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Adventures in University and the great outdoors. "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself Any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And you are the one who'll decide where to go ..." - Dr. Seuss 
Great Adventures Chic Chocs 2002 X-C Skiing Trip Report Chic Chocs 2003 Telemark Trip Report Patagonia Cycling Trip 2004 (Posted by Nick and Andrew) European Cycling Trip 2005 ---------- Bio Who: Benjamin Heumann Where: McGill University, Montreal, Quebec Why: Graduate School Major Malfunctions: Snow, Telemark Skiing, Snoeshowing, monkeys, Winter Camping, Back Country Skiing, Hiking, Cycling, monkeys, Sea Kayaking, and Rivers (river monkeys). e-mail:benjamin.heumann [at] mail.mcgill.ca Current Reading:The Star Diaries Lem Books of Note (Recently Read): The Futurological Congress, Lem Before Mao, Patrick Lescot Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro Plot Against America, Phillip Roth The Great Shark Hunt Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, R.I.P. Stranger in a Strange LandRobert A. Heilein Give War A Chance PJ O'Rourke Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Animal Farm Reefer Madness Cadillac Desert Ender's Game (again) Kingdom of Fear ------------ Links School Global Environmental and Climate Change Centre Homepage Other Internet Readings "When you think of how many kids died drinking alcohol, I feel I've saved millions of lives," -Tommy Chong
Archives
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Monday, March 31, 2003
Sunday, March 30, 2003
I started seriously looking at grad school. On the list (in no particular order): U Colorado - Boulder UBC (U of British Columbia) UC- Berkeley Oregon State McGill Cambridge Edinburgh University of Lincoln (New Zealand) Leeds University (UK) Johns Hopkins I would like to stay in rivers. Now to balance to need to spend all my time in the woods and a career. It looks like I may have to start a ph.D because many schools are either a) not offering a masters degree or b) the master degree is not anymore than my current degree from McGill. I still have lots of time. Llike my roommate Evan says (he is also looking at grad school) "Smile, its only the rest of your life." "War, what is it go for? Absolutely nothing. Listen to me. It ain't nothin' but a heartbreaker. It got one friend, that's the undertaker." Friday, March 28, 2003
Lawmakers with nothing better to do? I guess some congressman in Georgia really likes his sweet tea (some special brewing technique required, not just tea with sugar). He is sponsoring a bill to make it illegal in Georgia not to serve the drink, punishable by 12 months imprisonment. He claims it is a joke. I hope he loses re-election. I am currently taking freshman biology. Its amazing how one can forget what first year is like. The thing that gets me is how class is a meat market. Every girl wears those hip hugger jeans and a thong. I know they wear a thong because their pants are too short and their underwear sticks out (I wish it didn't). I don't understand...thongs really aren't attractive. Are they comfortable? I wouldn't think so. There was a girl today in my lab with was wearing sweatpants, a string throng and tinny t-shirt and a sports bra. Really, this just does not make any sense to me. Then again, fashion never has. Wednesday, March 26, 2003
I can't sleep, so you get to read more! Last Sunday I put my bike together. I never realized how great a bike is to have in a city. I thought that riding in traffic would be terrible, but actually, it is more comfortable than biking down the side of coutry highways with gravel hauler passing at 65 mph. My trip to school has been reduced by 50% and I feel full of energy when I get to school. After school on Monday, I biked about 12 km east of where I live. East is French and generally an area I don't see much because I don't have a reason to explore out there. Its a beautiful city and I felt like I go to know Montreal a little more. Over the next few weeks, I plan to continue exploring Montreal neighborhoods, see all that I have been missing over the last 2 1/2 years without a bike. China has denied access to WHO officials to investigate the SARS outbreak. Is it just me, or does it seem like China has something to hide? Possible Theories: a) The outbreak in China is very serious. b) The disease is possibly a biological weapon escaped. c) China just doesn't want any bad international publicity, like being a disease infested wasteland. Tuesday, March 25, 2003
Some helpful signs from the Office of Homeland Security. http://www.vegas-ateam.com/message.htm I feel safer already. Sunday, March 23, 2003
