Episode 139: From Calgary To Ontario Through Every Season

A two-day drive across Canada will teach you more about weather, planning, and patience than any motivational quote ever could. We pick up right after a sprint of travel and shows, then hit the road from Calgary back to Ontario, watching storms on the map and making real-time calls on when to push, when to stop, and how to find gas stations that are actually open in the middle of the night. From Manitoba into Northwestern Ontario, the scenery and conditions swing fast, and the stories get even better once the potholes and whiteouts show up.

We also dig into the working side of life out west. Garrett breaks down what it means to be a rodbuster and ironworker, from massive Calgary water main repairs to hospital foundation work with piles, rebar, and raft slabs. If you have ever wondered why tradespeople jump between projects, we explain the staggered process and how crews depend on other trades and limited jobsite space. It is a practical look at Canadian construction work that still feels connected to the outdoors lifestyle.

Then we pivot back into spring in Ontario: a scary tire bulge after a brutal stretch of road, plus the kind of preparedness mindset most hunters, anglers, and cottage folks understand. From there we get into the outdoor science that matters right now, including how fast snowmelt versus a slow thaw can shape forest fire season, soil moisture, and planting. We close out with maple syrup season updates, tapping choices that help trees heal, firewood timing during damp nights, and what it feels like to finally be home with new job offers on the table.

If you like outdoor storytelling with real-world detail and useful takeaways, subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review. What part of spring do you plan your year around: roads, sap, fire risk, or something else?

Transcript

Network Podcast Previews

SPEAKER_04 0:02

How did a small-town sheet metal mechanic come to build one of Canada's most iconic fishing lodges? I'm your host, Steve Nidswicky, and you'll find out about that and a whole lot more on the Outdoor Journal Radio Network's newest podcast, Diaries of a Lodge Owner. But this podcast will be more than that. Every week on Diaries of a Lodge Owner, I'm going to introduce you to a ton of great people. Share their stories of our trials, tribulations, and inspirations. Learn and have plenty of laughs along the way.

SPEAKER_05 0:36

Meanwhile, we're sitting there bobbing along, trying to figure out how to catch a bass. And we both decided one day we were going to be on television doing a fishing show.

SPEAKER_09 0:46

My hands get sore a little bit when I'm reeling in all those bass in the summertime, but that's might be more fishing than it was punching.

SPEAKER_04 0:53

You so confidently you said, hey Pat, have you ever eaten a drunk? Find diaries of a lodge owner now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Listener Shoutouts And Easter

Marathon Drive From Calgary

SPEAKER_03 1:13

As the world gets louder and louder, the lessons of our natural world become harder and harder to hear, but they are still available to those who know where to listen. I'm Jerry Olette, and I was honored to serve as Ontario's Minister of Natural Resources. However, my journey into the woods didn't come from politics. Rather, it came from my time in the bush and a mushroom. In 2015, I was introduced to the birch-hungry fungus known as Chaga, a tree conquer, with centuries of medicinal applications used by indigenous peoples all over the globe. After nearly a decade of harvest, use testimonials and research, my skepticism has faded to obsession. And I now spend my life dedicated to improving the lives of others through natural thoughts. But that's not what the show is about. My pursuit is a strange mushroom, and my passion for the outdoors has brought me to the places and around the people that are shaped by our natural world. On Outdoor Journal Radio's Under the Canopy podcast, I'm going to take you along with me to see the places, meet the people that will help you find your outdoor passion and help you live a life close to nature and under the canopy. So join me today for another great episode, and hopefully, we can inspire a few more people to live their lives under the canopy. As usual, we want to thank all our guests, Canada-wide, uh United States, all around the world. And of course, you know, you gotta mask them. Any suggestions, let us know. We really appreciate hearing from you. And as always, we appreciate it. And if I hadn't said it enough, you know, our friends in Halliburton who drove down through that fog to come and see us in Peterborough so much appreciate that. Not only that, but all the ones that came down to the shows in uh Toronto and in Belleville to see us at the shows. We really appreciate you taking the time. Come down and let us know you listen to the program. Really appreciate that. And uh, you know, we had some winners from the uh shows, so that was good to have. That uh it was good to get a bunch of people and get their ideas on some potential new blends and things like that for the Chaga business and hear all the stories and testimonials. I I think one of the biggest problems I have is not enough people to be able to do a testimonial while I'm talking to customers and answering questions and helping them out. But that's all part of the business and learning, and and it's coming along pretty good. So we through Easter now, and uh hope everybody had a uh a good, safe Easter. And it was uh I hope every uh family's got together in the the nicest way possible and celebrate as much as we did in our family as we do every year. But I've got back now uh Garrett. Garrett's come back uh from out west. We talked about that, and welcome back, Garrett.

