Blast off

Hey everyone. I just had my first book signing at Indigo in Lakeshore (Tecumseh) Ontario. I had a blast. Lots of people were there and many seemed really interested. I sold 7 books but I read somewhere that if you sell one...the signing should be considered a success. The main goal is to get exposure and recognition as an author. I really feel that, that happened. I was not the least bit nervous because I knew what I was talking about and chatted it up naturally.


I was smack dab right in the middle of the front doors. I got to say hi to everyone that showed up. The funny thing was that every once in a while people were asking me for directions. They thought that I was a 'greeter'. That's ok...you never know when I might need that job experience....Hmmm. They seemed a little embarrassed when I told them I was an author plugging my book and pointed to my poster picture.



Jim Bondy

Author of: Friday on the Trail

A book about our backpacking adventures in Ontario Canada

HAVE SOME FUN

(My Website) http://jimbondy.webs.com



(My Videos) http://www.youtube.com/user/effexus3



(Mugs T’s Hats & More) http://jimbondy.webs.com/apps/cafepress_shop



(E-Mail) effexus3@yahoo.com

Count down

Just 4 days and nights left. The countdown begins


FRIDAY ON THE TRAIL

Book Signing Session

MEET THE AUTHOR

JIM BONDY

at

Indigo Books

In Lakeshore (Tecumseh)

Sunday, November 7

12:00 noon till 3:00 pm

Come on over and bring a friend. Browse through the thousands of titles in the store.



Jim Bondy

Author of: Friday on the Trail

A book about our backpacking adventures in Ontario Canada

HAVE SOME FUN

(My Website) http://jimbondy.webs.com



(My Videos) http://www.youtube.com/user/effexus3



(Mugs T’s Hats & More) http://jimbondy.webs.com/apps/cafepress_shop



(E-Mail) effexus3@yahoo.com

Book Signing at Indigo

Hey guys. What do you know…I’m doing my first book signing at the Indigo Bookstore in Lakeshore Ontario. A year ago it seemed like I’d never get to this point and here it is. Come on in and you can purchase your autographed copy for only $16.95. I’m hoping for a good turnout as it’s really a popular place. There should be plenty of traffic coming in. Suzanna, (what a cool name) assured me that my slot was during peak customer time. Too cool. On Sunday afternoon November 7 between 12:00 noon and 3:00 pm, I’ll be smack right in line with the doorway. You can’t miss me. I’ll have my best smile on and be sporting a shirt that I could only wear to such a function. You’ll know why when you see it.


So feel free to hop in your buggy and visit the store. Maybe even buy a book if you really want, but just to say hi, will do just fine. Hope to see you there.



Jim Bondy

Author of: Friday on the Trail

A book about our backpacking adventures in Ontario Canada

HAVE SOME FUN

(My Website) http://jimbondy.webs.com



(My Videos) http://www.youtube.com/user/effexus3



(Mugs T’s Hats & More) http://jimbondy.webs.com/apps/cafepress_shop



(E-Mail) effexus3@yahoo.com

Cheese it! The cops!

Believe it or not the whole clan got together this weekend. A great time was had by all…well most of us. Jayne had dislocated her shoulder recently, and put on the best face that she could. Kim, Louie and Matt crashed at the far-back in the camper, but not before we partied around the bon-fire for hours on end. The twins were looking alike… and Louie? Well Louie was Louie. You gotta love him. Pam was just back from her two and a half week vacation at her sisters, and I am just getting over a nervous breakdown (kind of) from Pam being away. Our Thanksgiving Dinner consisted of pizza and KFC since the pork roast wasn’t behaving. I know...I know it’s supposed to be turkey…so sue me. Well as the night went on Jayne was really sore so she went to Windsor to have her shoulder checked out again or to see what they could do. After a couple of hours she called me and said “Hey I’m just entering LaSalle. How in the hell do I get home from here?


Well it looks like she went the wrong direction on the EC Row expressway.

“Um… You’re going to half to turn around and come back. You went the wrong way.” I really had a hard time doing this, because I knew that she just wanted to be home.