Ester compared a singer in a band to middle eastern food. "I would never describe middle eastern food as delicious and I can easily understand how people might dislike it. However, I love it, I can't get enough of it." Middle eastern food not delicious!? Honestly, there is almost nothing better in the world than a good shawarma sandwich or lamb kibbie. In fact, if I had to choose a single regional food to eat for the rest of my life, it would be middle eastern, then Indian, followed by japanese and Chinese. Ester, I hope your Indie Rock (which I would like to become familiar with) is better than your feelings on food. Thursday, March 20, 2003
I really wish I could listen to NPR right now after reading this. TV is bad, especially here in Canada where we can choose from CBC (too Canadian, war coverage includes: "how Canadians feel about the war", "Canada's efforts to stop the war", "Canada's role in diplomacy"), Global (trying to be CNN but lacks something), and CTV (Bell Canada, that's all I have to say). NPR always reports international news, especially war, in a way that makes it seem all too real. When ever I listen to NPR, it makes me think and reconsider how I have felt about the issue at hand. Maybe I will take my walkman to the other side of the mountain and see if I can get something from Vermont. The War is Boring It is sad but true. I can't even listen to the news for more than 10 minutes before I start to daydream and drift off somewhere else. Hollywood has almost made war a complete sensory experience. After watching BlackHawk Down, I was sweating, my heart was pounding, and I wanted to cry. I had been part of the whole battle without leaving my couch. But watching Global News (we don't get CNN), the pictures don't show action and the news anchors just blabber on so there isn't silence. Maybe I feel this way because I feel disconnected to the actions of my country and the effects America is having on the world. My roommate Noah and I had a conversation about the war this afternoon. He said he was against the war but couldn't really say why other than war is bad. He explained how his real annoyance was that the U.S. was acting seperate of the United Nations. The U.N. was set up to prevent unilateral action and maintain world peace. I stated that the U.S. is invading and aside world opinion, there is nothing to stop the U.S. from carrying out its policies. This reminds me of the negociations that were written about when Ancient Athens invaded Melos. Melos said it was immoral for Athens to invade their small nation just because Athens was bigger and stronger. Athen said that may be but we are bigger and stronger so who is going to stop us? I guess the bottom line is morality and ethics only works if people decide to follow it but ultimately its who has the most guns. God Bless Quebec. I recieved this in my e-mail this morning: To: McGill University Students and Staff From: Robin Geller Secretary-General Date: March 19, 2003 Subject: ELECTION DAY - APRIL 14, 2003 All classes, laboratories and examinations in all faculties and in the Centre for Continuing Education are cancelled on April 14, 2003. This action is taken in accordance with Section 306 of the Election Act of the Province of Quebec (1989) which states in part: 306. Every education institution shall, on polling day, grant leave to those pupils and students who are electors. Examinations originally scheduled for April 14, 2003 will be rescheduled as follows: Arts, Education, Engineering, Law, Music, Nursing, Science, Social Work: Sunday, April 13, 2003 (at the same time and in the same location as originally scheduled on April 14, 2003) Architecture: Tuesday, April 15, 2003 Agricultural and Environmental Sciences: Thursday, April 17, 2003 (at the same time and in the same location as orignally scheduled for April 14, 2003) Centre for Continuing Education: Saturday, April 26, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Physical and Occupational Therapy: Tuesday, April 15 and Wednesday, April 16 Management: Tuesday, April 15, 2003 For information about the arrangements being made by other faculties and schools, and for more details regarding the rescheduling process, please consult the relevant Student Affairs Offices. Please note as well that all employees eligible to vote must be given four (4) consecutive hours for voting, not counting the time normally allowed for meals. In most cases, this requirement can be met by allowing staff to leave at 4:00 p.m., in accordance with Section 335 of the law which provides: 335. An employer shall, while the polling stations are open, grant to any employee who is qualified to vote, at least four consecutive hours for voting, not counting the time normally allowed for meals. No deduction of wages nor any penalty may be imposed on any employee by reason of this leave. I would ask that you give this memorandum the widest circulation possible. Sunday, March 16, 2003