SPEAKER_08 4:17

Yes, it's nice to be home, nice to be able to finally see friends and family in person and to be able to enjoy uh you know the company and be able to enjoy a sit-down meal together with everyone.

SPEAKER_03 4:27

With families, yeah. Well, for those that don't know, it was kind of like so. We did the show, uh the Toronto show and uh finished the Toronto show, and then that finished on a Sunday Monday uh did packed in gear because you you gotta load up and everything for the shows, and then Tuesday I flew out um to Calgary. And then Garrett and I did a marathon drive from Calgary back to Oshawa from Tuesday to uh got back Thursday night. Right, Garrett?

SPEAKER_08 5:03

Yep, and it was uh it was an interesting drive. You know, if you if you asked my mom, we would we told her it was a nice smooth drive and no issues. But if you ask anyone else, uh we had every single kind of Canadian weather you can think of.

SPEAKER_03 5:19

Yeah, it was like, you know, we're out we're out uh out west. And we get there, I get to Calgary, and there's no snow underground anywhere in Alberta, like nothing. It was quite clear. I think you were telling me, Garrett, that they were actually playing golf.

SPEAKER_08 5:30

Yeah, the golf course was open. Flags were out, and uh, I could have played golf the morning we left.

SPEAKER_03 5:35

I just couldn't believe that. And yet so we drive through uh same thing in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Of course, the whole time we're going and monitoring the weather to see, okay, are we stopping or we driving straight through or what's gonna happen? Because if we got into bad weather, we were gonna stop and spend the night somewhere to let it pass or try and coordinate. But it was kind of funny because we hit about Manitoba and we stopped for um about an hour in Manitoba. Otherwise, it was just one drive, one sleep, uh drive through Timmy's, uh, grab some egg bites, and uh Garrett got his wrap and a coffee and keep going and gas up, of course. Um but uh we hit Manitoba, a little bit of snow, spent some time there, but I'm watching the weather, okay, and you can see there's a storm behind us and a storm in front of us. And I had to make a stop uh in Atticokin.

unknown 6:30

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 6:30

So and I'm in in touch with the guy in Atacokan, and he's like, Oh, it's snowing really bad here. I go, we got nothing here, so we'll just stay in this this kind of like the eye of the storm and drive through Ontario. And Gary, we didn't really see much snow, really. A little bit here and there and kind of snowing out occasionally until we hit Ontario, right?

SPEAKER_08 6:50

Well, yeah, like you could the most snow I think we saw well was definitely uh when he came in close to the Sioux, but before that, even Kenora, one of the first major cities in Ontario we hit was light snow. I think grass was showing and the kids were outside playing around and uh it didn't seem like everyone was wearing warm stuff.

SPEAKER_03 7:13

And open water all through there, right?

SPEAKER_08 7:15

Yeah, a lot of open water exp uh you know, like the big lake was pretty open. Um the shoreline obviously still frozen, but yeah, a lot of the big lake was pretty open.

SPEAKER_03 7:25

And and this time we did a little different. No, you can take 17 or you can take eleven. So we went down towards Attacokan and then over to Thunder Bay as opposed to going the other route to Thunder Bay.

SPEAKER_08 7:35

Yeah, and then uh once we got into Thunder Bay, I think we saw a little bit of uh a little bit more snow there. Yeah, but it wasn't too much. But uh mind you, uh someone needs to make a phone call about getting those potholes fixed.

SPEAKER_03 7:49

Well, especially when you're driving and you're aiming for them. So but attacan wise, it was the same. Uh been through Atticoken and there was no snow there. So the guy who was telling me that uh you know it was going like crazy there. When we got there, there was nothing and the roads were clear, so it was pretty good all the way. Um and the weather was fairly warm, like not that bad. But uh drove me a little bit crazy in uh the heck was it? Uh um at Cocon, I stopped in at the Timmy's no, no, not at a coconut or was that Kenora stopped at the Timmy's there and asked him a question. Oh well we have no idea. You'll have to look and see if there's any gluten in the in that by going on the website. I said, Oh, can't you ask the manager here? No, nobody knows. Nobody knows. Oh, yeah, go on the website and it'll tell you there whether there's gluten in any of the products. I'm like, what? Come on. Somebody here's gotta know. But they still have because we picked up Josh in Kenora, they still had the hockey packs at the Timmy's there.

SPEAKER_08 8:55

Yeah, they still have uh a few packs hockey cards left, which I was surprised because when you told me about it, I started looking and Ever is completely sold out, and I'm going into all these remote little towns when I was up in Red Deer and on my way home coming back and forth or going into Banff there and back and forth a couple times and couldn't find them anywhere.

