Club Events 2005 : 2005-02-26 : COC - Marushka (Shark) Lake, and Cindy Church and the Polyjesters

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Trip Log

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Marushka (Shark) Lake

A fantastic snow shoe trip - definitely a keeper! There was a LOT of snow out there. We tromped through the woods for a bit, and then into the creek bed, which was a more challenging snow shoe than anticipated - the snow was thick and heavy, but because we were in a creek bed, it was also very unstable, so it was not uncommon for someone's foot to sink all the way through the trail and into the void below. There were sections where the trail was a narrow shelf, difficult to traverse with wide snow shoes, and there were a few times when the shelf would partially crumble out from under one unsuspecting snow-shoer, resulting in yet another interesting face plant. Fortunately the snow was soft and inviting because I've never spent so much time falling down on snow shoes before (and I wasn't the only one).

The trail information was a bit inaccurate, which we discovered as we climbed steadily up to the lake, including one very steep section, which many slid, rather than walked, down on the way back. We gained approximately 200m elevation according to the GPS, which is exactly what it seemed like as well (not the 100m noted in the trip details). It was such a warm and beautiful day, though, that no one minded the extra climb.

-- Rhonda


After this trip, Mike who led the same trip on Sunday came back with the suggestion that our two trips were so different that it's likely one of us did *not* go to Shark Lake. The general consensus is that it was *my* group who went on a mystery tour, and here is the resulting conversation. :)

Marcel:
My guess is that we didn't go to either. I suspect that we ended up right in the middle of the Tent Ridge Horseshoe. I think that from where we had lunch , if we had gone forward to what looked like a pass (or low point) on Tent Ridge, we would have been overlooking Tryst Lake.

Angie:
I get a feeling that it wasn't Shark Lake. Our pictures are nothing like the other pictures. When I get a chance I'll track down a map and see if I can figure it out! Whereever we went was certainly beautiful! I got more of a workout than I was expecting though! Anyone else up for a snowshoe trip to the REAL Shark lake in the near future?

Ian:
I looked at the guide (Gillean Duffern's Kan Tr Guide #3), I think same one you have. I think we were between tryst and shark lake. I think we went up what shows up on the guide's Topo map as Monica Brook. On that map it looks like we went up the middle of the Tent Ridge Horseshoe, so I don't think we were actually on a trail. I don't think it was Tryst lake because of it's starting point and the direction the sun would have been (it was directly in front of us so we were on a north/south trail, and tryst is more east/west). And of course there was the lake of a real lake........
COC - Cindy Church and the Polyjesters

Were the Polyjesters worth it? Standing in line outside the door for 30 minutes waiting to get in, while they let 50%+ of the attendees in pass by us to go in and pre-reserve their blocks of chairs? Sitting in a crowded community hall at cafeteria-style row tables with a bunch of people who think “Saturday Night Special” means sitting perfectly quiet and not being allowed to say anything to your companions through the evening except during designated breaks (yes, they actually have a set of "rules" stating as much)? Enduring the genre-confused and mostly un-talented, uninspired and uninspiring house-band for an hour before the real show started?

YES YES YES YES YES!!! The Polyjesters were worth it! These guys get better and better every time I see them. Bridget had seen them before with me once at a house party, but the rest of our gang had not seen them before, and they all agreed – these guys are fantastic!! Well worth the strange Saturday evening setting. Although I doubt we’d go there again… we’ll just have to follow the highly talented and energetic Valleau boys from Didsbury and their band-mates to other, more enjoyable, venues. CDs and more information available at www.polyjesters.com.

Most of us left after The Polyjesters, but Wendy and Franco planned to stick around for Cindy Church. Hopefully we’ll hear some feedback on that part of the show, too.

-- Rhonda


Photos