“I don’t want to turn around.” Her voice wasn’t really strong at this point.

“You have to. There is a back way through the county but you’ll get hopelessly lost…especially in the dark.”

Well after about an hour and a half she showed up… but not really too frazzled.

Anyway Jeff and I have the bonfire just a-roarin’ out the back. Matt comes out of the house and tells us that the OPP are on their way. Somehow Aunt Kims’ cell phone went into emergency mode and called 911. She apologized to the operator but they informed her that they have to come out anyway just in case that someone is holding a gun to her head. Hmmmmm…maybe not too bad of an idea.

Well the flames of our bonfire were about 5 feet high because we were burning some brush. I figured that I’ll just throw it all on to get it burnt before the cops come. No sooner did we get the stuff on the rip-roaring fire, and the headlights were approaching the house. The female cop was really nice about the whole thing and didn’t mention the fire. Phew’’!

If I ever turn into a bad guy I’ll make sure that Kim checks her phone at the door.



Jim Bondy

Author of: Friday on the Trail

A book about our backpacking adventures in Ontario Canada

HAVE SOME FUN

(My Website) http://jimbondy.webs.com



(My Videos) http://www.youtube.com/user/effexus3



(Mugs T’s Hats & More) http://jimbondy.webs.com/apps/cafepress_shop



(E-Mail) effexus3@yahoo.com

First Autograph

Well I just returned from Indigo in Lakeshore Ontario. What a special treat it was when I was informed that ‘Friday on the Trail’, would appear on their shelves in the ‘Local Author’ section. Look for it. It should be there sometime around the ides of October. Really though; that’s pale in comparison to my next point. While I was at Indigo I was asked to do a ‘book signing’. Wow! I’ll be there autographing your books…answering all kinds of crazy questions…looking all like an author as best as I can. Holy crap I think that I was less nervous when I ran across the train trestle in chapter four. Well….no…not really.




Actually I’m totally geeked out. It’s going to take place in early November, smack in the path of the front door at Indigo but it’ll be like Wal-Mart. I’ll be there chanting, “Good Day! Nice weather eh? Can I get you a cart?…Please buy my book?



It’ll be a blast!



Jim Bondy

Author of: Friday on the Trail

A book about our backpacking adventures in Ontario Canada

HAVE SOME FUN

(My Website) http://jimbondy.webs.com



(My Videos) http://www.youtube.com/user/effexus3



(Mugs T’s Hats & More) http://jimbondy.webs.com/apps/cafepress_shop



(E-Mail) effexus3@yahoo.com

About some of the characters in my book: Friday on the Trail

Pam, was born in Windsor Ontario in 1955. She grew up in the West End, one of seven siblings. She fell in love with Jim and was engaged to be married on their sixth date. The proud mother of Kim and Jeff worked hard as a ‘stay at home mom’. After thirty five years of a blissful loving marriage they are known to still be on their honeymoon. She is, and always has been the strongest support for her family, and has always been full of encouragement, life and happiness.




Kim, was born in Windsor Ontario in 1977 and lived her teen years in Essex. She finished high school and went on to college to accomplish her degree in Accounting.

She met her partner Lou and is raising a wonderful son with him. Together they are a hard working couple and are quite successful in all of their endeavors.

Throughout her adulthood she enjoyed closely bonding with her mom and backpacking with her dad. They measured every ounce to keep the weight down in their huge packs. Kim and her dad are very close, right to this day and long for the next backpacking trip…soon to be made.



Jeff was born in Windsor Ontario 1978. He followed close behind Kim in school and went to college to better his understanding of the computer industry. During his younger years he was very close to his mom. This lasts strongly, still to this day. He has fathered 3 terrific boys and has entered the realm of construction as an important leader in the field. With his beautiful wife Jane and the lord at his side you will find the children are the epicenter of their existence.

Jeff and his dad had a special closeness and could talk about anything. The backpacking adventures that they went on were filled with excitement and true father / son bonding. May these trips together never cease.