Once again, personal greed over the integrity of the planet. Developers are upset because the U.S. government has declared 1.2 million acres off limits to development to provide habitat to 18 endangered owls. I have been to Tuscon and it consist of lots and lots spraw. Small roads through the hills with house on large lots that have been landscaped. The developers call the land set aside for the owl "fallow" because they could never conceive that natural land could be good. They also have zero concept that the desert is a hostile, yet fragile environment and it takes a huge amount of land to sustain a complete ecosystem. All they can see are roads, houses, strip malls and money in their pocket. Greedy, selfish SOBs. I have a better idea, how about the developers create more land intensive developments that encourage community and use existing land and leave the out alone. Oh wait, I forgot, we all need to live on a golf course in the desert. Friday, March 14, 2003
I am about to head off to NH for some hiking and camping tonight and tomorow . We plan to climb Mt. Madison (Presidentrial range of the White Mountains), maybe Mt. Adams tomrrow. Currently the air temperature on Mt. Washington is -10 F with 80 mph winds, (yes eight, zero, 80). That works out ot -60 F. Seeing as most of the skin has fallen off the tips of my fingers from the cold Gaspe, I think I will pass of those extreme temperatures. Tuesday, March 11, 2003
I like the idea of cooperative schooling. I basically think that the only way to improve education is to increase learning at home. Let's face it, the kids who do best are the ones that get the most support at home. I remember doing endless math in front of afternoon cartoons and science experiements on the weekends, both not part of "school". I know the Murphy clan had a similar experience. Our society focuses too much on learning = school when it should be learning = all the time, everywhere. I also vote for more outdoor education like hiking, canoeing, cycling, skiing (science + excercise = goodness). The world turned upside down It seems like there are quite a few people around my age or a little older who are facing challenges in their lives. These challenges vary in degree but affect the person greatly none the less. University (or college in the U.S.) is a time where we all think we find ourselves. We find new friends, choose a path in life, and are generally happy. Then it seems to come crashing down. I wonder why? Is it that the people I know are not satisfied with graduating, getting a job and settling down? Are we searching for more? Maybe there isn't more out there for us and we have to start looking inside for the satisfaction. In the long run it doesn't matter that we lived our childhood dreams (career, travel, position in life). Maybe the "boring" lives our parents, grandparents, and other generations have had is what we need, a sense of community, family, and responsibility. I will be graduating in 8 months. At this point I have some ideas about where I want to go and what I want to do, but nothing solid. I know myself and I know I will continue trying to case my dreams. Why? What else is there to do? I don't feel satisfied otherwise. It would be nice to get a decent paying job out West where I could ski 5 times a week, maybe raise a family. Somehow that seems to easy. I feel I need to continue pushing myself. But honestly why? When will I be able to say "ok, let's relax now". Possibly never (I must have got some gene similar to my cousin Shiela who couldn't retire at age 68 and continues to work when she can). I guess what I am trying to say is that school is my and may of our lives. The "real" world doesn't exist right now. And when it does, it will be a strange, new place. Saturday, March 08, 2003
I have had an extremely productive day. I spent one hour at school where I search, located, copy/printed/ordered 17 articles for a paper I'm writing. Back at home I read the 12 articles I was able to obtain physical forms of. I estimate I read 180 pages of academic text. Granted I didn't read word for word, but that is still a lot of reading for a single day. Needless to say, my brain is full and my eyes hurt. When I finished the reading, I went for a quick 1 hour ski. We are getting some nice light powder right now which made the ski fast and beautiful. It was the first time I had skied since my trip to Gapse. It feels good to ski again and easy without a 50 pound pack. My body is much happoer when I ski. I'm hoping to get a couple of hours of sking in tomorrow as one of my study breaks (I have to convert those articles to notes). As a reward for today's work, Evan and I (and possibly Noah) are going to see Ferris Buller's Day Off on the big screen. I have recovered from my angry rant stage. I actually passed my midterm. The professor decided that he had been overly harsh on some of his grading and gave me 1.25 points. Wednesday, March 05, 2003
