|Wanderung| Newsletter - Trails BC/Wanderung Partnership, TC

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1 - Trails BC/Wanderung Partnership
2 - TCT25 callouts
3 - The Great Trail
4 - MEC backcountry 101
5 - Avalanche issues
6 - Trip reports


1 - Trails BC/Wanderung Partnership
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You may have noticed a few callouts recently that set out to explore
sections of the Trans Canada Trail (TCT). Last fall, Léon and Serge
from Trails BC got in touch with us to set up a partnership for raise
awareness of the TCT, and to get more people out using the trail. We
really liked the idea and so between now and the end of September,
they will be organizing a number of cycling and hiking callouts that
cover 50 routes in the Lower Mainland and nearby areas. Please support
them and join a callout. If you can't make it, then the website can
help you organize your own TCT-based trip:

http://www.trailsbc.ca/tct25-program/program-instructions

Read on for more info!


2 - TCT25 callouts
-------------------
by Léon Lebrun

I have just begun to lead Wanderung walking and cycling callouts using
the TCT 25 Great Trail Adventures for Canada 150 put out by Trails BC
(trailsbc.ca). The routes are easily followed on a Smartphone using
Google Maps. Just be sure to go to the Google Map App just below the
title page map of each excursion. You may also like to register for
the challenge to complete a combination of 25 walking or cycling loops
and/or linear feature sections of the Trans Canada Trail.

The main purpose is to discover and enjoy our greenways demonstrating
that nature and our heritage can be discovered and enjoyed near or
within our urban settings. Some of the excursions do skirt the
backcountry. More than 80 such excursions are fully researched,
described, and kept up to date on the website and all of them have
some relationship with the Trans Canada Trail network now known as the
Great Trail. Note that I am providing the code for each excursion that
I lead allowing you to look-up the excursion and get a feel for it
before heading out. Hopefully, others will see fit to organize
callouts using this resource.


3 - The Great Trail
--------------------

Following up on Léon's article above, we'd like to point you all
towards the website for the entire TCT (aka the Great Trail) and
summarize some of its awesome trip-planning features.

The Great Trail website is at  https://thegreattrail.ca/ and your
first stop should be to click "Explore the Map". The trail is marked
in green (on land; blue on the water), some of it on easy paths, some
of it on tougher hiking trails.

Zoom in to your desired area and click on the "hamburger" menu in the
top left. This pops up a window with links to all sorts of info about
the trail. You can create a custom map to print out hardcopy or
transfer to your phone. There's GPS trail data too to copy to a
dedicated GPS or smartphone. I used this recently to explore the TCT
in West Vancouver and was very impressed - it's an awesome resource.

We hope this encourages you to get out and explore the Trans-Canada
Trail in all its forms, and hope you support Léon in his callouts.


4 - MEC backcountry 101
------------------------

A new month is approaching, time to check out MEC's Backcountry 101
course. Sign up online here:

http://events.mec.ca/event/164041/backcountry-101-apr06

Be quick - these courses fill up fast!


5 - Avalanche issues
---------------------

In last week's newsletter we forgot to include this link about current
issues facing the snowpack. Check it out:

http://www.avalanche.ca/blogs/novemberfacetsmarchlphccycle

Avalanche Canada has published a followup article.

http://www.avalanche.ca/blogs/low-btl-danger-full-path-avalanches

The discussion may be specific to the Rockies, but it's all worth reading about.


6 - Trip reports
-----------------

Chris N. at Joffre Lakes:
"About 3/4 of the main parking lot at Joffre is plowed but there's
still enough snow that you'll lose traction with 2wd if you drive in
too far. Parking close to the exit means you won't need much of a
push. There were about 10 cars in the lot when we were there - a far
cry from the 200+ you'll see on a summer's day. The snow at the
beginning was wet and sticky but improved with elevation. All the
lakes are frozen but there is a layer of slush covered by another
layer of snow on top of the ice on the first lake. The inlets and
outlets of all the lakes are ice free so give these areas wide berths.
If you follow the winter trail across the lake, you might prefer
snowshoes but most of the route can be done in microspikes with
minimal post-holing. Weather was changeable - a bit of cloud with the
sun trying to peek out at times interspersed with snow showers.
Temperatures varied from about 0 C in the parking lot to maybe -5 C
with a bit of wind at our high point. We reached the third lake in
under 2 hours, had lunch and spent a bit of time exploring."


Past trip reports are HERE: http://www.wanderung.ca/recent-reports
Flickr photos: https://www.flickr.com/groups/wanderung/
Instagram: @wanderungca / #wanderungca

Submit all trip reports to info@wanderung.ca (do not attach photos -
we can only use photos posted to the Flickr pool).

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Disclaimer:
The information in this newsletter should not be taken as accurate,
complete or up-to-date. You should check this information yourself.
The reader is warned that it is unreasonable to rely solely upon the
above information. By providing this information, Wanderung does not
assume any liability for the use of this information by our readers.

Please forward all questions/comments to info@wanderung.ca
______________________________________________

Do NOT REPLY-ALL to this message.

BRING the 10 essentials:
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READ the Wanderung FAQ: http://www.wanderung.ca/faq

You, not the trip organizer, Wanderung, or anyone else, are entirely responsible for your own safety. Do not sign up for this trip unless you agree to the full Wanderung release and waiver of liability: http://wanderung.ca/join/legal

- Non-subscribers are NOT invited, all attendees must have signed up through the website with a valid email address and be actively receiving Wanderung updates
- Do NOT show up to the meeting spot unannounced
- Carpool leaves at latest 10 minutes after meet time
- Please do not impose any time ceiling on a trip: if you need to be somewhere later, please be patient, nature knows no schedules and rushing a hike can defeat the purpose
- Have correct amount of cash to give to driver