Charlie was a free spirit, born in Barry’s Bay Ontario. He led an exciting life and knew the bush like the back of his hand. Jim and Charlie met in the 70’s working in construction, building houses. Jim went on to work in the factories and Charlie off to the salt mine. Charlie and Nancy brought a beautiful daughter into the world who has grown to be a wonderful contributor to society.

Through their time Jim, Charlie and Gerry (Tabernack) trekked through the bush on their yearly fishing trips. The crazy antics were unparalleled. The close friendships were unsurpassed Charlie was a great ally that would give you the shirt off of his back (and that is no exaggeration). He will never be forgotten by anyone that has made his acquaintance, least of all me. May he rest in peace.

Jim Bondy

Author of: Friday on the Trail

A book about our backpacking adventures in Ontario Canada

HAVE SOME FUN

(My Website) http://jimbondy.webs.com



(My Videos) http://www.youtube.com/user/effexus3



(Mugs T’s Hats & More) http://jimbondy.webs.com/apps/cafepress_shop



(E-Mail) effexus3@yahoo.com

Why I bought the weird tent

I just bought a new tent. My old one has served us well but it’s just too heavy. Weighing in at 11 pounds, it’s murder on my shoulders especially after you attach it to my backpack that already has about 40 to 50 pounds of dead weight. All hail, the new home away from home… only weighs 7 pounds. This will make all of the difference in the world. Here’s my dilemma. My old tent is a 3 man tent, 7 ft. by 7 ft., or about 49 square feet, which is perfect for 2 people plus gear (backpacks etc). The new tent is considered to be a 4 man tent; 8 ft. by 9 ft., which, one might think adds up to 72 square feet, which would be perfect for 3 people plus gear. (This is why I actually went out and bought it). I figured…Holy Crap I’m getting a bigger tent and it weighs less, not to mention that it was on a 70% off sale. Well I get this thing home and am really anxious to get it set up, so I brave the gale force winds and manage to figure out the pole placements. Next thing you know, it’s up, beautiful and life is grand again. It has this really unique design and I think that I like it a lot, but it doesn’t seem to have a lot of extra room. Well I figured that it’s just my imagination, so I got my old tent out and when Kim came over we set it up next to my new trendy model. Kim says “Dad it doesn’t look much bigger that our old tent.”


“Nooooo...It’s just your imagination Kim”

Well I got a tape measure and took a better look at it. Actually the tent is 6 ft wide at the door with 2 small compartment areas that stick out about 1 ft on each side…which are a little useless to say the least. So I guess that this is the 8 ft. wide dimension, (which is really only about 6 ft. and a bit… then it tapers down at the foot end of the tent). Now I measured the depth and it measured about 7 ft. 6 in. Now, there’s a mat that’s outside of the tent measuring about 1 ft. 6 in. I guess that they included this when they measured the (inside?) of the tent so there we go…that adds up to 9 ft. Just to add insult to injury, my old tent has more headroom than the new one. What the hell, man.



My new 9 ft by 8 ft tent is only 49 square feet. My old 7 ft. by 7 ft. tent is also 49 square feet.

My new tent is only 7 pounds My old tent is 11 pounds

My new tent has a small fly My old tent has a fly that goes to the ground

You can’t store anything under the fly There is a vestibule that can hold stuff

There’s only one door There is a door on each end

The further in you go you lose headroom The headroom is constant throughout



You’d think that it would be an easy decision. My old tent is more practical, but it weighs too much. I bought the new tent so that we’d be ok when Jeff and Kim and I are going together, but it will be too small. GRRRRR! To hell with it all. I’m keeping both and waiting for a slightly bigger tent, that’s feather-weight, to go on sale. I has spoken (Mammy Yokum).



