As 2022 comes to a close, I thought I would review this past year in terms of my adventures – what went well, what didn’t, what I enjoyed most, what I would have done differently, …
I’m also excited for 2023, which promises to be bigger and better, so I’m going to give a brief overview of what I have planned for the coming year.
2022 in Review
I really took it up a notch adventure-wise in 2022 after a late start in 2021. First up was the Victoria Day weekend backcountry trip to Killarney Provincial Park with my brother in late May. This was a pretty challenging 6 day trek over some rugged terrain, as well as dealing with some unpleasant weather. But overall it was a lot of fun, and I’m super happy my brother enjoyed it too and wants to keep doing these kinds of trips in the future.
June featured my largest trip of the year, and first of two visits to my (now) favorite place in Canada and probably the world – Calgary/Canmore/Banff, Alberta. On my first visit I did three day hikes and all were a ton of fun, though I did hyperflex my knee on the third of those which resulted in a mild MCL sprain which I had to rehab. Definitely not going to rush when descending a mountain after a long day! The highlight of the trip was the mountaineering course with Yamnuska, where I got to learn a lot of technical skills which will be beneficial to my development as I strive to stand on all the Canadian provincial/territorial high points. I also had the chance to meet and spend time with some amazing like-minded people, who really made this trip all the more memorable and special. 🙂
A week later, in July I was back out on the trail in Algonquin Provincial Park, where I did a 2 night backcountry hike on the Western Uplands trail during the Canada Day long weekend. This hike went pretty well, and the weather was amazing, though I think I pushed myself a little too hard given my knee injury I sustained in Alberta. After a bit of rehab, I went on my first international trip in over two years, just across the border to the stunning Adirondack High Peaks region. Here I caught the 46ers bug (planning to complete all of these in the next few years) and did four of these peaks in one day, which was very challenging and exciting. Biggest issue on this trip was the lack of camping availability, so I had to get creative with my bivy. Was a lot of fun slimming down my pack and going a bit lighter as well.
September brought about my last big trip of the year, which had two main legs – an east coast leg to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island (where I snagged my 3rd and 4th Canadian high points), as well as a quick jaunt back to Alberta to climb Mount Temple with my friends Andrew and Karly from the mountaineering course. White Hill (NS high point) was a very tough day featuring a lot of rough gravel road driving, bushwhacking, sinking deep in mud, as well as losing my camera, but it was overall successful and really drove home the concept that nothing worthwhile comes easy. The weather was really solid all around and I started to really enjoy staying in different places every night, though there was a bit too much driving involved for my liking. Out west, it was great to spend time with Andrew and Karly again, and experience Mount Temple with them, as well as meet Karly’s friends who are pretty cool people as well. Truly a breathtaking experience to summit just as the sun rose. Also very glad I got to reconnect with rock climbing at Grotto Valley – I was inspired to pick it back up at my local gym in Toronto. More useful skills to add to the toolbox!
October and November featured three visits back to the Adirondacks, where I was able to complete 10 more High Peaks for a total of 14 of 46! These trips were also a nice introduction into colder weather trekking and camping, especially the mid-November trip which featured a ton of snow. While this trip didn’t go completely according to plan, I learned a lot about how to adapt to winter hiking and camping, which is something I’m planning to focus on quite a bit more moving forward.
December was pretty slow – was planning to get down to the Adirondacks for a few more summits before the New Year, but life got in the way as of writing this. Maybe I’ll head down over New Year’s?
2023 – A Look Ahead
Have quite a few ideas planned for 2023 assuming nothing major life-wise changes. I’m planning to complete the ADK 46 by the end of June 2024, so lots more weekend road trips to NY this year. I’m planning to do a few peaks (as well as camping) in the winter to get some experience camping in colder conditions. I’ll probably do a couple trips in January and February, possibly also March, before waiting until the summer to continue plugging away. I’m hoping to be over 30 peaks deep by the end of 2023, if all goes well.
I also definitely want to continue working on my mountaineering skills out west as much as possible. I’m hoping to get back out to Alberta a couple times next year, and do a few mountaineering excursions with the Alpine Club of Canada, as well as hike/scramble a few peaks and hang out with my Alberta friends. With any luck, I’d make a detour out to Saskatchewan on one of those trips, not only to add another province visited to my list, but also get another provincial high point!
I also want to get more experience with climbing – it’s been fun going indoors but I really want to move into partnered climbing (top rope and lead) as well as getting into outdoor climbing in the summer. It’s been a lot of fun this year trying to solve routes at the gym and improving each session, so I’d love to keep it up.
Finally, I’m also looking (in the summer months) to get more experience with lightweight backpacking (including sleeping in my bivy!) and higher volume hike days. It really is quite fun to take a minimalist approach in the backcountry.
If you’re reading this, thank you! Have a wonderful New Year.
Veg 'n' Alpine 