Warning: Angry Rant The music is loud. I can feel the vibrations in my hands, in my chest, in my head. My ears ache, I turn it up more. Yes, I'm pissed. Why? I ask myself that. Why am I working so hard? Why am I not having more fun? Why have I done so poorly in school recently? Yesterday I got a midterm back, 52%. I got over it, I'm taking the class pass-fail and I forgot to study. But today I got a 46% on an assignment in Advanced Fluvial Geomorphology. Yes, the area of my honours thesis, the class taught by my supervisor, the class that I should be doing my best. The comment at the top says my assignment was ruched. Funny, I spent more than 10 hours on it. I read over it. I left out a graph and table (typical for me). But overall, the assignment was shitty. So was my midterm. What is happening. Since first year but classes have gotten harder and my grades have been higher. I thought that I had figured out how to be a good student. And now I seem to slipping in my specialty. I was going to meet with Michel (my supervisor) tomorrow to talk about grad school, but now I feel embarrassed to show my face and I have to talk about my assignment. My first assignment was a 76% and I felt that was bad and I needed to improve it. Now I probably will not be able to get an A in the course and I'm hoping to pull off a B+. I don't know what is wrong. All I know is that now I will have to work twice as hard to make sure that I don't screw up anymore. I'm cancelling my trip to New Hampshire next weekend to so winter camping because I need the time to get an A on everything I do. Maybe I finally have found my limit. No, I just need to work even harder. Well, no fun for me until June / never. Doesn't matter because I'm poor too so I can't even afford to go have fun. This rant is starting to die and my ears are starting to ring so I think I will come back to normality and do some good quality work. Tuesday, March 04, 2003
Tomorrow is the North American Student Strike against the war on Iraq. Although I am against the war, I will be in class. Skipping class really does nothing. I would miss a hell of a lot of stuff (tomorrow is my grad class taught by my supervisor, it meets once a week for three hours) and what I am really saying by missing class? It seems that a typical strike, the strike is a bargining chip: Gives us what we want and we will come back. I don't think G.W. cares whether a bunch of lefties who don't wash there hair fail to show for the classes. I think if this appeared on the McGill campus, a) it would be done by Engineering, b) most people would think it was funny and c) the women's union would destory it until there was not a single trace left in broad daylight at which point d) there would be protests, sit-ins and many meeting with SSMU (student society) about oppression and freedom of speech resulting in e) a new issue for the "progressive" candidates in the upcoming SSMU elections and f) the engineers would rebuild it the next day. (via Dave Barry) Sunday, March 02, 2003
It took all day, but here it is, Chic-Choc Trip Report 2003 I write from the comfort of my study. There is music playing, fresh fruit on the desk and clean cotton clothes on my body. These simple things have become so very great after one week in the Chic-Chocs. The following is my report of our (Geoff, Emily, Chris, and myself) trip. Before I began, I should explain the trip. It has become an annual tradition for a group of skiers from the McGill Outdoors Club to jump in a car with everything they need to live for a week in their packs for Parc de la Gaspesie to ski for “spring” break. This year three groups participated. My group was to ski two days to Mont Logan where we would telemark ski the south face for three days then make the return ski. DAY 0: The Long Drive Our 10 hour drive to Parc de la Gaspesie was uneventful and mostly not worth mentioning. All cars arrived at the campground after dark. We returned to Ste.