Jim Bondy

Author of: Friday on the Trail

A book about our backpacking adventures in Ontario Canada

HAVE SOME FUN

(My Website) http://jimbondy.webs.com



(My Videos) http://www.youtube.com/user/effexus3



(Mugs T’s Hats & More) http://jimbondy.webs.com/apps/cafepress_shop



(E-Mail) effexus3@yahoo.com

Social Networking

Social Networking




I just love this ‘Social Networking’. I’ve met more interesting people from all over the place…everywhere. I have fine friends from Indonesia that are avid backpackers and climbers. They are young guys barely 20 years old and have discovered that adventure and nature are enjoyable and so important. Most of the jargon spoken is in Indonesian but I’ve downloaded a translator. With this, I can get the idea of what they are saying, a lot of the time. When I send them a post in English they are polite enough to respond in my language. You just have to love the Internet. I have a pal in Australia that is involved with the outback, and posts about culture in the towns. On my very website, I have members living all over the United States and Canada. It’s sooo… cool. I have a bunch of videos on YouTube and the traffic is increasing daily. The vids are mostly from my recent backpacking trek and are flush with us having fun at our newly found base-camp. Often, I’m adding new videos and will continue, until all eighteen are uploaded. I’m a member of Facebook, Twitter, Days of Adventure, Goexplore, Live Space, Publish America, Friday on the Trail, The Book Cubby, Blogger.com, and more. It is a ton of fun.

Most of my life I’ve counted every moment and wouldn’t have bothered with trivialities as such. I was so wrong. Now I have this new hobby and the whole world is not actually passing me by…or falling apart. I’ve reduced my level of stress immensely and happiness is what living is all about…isn’t it?

We need to rethink life as we know it and start enjoying every moment. If you’re already there, then know that you are there and enjoy.



Jim Bondy

Author of: Friday on the Trail

A book about our backpacking adventures in Ontario Canada

HAVE SOME FUN

(My Website) http://jimbondy.webs.com



(My Videos) http://www.youtube.com/user/effexus3



(Mugs T’s Hats & More) http://jimbondy.webs.com/apps/cafepress_shop



(E-Mail) effexus3@yahoo.com

Friday on the Trail

Usually I’m not blogging about my book, and I really think that it is an enjoyable read. The book yearns, to figure out how I acquired this obsession. It must have started at birth. Nothing triggered it. It just happened. It’s affected everything and most everyone in my life. We journey through the years longing, hoping and expecting the answers. We find a myriad of them. The stories are true and deal with adventure, happiness, hard-ships and humor…even a touch of sadness. You will laugh with us through the crazy antics. You’ll feel the anxiety of looking down and seeing nothing but space for hundreds of feet.


These backpacking tales will beg you to spring off of the couch and embrace the open fresh air… the breathtaking scenery…the culmination of friends, siblings, sons and daughters. Also; the hardships, the down-pouring in buckets of rain…the soreness from the cutting straps of the gargantuan backpacks, filled with only the essentials to survive.

The catastrophes and the calamities that we endure bring us together. I don’t pull through. You don’t pull through. We pull through! (Besides when everything is nice and peachy and graceful and soft and good…it makes for a boring story). The worse…the better. Just sit back and enjoy one of the most pleasant books that you’ve ever read. It has memoirs from my childhood to todays’ time about backpacking Treks and how I came to love the sport.

My reviews have been very good. I’ve sold a fair amount of copies and that alone should be somewhat of an indicator. It’s easy to find and buy. I offer it on my website (bottom of this blog); most bookstores either have it for sale or will order it for you. It’s featured on “Amazon” in: Canada, US, Germany, England, China (and some other countries…I forget). My publisher “Publish America” has it available through their site. If you just want to read it and not purchase it, you can go to some of the libraries in Essex County Ontario Canada and just borrow it. Also the Librarian at the main branch in Windsor loved it and purchased 3 copies; one for the main library; one for a branch in the East end; one for the historical archives.

Thanks for taking a peek and letting me bend your ear.

Check out the videos on YouTube …just click on the link below. HAVE FUN.

