to our jet lag and tiredness. Then, we went for a light supper across from our hostel. Since we would be leaving first thing in the morning, we didn’t want to waste any time and miss learning about the village at the foot of the Pyrenees Mountains. The truth is this might be our only time to see anything here as there might never be a repeat of this Camino.

We got to Paris in the morning with no trouble. As usual, I couldn’t sleep on the plane and was tired and stiff by the time we got to the Charles de Gaulle airport. Our first stop for a photo was at the Notre Dame Cathedral. It was the first time in Paris where we had decided to skip going into the Cathedral and settled for a couple-photo for our records, another first.

From there we walked across the Lover’s Bridge with it length covered in locks that promised a forever love for young and old couples. We didn’t add to the collection. Then we went to the René Viviani Park along the Seine River before heading to the train station where we would board a train to take us to southern France. With our tickets secured, we went for another walk and were glad that we had our rain covers for our backpacks, a baptism in Paris for them.

Though both of us were tired, there was more than enough adrenaline to carry us through the day. Time to get on the train to Bayonne.

Yesterday, Maureen and I went to the city to get Maureen’s new boots and a few other things for the Camino. It’s time to get focused on our preparations. I got Maureen a pair of rain golf gloves – I already have mine from the past when I used to compete in golf at tournaments and at men’s nights. We both got head coverings that will serve as scarves, tuques, earmuffs, etc. – “buffs” that make a person look like a pirate. We both also got merino wool tops, expensive but hopefully worth the expense. By that time, we had maxed out for spending. The rest will have to wait until another trip to the city.

This morning was nice with warmth from the sun finally letting us have coffee outside after our six km walk. Maureen is very pleased with her new boots and is growing more and more excited about our trip to Spain. Most of our conversations now seem to centre on the Camino, hiking, and family.

Yesterday it finally was a quiet morning and the sun is shining. Our kids and grandkids have returned home. Now, it is time to get in some focused training for the Camino. Maureen has ordered a new set of boots which means that we will likely take a trip to Saskatoon next week. Our Camino stuff is coming together. Yesterday afternoon we went for a 10 km walk west and north of town. Just before our walk, we found my rain golf gloves which we both tried out using our walking poles. Maureen is sold and wants a pair for herself as they do a better job of keeping hands warm in cool winds which we expect to experience on the Camino.

Today, we had walked 12 km in the morning. Along the way we saw a Meadow Lark, a pair of Snipe, a Killdeer, a Mule Deer and four Pronghorn Antelopes as well as numerous animal tracks. We passed by several sloughs where frogs were very noisy as well.

Up at 7:15 as has become a normal time while we are camping. Saturday morning we have to get up at 5:30 as Maureen goes to work. We got off to go hiking at nine this morning and made the long drive to the head of the Gray Owl Trail. Along the drive to the trail head, we saw a mature female elk, but she was too skittish for me to get a photo. It was overcast when we set off with the plan to make it to the halfway point, ten kilometres and then turn around for a total hike of 20 km. We ended up walking just over 22 kilometres when all was said and done.

It wasn’t long into the hike when Maureen spotted an eagle in a tree. Luckily, he stayed there long enough for me to get a decent photo. The direction of filtered sunlight made it near impossible to get a better shot. Still, I am satisfied with what I got. We got a few other photos along the way that added to our collection, but it was when the hike was finally done that I got the photo of the day, another five-pointer elk.

We walked the second half a fair bit faster than the first half taking at least three quarters of an hour less. The last fifteen minutes were walked with a light rain beginning to fall. We were lucky that we were able to walk without rain jackets and pack covers for the day making for a more enjoyable hike in my opinion.

It’s 7pm and we are both tired from a good hiking workout today, 19 km covered on three different trails. The trails were all uphill and down hill with many steep sections and spruce bogs that needed to be crossed using fallen logs. We are hiking in Prince Albert National Park where we arrived yesterday for five nights of camping with six days of hiking. Yesterday we hiked 13 km, mostly around Waskesiu, the beach, and various shorter trails with a final hike to the lake in the evening to watch the sunset. 

This morning on the drive to the start of our hiking we stopped because of a bear and her cubs. I managed to get a decent shot from the side of the road with the bears just inside the edge of trees just about forty metres away. I left the van door open in case I had to make a run for it – you never know with bears, especially mothers with cubs in tow. From what Maureen could see, there were three cubs. As they moved deeper into the forest, they soon became too difficult to photograph, so it was on to our trail head for the Spruce River Highlands Trail – 8.5 km long though my pedometer read 9.5 because of shortened steps, especially on steep descents. It took us three hours including a stop to change socks, eat some fruit and stretch out in the sunshine.

After time out for our lunch, we then walked the Freight Tait Springs Trail which was in the book at four kilometres. The problem was that there was no marker to signal the end of the trail and we kept on walking so that in the end we covered another kilometre and a bit, going up a faint trail, crossing another boggy spot before realising that we had walked too far. End result, we covered 6.5 km before arriving back at the van. The old, faint trail is just over 29 km in length so we could have gone on and on looking in vain for some end of trail marker.