Moving Gear With U-Box

SPEAKER_03 9:14

Yeah. So but yeah, so you pretty much worked uh right up to to when I came and got you when we had it. Now, how did you get your gear back, Garrett, from Alberta? So you all we had was a packed car, so that the two front seats were open and the rest was completely jam-packed. And what'd you do with the rest of the gear? How'd you get it back?

SPEAKER_08 9:33

Well, so we looked at a couple options of like setting it all on train, including the car, or um doing pods, and uh we actually came across U-Hall, which is the program they call U-Box. So they drop off these containers, which are I I don't remember the sizes off by hand, but they're large enough that you can fit a king-size mattress um standing vertically, and you'll have about at least a foot of space, give or take, at the very end before you close the door. Um so it was quite a large box. So we ordered three, I ended up only using two, and then the rest of the stuff in the car was just the valuable stuff or my tools that I was still using while I was working until we made the drive back.

SPEAKER_03 10:17

Right.

SPEAKER_08 10:17

But we shipped them across with U-Haul, and so they drop them off, and you say, Hey, I need a day to load them up, I need a couple hours, or I need two days to load them up, and then when you're done, you give them a call and they'll come pick them up, and then you have a brief window there in case you miss anything or you want to change some stuff at the facility there, and then they ship it off a couple days after that.

SPEAKER_03 10:38

So those U-Haul units that you're using, are they kind of like bags that they just pick up, these huge bags, or they like containers, or or do they like like what kind of walls are we talking on?

SPEAKER_08 10:48

Well, so there was when I went to the facility, the ones we had were made of wood, and the ones of the facility that were brand new from the looks of it or comparison, they were made of metal. So these ones are like pretty much a sturdier shed meant to be shipped across.

SPEAKER_03 11:05

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 11:06

So not not a huge shed, but like uh something that's like you know, four or five feet wide by seven or eight feet long kind of thing. Oh, okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 11:17

And and tall enough for a king-size mattress, you said.

SPEAKER_08 11:20

Yeah, with about a foot of space at the end of the mattress before the door. Yeah. And probably about a foot of space uh before you hit the ceiling as well.

SPEAKER_03 11:28

Yeah. And and the drive was kind of interesting in that we had to time everything. So where's the next gas station? And what's the next gas station that's gonna be open when we're going through that area? Yeah. I know there was a couple spots there it was kind of like, all right, are we gonna make it from well? I remember Thunder Bay when we were going to Thunder Bay. The big stop after that was Sault Ste. Marie. But the rest of it we're going through in the middle of the night. So we stopped in Thunder Bay and we actually had um the only meal really that we had on the way. We had a proper meal in Thunder Bay.

SPEAKER_08 12:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:01

And then hopped in the vehicle and took off, filled up the gas. And the price of gas was pretty consistent all across Canada. They didn't see big, big swings in prices at all.

SPEAKER_08 12:13

Excuse me. No, um really didn't see it. Like uh, I know when we were in Manitoba's Soprasy family there, uh they said the price might be a little bit cheaper, but uh it was pretty steady around a dollar seventy.

SPEAKER_03 12:25

Right.

SPEAKER_08 12:26

I think the cheapest we saw it was a dollar fifty-nine.

SPEAKER_03 12:30

Could be.

SPEAKER_08 12:31

Um I don't remember where exactly that was, but it was$1.59 was cheapest. Other than the spot we stopped at in uh just south of Sudbury.

SPEAKER_03 12:41

Oh, yeah. Yeah, but like yeah, we stopped at the on the reserve there.

SPEAKER_08 12:44

Yeah, but uh right around$1.70.

SPEAKER_03 12:48

Yeah, so we gassed up in Kenora. We gassed up in Thunder Bay, and we weren't quite sure we'd make it back to the to Sault Ste. Marie from there. So it was like marathon, I think. There was a a gas station where the the pumps were open, but there was no store open, so we pumped up.

SPEAKER_08 13:05

Wasn't that Moussaini?

SPEAKER_03 13:06

No, Moussa Nee's on James Bay. What do you mean, Moussa-Nee? Oh, we'll just take a small detour and drive across the tundra on the ice roads to get to Moussanye.

SPEAKER_08 13:16

Well, maybe I just saw the sign that said turn off was Moussa-nee, and maybe it was marathon, but uh I saw a sign that said mousse-nee along that route.

SPEAKER_03 13:23

No, no, no, no, no, no. That's a big difference in where we're going. Yeah, so so there was uh Thessalon Moussany and um we gassed up then until we hit Wawa. And there was, you know, you were only ha you could only handle about an hour driving, and then you were poking me to get up and drive, and I'd give you a little extra long sleep.

SPEAKER_08 13:47

Yeah, I was feeling it and at that stage, mind you, because I was before that I was working a night shift in Calgary, and then I switched back to days for three days before we made our drive across.