Jim Bondy

Author of: Friday on the Trail

A book about our backpacking adventures in Ontario Canada

http://jimbondy.webs.com

effexus3@yahoo.com

http://www.youtube.com/user/effexus3

http://jimbondy.webs.com/apps/cafepress_shop/

I was saved from YouTube

Wahoo! I finally got my first video to upload to YouTube. I really knocked myself out for too long to no avail. I set up my username and password just as they instructed then when I clicked the ‘sign in’ button and signed in it still spit out the command ‘sign in’. I figured …Oh well…and clicked the upload button. My screen just turned blank except for the message…’Redirecting’…then the little square dots traveled along the load bar, (just like they should). When it completed its tedious journey nothing happened. It just sat there. You could wait for days and it’s still redirecting. Arrrftghhh. After doing this for about…way too many tries, my brainstorm activity kicked in and I posted the perplexing question on my (book publisher) “Publish America Forum”, begging for help to determine how I was possibly screwing this up. Well, Bob Greer ( www.publishedauthors.net/b.d.greer www.authorsden.com/bdavisgreer ) was nice enough and replied to my query and advised me to try a different browser like Firefox/Mozilla. Hmmmmm. Reluctantly, I downloaded this and retried… again. Guess what happened. Everything worked fine. Life is good again! Who would have thought that this would do the trick? Or should I say, I didn’t think that this would do the trick! Anyway it’s great. Now I have 2 browsers, (that is what it’s called eh?) and that makes me a techie… I think.


Yes, I’m Canadian.



As well as these blogs that I do every week, I’m also producing a video blog on YouTube, mostly geared towards backpacking treks, and stuff from my book; “Friday on the Trail”. I’ll also be uploading clips about my website with my bio, favs, It’ll be fun, so keep watching for me. I’ll be the stah of a clip.



Click on my first video blog at:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR8PFpY6Euo

Lost at Mono Cliffs (Final)

It was such a mystery, (how we got lost). It seemed so simple. We just followed the stream up… crossed over… and followed it back. No brainer right? Hmmmm. There can only be one explanation and it seems right as we checked out our topo map.


Here it is. After dinner we thought that we’d just go for a simple hike and follow the stream until the terrain got too rough. The bush was very dense and had a lot of underbrush so you couldn’t see much detail, let alone elevations. We hiked for quite a while, following the edge of the rushing water. After trudging for an enjoyable time we decided to hike along the other side of the stream, back to base-camp to relax and prepare for the next days’ excursion. Everything was cool and the landscape was recognizable for awhile, but then it all seemed unfamiliar. One part of the stream narrowed, but somewhere in this area an estuary at about 30 degrees to the North joined the original brook. Both were protected from sight with dense bluffs, so that you couldn’t see one from another. The original water-way was winding here and there so we really didn’t take a bearing. When we came back on the opposite side we didn’t realize that we were following the wrong stream and that it sent us off 30 degrees to the North. This took us on the opposite side of a huge hill that we didn’t even know existed, (due to the dense forestry), so now we’re on the North East side of this monstrous barrier and not even aware of it being there so when we checked out our GPS it was directing us in a Westerly direction up a steep hill. Well we were so confused. We didn’t go down any elevations… so why is it sending us up 100 feet. We reluctantly followed it anyway. When we summitted, we felt so desolate. We didn’t know where the heck we were. It was a chilling experience as darkness was closing in on us and we were ill prepared to spend the night…who knows where. We started walking and just happened upon the Bruce Trail. We couldn’t believe it. We recognized the path that we initially came through before we found our site and found our camp 100 feet down the other side of the hill.

Morale of the story: don’t take anything for granted when in the bush. Be prepared for anything. It’s too easy to get complacent.

Happy Hiking

Jim Bondy

Author of: Friday on the Trail

A book about our backpacking adventures in Ontario Canada

http://jimbondy.webs.com

effexus3@yahoo.com

Mono Cliffs (Continuation)

…probably just look different. In the dense bush it’s easy to change your bearings without knowing it, but how could we go wrong…we’re just following the stream. It really was a no–brainer. Well now the bush started to show signs that we did not recognize. The stream with its’ grassy, swaying bluff ran off on a ninety-degree turn. We would have noticed this. Nothing looked right…but how could we have gone wrong? Finally Kim pulled out the GPS.


“Why don’t we just keep walking? Our camp must be just ahead.” I’m not sure why I said this.