-Anne-des-Mont for our last “civilized” dinner. DAY 1: A Grey Start We awoke to the sound of snow falling on the tents. For Sam and Emily, who slept outside, the fresh snow was a cold shock. We packed up and drove to St. Octave de L’Avenir, our trailhead. After some difficulties with the locals getting information about parking, we set out at about 10:30 am. It was fairly slow going due tot he weight of our packs but we made our way with only one small incident. It seems that one of Geoff’s glove liners felt repressed and upon given the chance of freedom, fled into the woods to live with the animals. At the first hut, Le Huard, we met a group of 4 Americans from Vermont. They were also heading to Mont Logan the next day. With the fresh snow, the trails were unbroken and it appeared that we would have help breaking trail the next day. DAY 2: An Epic We set out into the cold, windy arctic landscape early in the day. The Americans were slow to start, but we were sure they would catch up as they were having a snowmobile take most of their gear to the hut for them. We made our we slowly through the 2 foot deep powder. We took turns trail breaking with Emily doing more than her share. After 3 hours we discovered we had only covered 3 km out of 13 for the day. We continued on now with more determination over 15 foot drifts and bone chilling winds. After a total of 4 hours of skiing, we consulted the map and decided that we a missed the trail we wanted. Looking at the surrounding hills, we got our bearing and with Emily as the front, we started bush wacking up a creek. Here the snow was deeper and heavier than before. We ended up on a large lake and decided to hug the left bank where we thought the trail should be. We ended up back in the woods and the going was again very slow. I was starting to have some concerns about our position, chances of finding our way and getting to the hut before dark. At this point, we got a sign: the evil snowmobile. It zoomed by 10m above us. We quickly made our way on the trail to find that it was as wide as a two lane highway. No sooner did we get on the trail, then we saw the Americans. They had decided to follow some tracks around some lakes ending up in completely the wrong place and were now trying to make up for lost time. They showed us where we were (we didn’t believe them) and took off. For the next 4 hours, we skied with all strength and power trying to make the hut. Each km, we told ourselves only a few more, but it never seemed to end. At 5pm, with the sunlight failing, we reached a sign stating we had 2.8km to go. This was the location we had planned to reach for lunch at noon. The trail went up. Geoff, Chris, and I were exhausted and we were all concerned about the finding the trail in the dark. We ate chocolate, an drank warm tea and started again. My pack was become too much of a burden. My back could no longer support the weight (it turned out my pack was not adjusted properly) and I was starting to fall often. I dropped my pack (I grabbed my sleeping bag). Emily tried to convince me she could carry it but in the end, we decided to leave it marked with a ski pole and I would retrieve it in the morning. In the evening twilight, we slowly climbed, 50m at a time. Stopping to collect strength and put our heads down out of the strong cold wind. During these breaks, the stars came out. One by one they filled the night ski. It was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. Too bad we were just trying to not get lost in the storm. As the last of the light left, we started to see trail marker, large wooden posts. They were spaced about 50m apart. We moved from marker to marker, only once losing out way. Around 7pm, 10 1/2 hours after departure we saw light. We skied to the hut and asked if the Americans were there. They were in the next hut. At that point, another 100m downhill was nothing. Almost frozen, we entered the hut where the Americans became very hospitable and said they were very glad to see us. DAY 3: The Storm The hostile weather from the night before did not let up. Although the sun did show a little, it was mostly blocked by clouds and blowing snow. Visibility was poor and the winds brutal. Geoff and I, feeing worn out from the previous day’s ski, made the short 4km round trip trek to get my pack. Feeling that this short one hour trip was enough, we sat in the hut, melting snow for water, I read from papers for snow and recovered. Chris and Emily reported that it was bitterly cold on Mt. Logan. They skied over to the hut on the summit, and started the stove up. While they were warming up, one of the local Quebecois guys who stayed with us in the hut the night before, busted in through the door and skied with pack and sled into the middle of the hut screaming “tabernac”. The group of three locals worked on ships along the east coast in the summer and skied in the winter. They were staying at the hut on their way to camp and ski some of the areas west of Mont. Logan. Chris and Emily did a few runs on the icy top of Mt. Logan but did not explore further down into the bowls due to the bad visibility. Back at the hut, the Americans always kept us entertained. Even though (or maybe because) they were in their late 30’s and 40’s, they behaved like boys. Rude jokes, immature humor, and readings of the Vermont personal ads were emitted until lights out. They also gave us some of their nice food including