SPEAKER_03 13:58

Yep.

SPEAKER_08 13:59

Um I was working a lot of overtime, so we were on a water main project doing 12s.

SPEAKER_03 14:04

Wait, you're in that video that you sent us? Yeah, well. That you on top of the pipe?

SPEAKER_08 14:09

Yeah, it's hard to tell, but you'll see just construction workers. But yeah, it's it's me on top of the pipe there. I was one of the guys feeding the bars to each other.

SPEAKER_03 14:17

Yeah, I could see that. I figured that was you. Yeah. Yeah, you sent us a video of uh uh because they're doing so what is this water main in Calgary? This thing's this is a big pipe.

SPEAKER_08 14:26

Oh, how big is that round? Um I don't know, ten feet.

SPEAKER_03 14:32

It was a big water, like a big water pipe. I was quite surprised at the size of it.

SPEAKER_08 14:36

Yeah, so it's it's the main water line in Calgary. Right. Um I don't know where the reserve or the water reserve feeds into that from.

SPEAKER_03 14:44

Right.

SPEAKER_08 14:44

But the pipe is over, I think it was 50 years old.

SPEAKER_03 14:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 14:48

And then they so they replaced some pieces, put new pieces in, other pieces they said, hey, we just need to, you know, reseal it in a way. More or less just everything's sealed, it's just the pressure that's swelling and things like that in the pipe, which is causing the outer side of the concrete to well the the the pipe is actually concrete.

SPEAKER_03 15:06

The water main is concrete, right?

SPEAKER_08 15:08

Yeah. So the water while it's there's a bit of metal into it.

SPEAKER_03 15:13

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 15:13

But the main portion of the pipe is concrete.

SPEAKER_03 15:16

Yeah, because they had big water problems in Calgary, didn't they not?

SPEAKER_08 15:19

Yeah, so they had a water main break two years ago before they did it at this stage. And then they went through all of it and they said, hey, 40 locations need to be examined or looked at or repaired.

SPEAKER_03 15:33

Right.

SPEAKER_08 15:33

So for this one that we were on, they did nine.

SPEAKER_03 15:36

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 15:36

And then they'll probably wait until their water reservoir fills back up again until they engage another 10 or whatever they decide to do.

SPEAKER_03 15:45

Right.

SPEAKER_08 15:45

I I don't know the details for that. That's something that you have to reach out to the city of Calgary for.

SPEAKER_03 15:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 15:50

But I was told that there was approximately 40 of the locations that need to be looked at. We fixed nine. I don't know if they're doing another segment later on or what's the plan for them there. But I know we're fixing these ones again now.

SPEAKER_03 16:03

So but but you just weren't working there. You were back to Red Deer and building a hospital in Red Deer, weren't you?

SPEAKER_08 16:08

Yeah, so I was back in Red Deer as well. And then I was on a retirement home uh for a couple days there. And then my last day of work uh was a retirement home, just doing the uh the slab for main floor.

SPEAKER_03 16:25

So how come you you weren't at like how come they bounce you around from this job to this job to this job? Is there not can you not just go to the the hospital in Red Deer and stay there and do all kinds of stuff? Or just explain so that our listeners can understand.

SPEAKER_08 16:38

Well, with with my work, so I'm a Rodbuster by trade. Iron workers there where I fall under. Um, but for us, it's we depend on other trades to keep us busy.

SPEAKER_03 16:48

Right.

SPEAKER_08 16:49

So on a major project like a hospital, you know, they're just getting out of the ground there, so they can only turn over so much work for us to do before they have to utilize the space available to move their tools and equipment and get their next port ready for us.

SPEAKER_03 17:02

Right.

SPEAKER_08 17:02

So when I was in Red Deer, we finished a uh just shy of a 300-ton slab. Uh or raft slab, sorry.

SPEAKER_03 17:09

A what?

SPEAKER_08 17:10

A raft slab, which just means it's a foundation slab.

SPEAKER_03 17:12

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 17:13

So that's what pretty much anchors the building or anchors the uh was it below ground? Below ground, yeah. How far below ground? Um, I think this one was three stories below ground. Three stories. Yeah, but uh that's the slab. So then there's piles, which go, I don't know the specs and these ones, but I think they're about 12 meters long that go 12 meters below that.

SPEAKER_03 17:35

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_08 17:36

So there's the piles, then there's the footings and raft slabs, and then from there, then you start going up off walls and then typical slab and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_03 17:46

Right.

SPEAKER_08 17:47

But this is a hospital, so everything's done you know that much more because it's a hospital's commercial, and then with all the different weights in the building, they can't never guarantee a certain number or a certain range because it'll be changing all the time.