“Dad. This is not the way. Somehow we got turned around or something. I’ll just plug in our base and we can just follow it home. It is starting to get a little dark.”

Kim was getting nervous and rightly so.

We were in a clearing and the GPS showed us the way. Kim pointed to the left and said, “It’s 300 meters that way.”

“That’s straight into the bush. I know that we didn’t go through anything like that but let’s go”

Well, we followed it in and trekked for a while then suddenly the arrow pointed off to the right.

“Ok lets go this way.” Kim said with an honest nervousness. “It says to go to the right.”

Well I know that when you get into the thick dense forest these things sometimes lie to you.

“No. Hang on. When we were in the clearing it pointed us North-West so we have to take the same bearing. We need to use my compass from here on.”

“Oh! Right,” came Kims’ reply.

The compass pointed straight up a steep hill. When we went in every inch of the terrain was as flat as a pancake, so you can just sense our anticipation. Up the hill we went anyway. What else could we do? We had to go by something. Once over the top we had no idea where we were and the sun hiding behind the trees and mountainous terrain helped only to fuel our panic. It would have been a long night without any shelter, water, bear spray…or any of the other luxuries. We figured to just keep going and follow the compass. We hiked for a little while longer and happened onto a trail. We couldn’t believe it…out in the middle of nowhere a trail. It’s better than nothing so we followed it.

“White! We’re on the Bruce Trail. There’s a hash mark…Look!” Kim was so excited.

“Yeah but where on the trail are we?” I queried. “Lets just keep walking. What else can we do?” We continued down the path feeling a little better about the whole situation when I said, “Hey wait a minute, I recognize that twin fallen tree. It must have been blocking the path and the caretaker sawed it through. There is no mistaking this. We came up this path when we first came in. Look there is where we stashed our packs when we went bushwhacking to find our site!”

“Yes!” Kim was so relieved

We ended up back at our site before dark, as it was only a short distance from this spot. There is a logical explanation as to what happened…how we got lost.



This is already a little too long so I’ll explain next week. Have a nice week.



Jim Bondy

Author of: Friday on the Trail

A book about our backpacking adventures in Ontario Canada

http://jimbondy.webs.com

effexus3@yahoo.com

Lost at Mono Cliffs

June 26, 2010




Lost at Mono Cliffs



It was day one of the trek. We had just finished our culinary treat of beef stew and baked potatoes, fire roasted as only they should be. Ahhh… the water’s dancing the boil in the balanced vessel that was precariously perched above the burners licking flames. We dug out the plastic cups from the bottom of my pack and concocted a beverage of heavenly potency. Just calling it coffee does it no justice. What is it that makes it taste so good out here? Maybe it’s the pure chemical free water that we filter out of the busy stream.



After finishing our drink, we decided to take a hike without our gargantuan packs on. We’ll just follow the stream. We don’t need to worry about direction. Follow it up and come right back. We headed out, hacking our way through the thick underbrush. Kim brought her GPS even though we wouldn’t need it. Over logs and avoiding the thorn bushes. We hiked for about an hour, deeper and deeper into the bush, always keeping the rushing water in sight. A sudden loss in elevation created a cascading waterfall. This was a great spot for a break so after a long drink and nutigrain bar, we decided to cross at the base of the falls and go back to our site. We clamored down the steep bank and chanced across a fallen log spanning the narrowed passage. This was our only way across without getting a good soaker. Three quick steps and pushing off with the fourth landed us in the muck on the other shore. Up the other side of the bank, and we were on our way. It was quite simple it seemed. Just follow the stream back to the site. We hiked and hiked with no trail to follow, just the rushing water leading us on our way. It was quite enjoyable but after a while we were looking forward to seeing familiar signs of our base camp, and the onset of dusk was beginning. The terrain looked a little odd, but we just thought that… well we’re on the other side of the stream and things… Continued next week