some salad, coffee, cesadeas, and chicken pasta. Overall, they were good hut mates and we almost felt like they were part of our group. DAY 4: Deep Powder The bitterly cold weather continued. The Americans put a digital thermometer outside to find that the temperature at 8am was –12 F (-25 C) without the strong wind (at 4 pm the temperature was –10 F. Chris, Emily, and I set out for the south face of Logan where the Americans had shown us a nice bowl and easy climb back up to the ridge. We had three really great runs. Chris and Emily wanted to go for another. I opted to go with one of the Americans to go up to the summit. It was icy up there and the clouds prevented a view of the St. Laurence. After a nice warm meal, we all settled in for the night. At 9:30, we were awakened to go see a nice display of the northern lights. The perfect end of a great day. DAY 5: Our Group is Complete With a day’s rest and warmer weather, Geoff joined the three of us and we all made our way to the same area as the previous day. The first run was great, more enjoyable the day before. For our second run, we headed over to the next drainage, which featured deeper snow, steeper slopes, and an amazing run for all of us plus some fantastic wipeouts. We followed the creek down to where is met up with the basin we skied the day before. The warm sun gave us a chance to stop and eat lunch with leisure before our climb to the top. Chris, Emily, and I went back for another run while Geoff returned to the hut. On the second run we met up the Americans and followed them down some steep chutes. At this point, the skies were clear and gave beautiful views of the hills to the south as we skied down. DAY 6: Memories of the Epic We did our return ski along the trail we meant to ski on Day 2. It took us a mere 4 hours including lunch. The sky was blue, the sun warm, packs light and the trail nicely broken. It seemed almost unreal that four days earlier we came close to a dangerous situation. We took our time and had a nice day. At the hut, I sunbathed, Chris went to sleep (sick), and Emily went for a ski (can’t stop her). We were all disappointed we could not go out and have a few more runs on Mt. Logan. DAY 7: Warm Toilet Seat Joe and his group agreed to meet us at the car at noon. We set out at 8 and arrived at the car at 11:30. The long arduous climb on day one was fun and fast. I wish I didn’t have my pack on so I could do a few turns. We arrived safely in Montreal at 10:30. Statistics: Group: 4 Days: 7 Nights in the wrong hut: 1 Number of runs: Emily and Chris – 11, Ben – 6, Geoff – 2 Elevation Change on the South Face: 300 – 400 meters. Animals seen: 4, a wolf, a pheasant, a grey Jay, and some other birds Km skied: Approx 80. Number of times the Americans tried to offend Emily’s Purist Telemark Views: 10 times daily Number of times Ben and Chris thought the American’s non-pure way looked nice: each time they got out fresh food of their cooler Number Equipment Problems: 4 - Emily’s Binding, Ben’s skins, Geoff’s skins, Ben’s Binding Cases of Frostbite: 3 – Ben: nose; Chris: cheeks, nose; Emily: cheeks, chin, nose Smiles at the end: 4 :) I should do school work:  hug from behind - you like to feel what the other person is feeling and see things how they see them. you tend to be serious and emotional. What Sign of Affection Are You? brought to you by Quizilla I'm not the only who is thankful for the conforts of civilization. This is from an e-mail from my friend Channa who is currently doing peace corps work in Morroco: "I was trying to tell them that I had a stomach ache and didn't feel like eating any more dinner (sheep's head on couscous, eaten with your right hand--cause the left one's for wiping in the squat-- out of the communal dish). I realized that they didn't really understand what I was trying to say, or else they didn't believe me, because they kept pushing meat into my section of the dish and telling me to eat, eat, eat. I knew that if I sat there a second longer I was going to burst out crying, so I ran to the squat, where I thought I could have a little privacy. That worked for about a minute, and then I heard "Shama, Shama, blahblahblah." To which I replied "ehlig orr mezyen" and made a barfing noise. Even so, I could hear a crowd gathering outside the door." Tonight when you sit down to do your business, remember, its a luxury. Most people do not have those simple comforts. In case you are wondering, I am still considering doing peace corp. But right not I'm focusing on graduation and completing my honour thesis. I am back from the Chic Chocs in one piece and glad to be back in civilization where I can sit on the john without shivering and eat fresh food. It was amazing, more later after sleep, shower, food, and some treatment of frostbite. |