SPEAKER_03 18:01

Right.

SPEAKER_08 18:01

So they always do everything a hundred times more, if not 150 times more, for a hospital just uh to make sure they're in.

SPEAKER_03 18:08

So basically, so you weren't there for the would you say those those footings or whatever that go the pipes that go straight down in?

SPEAKER_08 18:15

So I was there for the slab.

SPEAKER_03 18:17

For the slabs that sits on these spylons or yeah, piles. Piles.

SPEAKER_08 18:22

Which is more or less just a big cylinder rebar structure that gets filled with concrete.

SPEAKER_03 18:27

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 18:27

And that gets bed into the ground, and when all the way the building is onto on top of these piles, that soil will drive upwards force, right? Which helps stabilize the building.

SPEAKER_03 18:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 18:39

So yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:41

Okay, and so then so then you come in and do the big slab, and then after the slab's done, there's nothing you can do until the other workers have done their works, and then you can come back in and put more rebar or what do you call it, rod rods in or whatever.

SPEAKER_08 18:54

Yeah, so we put rebar in. Right. Um, but yeah, so because of limited space there, it's you know, we're busy for two weeks. As soon as we finish the slab, they pour it. Well, then they don't have any more real estate until they can strip that area that we poured and put use those forms or something else because space there is very tight.

SPEAKER_03 19:11

Right.

SPEAKER_08 19:11

So there's three cranes going on, but because of limited space, it's very uh scarce the uh the amount of work they can turn over for us.

SPEAKER_03 19:20

Right.

SPEAKER_08 19:20

So for example, they might take them a week to prep something for us, and we only might take two days to build it.

SPEAKER_03 19:27

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 19:28

So when we have those slope periods, we get bounced around.

SPEAKER_03 19:31

So they prep it being what, carpenters or something?

SPEAKER_08 19:33

Yeah, so carpenters are there, there's form worker, form guys. Um, electricians also have to come in sometimes. So, for example, we were doing elevator bases and stairway bases, and then from there they need to tap into the main plumbing lines or everything else, but they gotta come in and do their work before they can pour it. Once they pour it, the form work that's been used for it, once the concrete's cured enough, then they can strip those forms to prep for the next pour.

SPEAKER_03 19:56

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 19:57

So it's a very staggered process. Sometimes it's you can go when work's steady, you can just keep turning over work over and over again because they can work in different areas. But because we're starting, it's just it's one step at a time.

SPEAKER_03 20:07

Okay, so that's why you're there for a few days and then you're at Calgary for another few days, and then you're at this retirement home thing as well. So you move around in order to keep working.

SPEAKER_08 20:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:18

All right, now for how do you get paid for that? Is each place pay you separately, or do they pay a central or what?

SPEAKER_08 20:24

So with that, it's just a timesheet that gets filled out. So if you worked eight hours, you work 10 hours, you work 12 hours. Um this is just a centralized pay system, so it just goes into how many hours you worked, and it's a standard pay at every site. There is a little bit of difference though on certain sites. So, for example, if it's industrial or just commercial rated, industrial is a different rate, but relatively it's the same pay.

SPEAKER_00 20:48

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 20:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:57

Back in 2016, Frank and I had a vision to amass the single largest database of muskie angling education material anywhere in the world.

SPEAKER_00 21:05

Our dream was to harness the knowledge of this amazing community and share it with passionate anglers just like you.

SPEAKER_01 21:12

Thus, the Ugly Pike Podcast was born and quickly grew to become one of the top fishing podcasts in North America.

SPEAKER_00 21:19

Step into the world of angling adventures and embrace the thrill of the catch with the Ugly Pike Podcast. Join us on our quest to understand what makes us different as anglers and to uncover what it takes to go after the infamous fish of 10,000 casts.

SPEAKER_01 21:33

The Ugly Pike Podcast isn't just about fishing, it's about creating a tight-knit community of passionate anglers who share the same love for the sport. Through laughter, through camaraderie, and an unwavering spirit of adventure, this podcast will bring people together. Subscribe now and never miss a moment of our angling adventures.

SPEAKER_00 21:51

Tight lines, everyone.

SPEAKER_01 21:52

Find Ugly Pike now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you get your podcasts.

SPEAKER_03 22:06

And now it's time for another testimonial for Chaga Health and Wellness. Okay, I'm here in Millbrook with Trevor, who had a great experience and wants to share it with us with the skin cream, the Chaga Skin Cream. Trevor, uh, tell us uh what you went through and how much you used, and go ahead.

SPEAKER_02 22:22

I've had eczema on my arm since I was a little kid, and it's always been quite a rough patch there on my arm. Um and no lotions seem to ever get it so that it was smooth, right? But using the chaga probably for three weeks, it's feels like normal skin now. Yeah, and how often did you put it on? I put it on maybe once every other day. I didn't remember to do it every day. So once every other day, one time a day. Very good. And we had great results, and now it feels like normal skin again.