Jim Bondy

Author of: Friday on the Trail

A book about our backpacking adventures in Ontario Canada

http://jimbondy.webs.com

effexus3@yahoo.com

Mono Cliffs walkabout

Finally we got to go back on the Bruce Trail. You can tell that we’re going. It’s pouring rain all of the way there, but when we got to our destination it just drizzled on us for the rest of the day. That rain gear sure came in handy this time. The pack is the most important to protect because it would be nice not to have to crawl into a soaking wet sleeping bag or getting changed into some nice drenched sweats, and trying to sleep with a drippy tent in 48 degree weather. Enough of that talk…Brrrrrak. We got to the climb-over nice and early. Opened the hatch of the van and proceeded to strap on our gear. The gargantuan packs pulled hard on our shoulders but we won the fight and ignored the pain as we knew that it would be short lived. After a while you just don’t feel it…or rather you get used to the discomfort. In any event it feels great. We hiked in for about an hour and just like most treks, it shows us how ‘out of shape’ we really are. Now, on this hike we planned to set up a base camp then trek with day-packs, and return at night to sleep. We hid our packs in some brush and decided to go off the trail for a while. Kim found a trickle of water heading off through the brambles. We know that we want water at our camp and this was surely a good sign. It was moving…not too fast…but moving nonetheless, so we followed it. It dragged us through some rough terrain but increased in velocity as other small capillaries joined the troop. At last we landed our spot. Two flowing streams joined at the point of the V and this was to be our base camp for the trip.


This is bear country so we practiced our safe measures rules. Our kitchen was about 75 feet from the tent. We hung our food between 2 trees. No food allowed in the tent or outside of the bag.

Our dining/sitting room was equally distant from our tent. The stream cooled off our couple of beers as no fridge could possibly. Our shower bag hung 100 feet from our tent area. The hammock fit famously between two trees next to our tent. What more could you ask for. It is paradise without any strings attached.

Jim Bondy

Author of: Friday on the Trail

A book about our backpacking adventures in Ontario Canada

http://jimbondy.webs.com

effexus3@yahoo.com

Blustery Point

Blustery Point




Well Pam and I went to the Point on Saturday. The wind was howling like nothing that we’ve seen since the time we hiked the park in the dead of winter and I was trying out my new backpack. The blizzard conditions had made it almost impossible to follow the trail. Now we have embarked on the barren West Beach. Early, on a Saturday morning… not a soul around. The frothy whitecaps stretched to the farthest reaches of our imagination making the lake appear unnaturally sinister. We pictured ourselves in a small craft being pitched up to the right and left between the monstrous swells. They are threatening to sink our sorry ship…plunging…pulling us down to Davy Jones Locker.

Did I mention that it was terribly windy? While on the beach we decided to take a little hike, so we put the wind on our back…(big mistake). It was inviting…urging us to plod on. This was easy. We followed the surf for about the length of a football field. Life is good.

Well it’s time to head back and the grumbling cold waves cascading onto the beach, just out of reach of our runners were threatening to douse our feet with the icy chill. The howling gale pressed against us relentlessly causing us to gasp for mere breath. Speech was not even attempted. We were ill prepared for this torture as a gust grabbed my hat, throwing it far into the tumultuous broth. Once back to the safety and comfort of our chariot we sighed in relief and just sat smiling, still conversing with our minds only. Love is grand.



Jim Bondy

Author of: Friday on the Trail

A book about our backpacking adventures in Ontario Canada

http://jimbondy.webs.com

effexus3@yahoo.com

Workin' Out

Started working out for the trek. Got on the Wii for now and did a full complement of Yoga. Oooo...the stretch is hard to do but it feels too good so I added some 'jackknifes' and ' pushups' to help me feel the pain. I'll be putting my pack on tomorrow and trudgeing around all day with it (after work). Sunday I'll stretch with the Yoga again, got to Timmy's (for sure) and 'The Point' for a little nature walkabout with my sweetie Pam; then home to rest. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday it's off to the workout room I call the gazebo. here is where it all happens. I hav my workout bench; pull down; pull ups (not the kind that you are thinking about :D) and Yoga mat. I beat myuself silly for about one and a half hours. Our trek in May has all the looks of a lot of hard ups and downs. There's more lines on the topo than I have on my forehead. (Each line represents an elevation). We'll be roughing up the escarpment with every ounce of energy and strength that we can muster up, and if we aren't in the best shape ever we're doomed. I just made some new backpacking friends on Facebook from Indonesia. man it looks hot there, but the scenery is breathtaking. There is some pics of these guys looking down at the clouds. Maybe someday....!
Jim bondy
Author of Friday on the Trail
http://jimbondy.webs.com
effexus3@yahoo.com