We then headed back towards Waskesiu only to stop for another roadside animal photo opportunity, a young white-tail fawn. I was literally only about 10 metres from him before he turned tail and headed back to the bush where his mother was waiting. We stopped for a short hike to a tower which we then climbed before heading out to the Shady Lake Trail of almost two kilometres. Though it was a short trail, it was well worth the stop. More photos and then we drove back to our campsite, for a shower, supper and now, relaxation.

It’s 7pm and we have finished with our showers after our day in the West Block of the park. We began with a walk around of Fort Walsh finishing off with the graveyard of the fort from 130 years ago. Next on the agenda was the drive-up version of the Conglomerate Cliffs which were quite spectacular. Finally, we found our way to our starting point on the TransCanada trail.

The climb was on a narrow trail that was torn up and muddy as it is most used by horseback groups. We walked only inches from the edge of drop offs that fell a long way down as we saw the tops of trees below us. Finally, we reached a plateau, the high point in the park, where we found the hidden Conglomerate Cliffs, our main objective for hiking in this section of the park. Maureen decided to go out to the edge of the cliffs so that she could have her photo taken there. From my angle, at the edge of the plateau, her position looked quite precarious, as though she would slip of and fall off the cliff. Now how would I explain it as I would somehow have to find my way down to where she would have fallen simply in order to get the phone to call for help. Not good planning on our part with her taking most of the risks. It was a good day, well spent which included 16 kilometres of hiking, meeting another couple on the trail not far from these cliffs, and time together, doing something we both love.

It has been a long time since I last entered anything into this journal. The only reason for the absence is perhaps a simple forgetfulness or lack of interest. Maureen and I are camped at Cypress Hills Park, the centre block. Our arrival here began with some unneeded stress as the van had just run out of oil requiring me to call CAA in order to get some oil brought to the campsite from Maple Creek which is about a half hour away. While waiting, we had our lunch, a late lunch. About an hour and a half after the call, the oil arrived. Finally we both calmed down and finished setting up our camping site.

After we had relaxed a bit, we decided to go for a short hike of six kilometres on some of the inner trails. Our short hike proved to be good for us as we embraced the silence of the trail. I managed to capture a few images of squirrels and some white-tail deer as well as other nature images. It’s surprisingly warm with the add-a-room up with the flaps down which keeps the cool evening air out of the camper.

On the second day, I wrote: “It’s eight in the morning and we have had our morning coffee already in the add-a-room. We got up with the dawn watching the clouds appear and then turn orange with the rising sun. Now, the sky is completely overcast with thunder in the distance. The weather forecast for a rainy day appears to be correct for today though the rain hasn’t yet started. We will do smaller hikes today when there are breaks in the weather, short hikes that will take us to the central core of the park where we can pick up better hiking maps for the good weather days to come.  While I am keying this in, the clouds have descended cloaking the trees in mist as if we have entered a dark land of fog. In a way, I have to admit that I love these moments where reality seems to have shifted into a different realm.”

Now that I have caught up, I can talk about today’s hike.

We got up at 7:00 this morning to an outside temperature of 4C and a cabin temperature of 9C. More importantly, the sky was clear promising us a great day for hiking. We are heading north then west and then back as if in a circle to walk the western half of the TransCanada Trail in the Centre Block.  We got off by 9:15 and followed the Moose trail until it connected to the TransCanada Trail, then turned west until we got to the road that would take us to Bald Bute. The two look-out locations are impressive and warrant a return in time for sunset if sky conditions allow.

We got to climb up to Bald Bute for a few more photos before heading down a dirt road that really was impassible for vehicle traffic. We decided to pass on the side trail to learn about prairie plants and ecosystem as we were unsure of just how much further we had to go to return back to our trailer. Often, we found ourselves walking in adjoining fields and forest in order to bypass deep water across the road. Every so often I would stop and note down the distance covered on the map we had along with us so that we would know better how to plan our hikes. We stopped for lunch shortly before we were to enter the TransCanada Trail at the western edge. The sign marking the TransCanada Trail was laying on the ground in need of repair. With one more stop en route to change socks, we finally covered 19 kilometres by the time we returned to the trailer. It was a great hike with incredible weather. All that was left was to download the photos and then use the service centre for shower and shave before relaxing with reading and writing.

We have been camping at the Gordie Howe Campground in Saskatoon for the past few days. Between rain, shopping and occasional hikes, it was until this morning that we were able to risk a long walk. Well, the weather cooperated for us so that we decided to go on our twenty kilometre walk. That is, we walked in pleasant cool conditions for about six kilometres before the rain decided to become a constant companion for the next twelve kilometres. The sun did finally come out for the last two kilometres. Despite the rain, it was a very good walk.

We got a good test of our equipment for walking in the rain. I have to be honest; it didn’t rain the whole of the twelve kilometres as it did stop while we were in a coffee house on Broadway where we ate our lunch and Maureen tried out a café con leche as if we were on the actual Camino. It was a good five hours spent in spite of the rain. Now that we are back at the camper, it is time to get things sorted out for drying, download the few photos that we took, and relax.