Whiteouts Potholes And Tire Trouble

SPEAKER_03 22:51

Very good. And you didn't try anything else, so you figure that's what no, that was they work, so I'm sticking with that. Very good. Well, thanks, Trevor, here in Millbrook. Yeah, okay. We interrupt this program to bring you a special offer from Chaga Health and Wellness. If you've listened this far and you're still wondering about this strange mushroom that I keep talking about and whether you would benefit from it or not, I may have something of interest to you. To thank you for listening to the show, I'm going to make trying Chaga that much easier. By giving you a dollar off all our Chaga products at checkout. All you have to do is head over to our website, Chaga Health and Wellness.com, place a few items in the cart, and check out with the code CANAPY. C-A-N-O-P-Y. If you're new to Chaga, I'd highly recommend the regular Chaga tea. This comes with 15 tea bags per package, and each bag gives you around five or six cups of tea. Hey, thanks for listening. Back to the episode. Yeah, so we hit Thunder Bay. We weren't sure we'd have enough mileage like we'd we'd be running on fumes if we got to the Sioux from Thunder Bay with your vehicle. Which is what year is your vehicle?

SPEAKER_08 24:17

2021.

SPEAKER_03 24:18

Yeah, it's a GM trailblazer, isn't it?

SPEAKER_08 24:20

Yeah, Chevy Trailblazer.

SPEAKER_03 24:21

Chevy Chevy Trailblazer. Anyway, so so the mileage was pretty good. Um, but uh we weren't sure we'd be able to make it, so we had to stop in, I can't remember Thessalon or Marathon on the way through.

SPEAKER_08 24:33

I know we stopped at Marathon because I know you were sleeping then, and uh we had just enough gas, but it was just well, it was like, hey, let's put in 40 bucks. And there was four pumps available, and we tried every single pump until we got to the fourth one and said, Oh, this is the one that works overnight.

SPEAKER_03 24:48

Yeah. So yeah, so yeah, so it was kind of funny because you kept trying all the different pumps I remember. And no, it's not working. You can't get gas here? No, no, we'll try another one. So kept going to all the pumps in the very last one. We tried it, the fourth one of the four. I guess they only had one turned on. I guess. I don't know.

SPEAKER_08 25:05

I couldn't tell because it said one of them seemed to work, but then I was like, as soon as you lift up the handle, oh see uh associate. Well, I I don't think there's a customer associate there. No, there's nobody there.

SPEAKER_03 25:16

No, because all the lights are off and uh there's no on sign in the on the uh store that supports the pumps there.

SPEAKER_08 25:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 25:23

So yeah. So then we hit then we hit snow. Then it started snowing like crazy, eh? Yeah, it was pretty white out in a lot of conditions, white out conditions for quite a bit of it.

SPEAKER_08 25:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 25:34

And not only that, but the the highway, they couldn't plow it back anymore. Since we hit Wawa, and you took pictures of the snow still up to the hydro wires.

SPEAKER_08 25:44

Yeah, so it was like uh you and mom always said to me when kids, it's like, oh, we were up in the Sioux, and you know, you could uh jump on the snowbanks and touch the hydro wires. And I was like, Well, you can touch the hydro wires touching that. You didn't get on top because they're close.

SPEAKER_03 25:58

Because once in a while, uh, when you gotta go, you gotta go. And and I had to go and we were looking for a place, and Timmy's wasn't open and the gas stations weren't open, but Circle K was open because they happened. I just happened to be there when uh a uh delivery truck was there. Yeah, and so the store was open for the delivery truck at like I don't know, is it four o'clock in the morning, something like that?

SPEAKER_08 26:17

Something like that.

SPEAKER_03 26:18

Yeah. And then back we hit on the highway after we utilized the services there. Yep. And the road, the snow was there was virtually no sides to the highway. The snow came right to the edge. It was like two feet uh on the side of the highway. So if your car broke down, you're broke down and you're sitting on the highway in white out conditions while you're going there because the the the banks were right beside the road. There was no kind of cut ins if you had some.

SPEAKER_08 26:48

Yeah, there was a couple slow check places, yeah. Yeah, low check places or just you know turnaround spots for for construction workers or plow guys or whatever.

SPEAKER_03 26:58

Yeah, for the plow guys, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 26:59

Yeah, and then you just pull over there, and that's all you had.

SPEAKER_03 27:01

Yep. Yeah, and then so finally, and you were driving and you hit a big pothole.

SPEAKER_08 27:09

Well, it's in the middle of the road. Oh, yeah, sure. Well, there's transport trucks coming the other way.