Bushwhacking

I'm getting everything prepared to send copies of my book, 'Friday on the Trail' to the Los Angeles Book Festival. There is estimated to be around 140,000 people visiting the venue (140,000 potential customers). I'm sending along about 40 bookmarks with my contact information on them for promo handouts. If nothing else my book will spur people to get off of the couch and get out in the bush... on the trail. Hell even off of the trail. We're planning to do a lot of our trek this spring the hard way. We're cutting across, through the bush to 2 different locations. We'll set up our base camp at one end, then trudge, (lightweight) along the trail for a good part of the day until we get to our secondary site, where we'll camp for the night under a lean-to. Pray for no rain during the night or we'll have to get really creative. On the second day we'll plow through the bush. The thickets shouldn't be too hard to get through as it will be early spring, but those viscous thorns can rip you apart if you aren't really careful.
Thare's just something about getting off of the trail that entices me. We should do it more often. You could be helplessly lost if you lose your concentration and become complacent. The GPS and Compass and Topos will be our best friend.

Jim Bondy
Author of "Friday on the Trail"
http://jimbondy.webs.com
effexus3@yahoo.com

Backpacking meeting with Super Bowl

Kim was over for the Super Bowl on the weekend. During the pre-game show we got out our Bruce Trail topo maps and planned our destination for the May 24 backpacking trip. We had a blast revisiting our backpacking checklist and making sure that we still had everything in them; made copies of the maps to leave with ur spouses; had a few beers and watched the great game. We are hoping that Jeff can come with us. He just got back from a work trip to Ottawa for a couple of weeks, so we need to give him some time at home with his loving family before we ask to take him away for another wekend...bu that won't be for about 3 months anyway. As crazy as it seems we are hoping for crappy weather. Lots more fun when we talk about the trip after we get back and it really makes you appreciate everything that you have...like a bed, shower, cushy chair.
Hiking on the escarpment is really a rush and we can't wait for the weather to break. We'll be there.
Jim Bondy
Author of: Friday on the Trail
http://jimbondy.webs.com
effexus3@yahoo.com

I'm about half way through my short story for the contest due by the end of February in Toronto. I really should be finishing my online accounting course but I still have about a year and a half to do that and I'm still setting up my social networking network and don't want to do it half baked. My book has all true stories, so I think that I'll also continue with creating the short story as true. I wa thinking of making it faiction but it's about our Spensors Gorge trip and i want to use it in the sequel to Friday on the Trail that will be out in 2011.

It sure would be nice to win the contest and the 5 grand would come in really handy, but hey...it's Toronto and there's only about a million published authors like myself that I'm up against. Hmmmm.

Jim Bondy

Author of Friday on the Trail

http://jimbondy.webs.com

effexus3@yahoo.com

Spring's here soon. Get your pack ready

Well I'm starting to put together my pack. Get everything cleaned up, and wasked (happens once every year). Need a new filter for my water purifier and replenish my emergency bag (put back the duct tape thatt I swipped from it). Kim and I went over the Bruce Trail topo maps to see if we could find just the right trek for the May 24 long weekend. We have it narrowed down to about 8 or 10 areas...Sheesh! It'll probably be really crappy weather but that's ok. It makes for more interesting stories when we get together between hikes. Maybe someday we'll have the time to do a 'through hike'. I hope that Jeff can get off of work to come along. We're just too busy with our lifestyles. It's hard for all of us to get on the trail together. When I finally retire it will help, as we'll have one less schedule to work around. Won't come soon enough

Jim Bondy

Author of Friday on the Trail

http://jimbondy.webs.com/

effexus3@yahoo.com