SPEAKER_03 27:13

It's well, it's either the pothole or the snow bank and you're just clipping along, like you know, and and it's just like Garrett, it's tough to see the road out there. We need we'll make it, don't worry, we'll get there. Anyways, and so we get to the Sioux, we go to gas up, uh right by the water tower, in there, and you get out and check the tires, and it's just like it was a blowout. Well, it wasn't a blowout, it was it was a huge bulge in the tire. Well, it still had air in it. I mean, I could I'm looking at it going, the tire look doesn't look that bad.

SPEAKER_08 27:49

No, but I recall like this same incident happened. We were coming up to the Sioux in the fall, and we went and stopped at the Eso station. Yeah, and I was like, Oh, your tire looks a little flat here, and there's a little ball, but it's soft. So I'm just thinking, oh, nothing of it. And we put a little air in it, and next thing you know, a tire blew up.

SPEAKER_03 28:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 28:08

So I was like, well, let's not do that again.

SPEAKER_03 28:10

Yeah, let's not do that again. So we're there, and of course, that was when we were going to do a Chagapick, right? Yeah, I and some of the stuff that we always carry in the vehicle, right? Was we carry an air pump with us. Uh plus we also carry uh small stuff like uh the there's the tire patch kit, so if the holes there you can kind of put this tire rod thing in there that we've used a few times.

SPEAKER_08 28:32

Yeah, well, this was on the side of the wall, and can't fix it. You can't fix that. I mean, I have a tire kit in that car, but you can't fix the side of the wall.

SPEAKER_03 28:40

Yeah, so we had to wait because this is like uh seven o'clock in the morning, I think. It's 6 30.

SPEAKER_08 28:46

Yeah, it was like 6 30. 6 7.

SPEAKER_03 28:48

Well, it was before 7, and so now we had to get a tire, so we had to wait until all the tire places open. This is Thursday morning.

SPEAKER_08 28:56

Well, yeah, because Canadian tire opened at 7 30, so we had to wait half an hour.

SPEAKER_03 29:00

Yeah, I thought it was yeah, it may have been 7 30, but uh yeah, so we got in touch with them and they didn't have any tires, uh same tires, so we finally called around and found a place that had a uh a tire the same size that would work for us.

SPEAKER_08 29:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:15

So we had a bit of a downtime there, but we got out of there and then headed back and stopped in Sudbury to look at a fishing store for you where you always got your uh special lures, but they didn't have any.

SPEAKER_08 29:26

No, it's hard to find them. I gotta say, if you know if anyone wants to go and you're trout fishing in Sault Samarie area, Shaplow area, I haven't used Intimids that much, but it's a black with yellow polka dots, Panther Martin. The biggest size they get is size 16.

SPEAKER_03 29:46

16.

SPEAKER_08 29:46

Yeah, I use size, so people say use a size like four or a six or eight's kind of big. I'm like, no, I put a sixteen on, and it's the number one bait I get hit on.

SPEAKER_03 29:55

So, but they're hard to find, so we couldn't find them in you bought we got them there for you the one time in Sudbury.

SPEAKER_08 30:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:01

At uh Brian's place. Yep. And then um, but the uh the trading post I think in the Sioux you set carried them there.

SPEAKER_08 30:08

Yeah, I haven't seen them there in a while, but I was the only place I was was last able to purchase them.

SPEAKER_03 30:13

Yeah, so we haven't stopped in there for a bit, but anyways, so we stopped in to see in the Sudbury and then stopped in at uh in uh Aurelia as well, but other than that, it was kind of straight through. Yeah. We got in and look around some of the sports shops to have a look, see you get your lures and stuff, but uh no such luck at either of them. No yeah, so once we got the tire changed, we were back on the road, but uh because that that was I think we gassing up for about 6 30 in Sault Ste. Marie, and but it was thinking about 9 30 by the time we got the tire changed and everything done. Yeah, and back on the road again. Yeah. Yeah, so and then uh the only other stop was the gas station just south of uh Sudbury, which is a really cheap stuff, gas comparatively speaking, everyone else on the reserve there.

SPEAKER_08 30:57

Yep. Nice area though, like I always like going through that patch there.

SPEAKER_03 31:01

Yeah, yeah, it was raining, but you know, yeah, and so yeah, and then uh back to southern Ontario and and surprise, surprise, no snow at all really down here. Nothing. No snow.

SPEAKER_08 31:12

Uh uh you look here and I'm like, how come the golf courses aren't open here yet?

SPEAKER_03 31:16

Yeah, I was wondering that it's supposed to be pretty warm uh coming up here, like uh I don't know, 16, 18 sort of thing. So that's pretty warm. Yeah, that's pretty good. And that's although I've been uh a couple spots uh by the golf courses and don't see any flags out anywhere yet at all.

SPEAKER_08 31:33

No, I didn't see any yet.

SPEAKER_03 31:34

So yeah, so we made it back all in one piece and unloaded and stuff like that, and now we're back to the regular routine.

Snowmelt And Forest Fire Risk

SPEAKER_08 31:42

Yep. But a question that always came up in my head making this drive, because you know, when you get into the border of Manitoba, Ontario, it's almost like there's a hard cut line where it's like all of a sudden you're like, oh, this is Ontario. And one thing I noticed though is the amount of snow we've gotten, especially in Wawa there. Yeah. Does that snow and the way it melts and thaws out, how does that affect like the forest fires? Because coming in all in Calgary and Alberta, for example, just comparison, a lot of people said we haven't had that much snow over the years. Right. So I and I just said, well, you know, in my head, I'm like, as a kid, there's always a lot of snow, and it was always usually a slower thaw. So how does that affect the forest fires?

SPEAKER_03 32:23

So the way it works is is you can have a lot of snow, but if it's a fast, quick melt and it all just runs off the ground because the ground's frozen, it doesn't seep, the the melt the moisture doesn't seep into the ground. Yeah. So it doesn't help it. And you get these things called indices, and that's the uh indications of potential for forest fires and things like that. So if you have a very slow, long-term thaw, then the ground will warm up and it'll seep in and the moisture content will seep deeper. And there's been some years where we've had snow, but the thaw was so quick it just ran off the top because the ground was frozen solid and nothing absorbed in. So then you have a big forest fire season. But the way it's going this year, well, I don't know, uh up at our camp between uh Halliburton and and Bancroft there, you were gonna got back here and your mom had you convinced to take a load up there. And I just said, Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on, maybe you should check and see what it's like up there.

SPEAKER_08 33:19

Well, yeah, because I I was just looking at the weather, I'm like, oh, it's plus 16 degrees today, there's been rain. So I'm like, ah, that's gonna melt the snow pretty quick, but I guess not because obviously when you call the family friend up there, Steve, he was like, Oh, there's still about two or three feet of snow there on on the on the and you take the picture and then you show this picture of it. I'm like, Well, it looks more like four or five. So maybe I won't carry a couch on my shoulder and trek through the snow.

SPEAKER_03 33:44

Yeah, because you can't get in because you can't get down the driveway because there's so much snow uh at our place up there. That there's like because when the plow goes by, it's pretty deep there, four or five feet, and then you're looking at about three feet the rest of the way to try and haul stuff in. So that got put on hold, right?

SPEAKER_08 34:00

Yep. I guess with all this the little uh the way the snow melts there, the thaw is out. Is that better for like the wild raspberries or for gardening season?

Maple Syrup Season Realities

SPEAKER_03 34:09

Like it's the ground gets more rich with nutrients in that way, or is that just kind of well, nutrients are about the same because it's the same volume of leaves unless there's been a uh like a um gypsy moth go through and eat all the leaves. Um other that because you get the same amount of leaf content that breaks down, so which makes your nutrients and stuff like that. So the additional snow fastly melting doesn't help, but uh and slowly melting doesn't change that. So your garden-wise, you know, a slow melt is obviously a lot better. You get deeper moisture and it's far deeper, which is better for the soil and better for your conditions, potentially uh reducing the likelihood of forest fires. But also that uh for your planting season makes it a lot better as well. Okay. Yeah, so now we're back at uh a whole bunch of other stuff.

SPEAKER_08 35:00

Yeah, so um I know it's uh one of my favorite times of the season the year, or I guess a season, the maple syrup season, and I know I haven't been around to help out, so yeah. How's that been going uh more or less by yourself?

SPEAKER_03 35:13

Well, it's not been easy the past couple of years. You know, I got a couple of friends, Bert, helped me and Bernard come out and helped me a couple of times uh because we're hauling pails with a with taps, so we've had to change the process quite a bit. But uh yeah, it's it's been up and down. I I don't know, like it's not running now. It hasn't run for the past couple of days. So it's been good, it's been bad, it's been on, it's been off. But um because we're using drips and pails makes it tough. But but the guys that uh that run the the lines, they they they kind of suck the sap out of the tree, which has a big difference because I think they probably did okay this year. I know it first started to run in January, and now we're well into March. Well, actually April now, what am I saying March? Uh we're into April now, and it would just be the end of the run because if it was on, it was off, it was on, it was off. So we'll see how it goes. But uh overall it's probably about average for us.

SPEAKER_08 36:08

Well, at least we're average, at least when we're not at least smart down perspective, I guess.

SPEAKER_03 36:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 36:14

That's good. Well, I'm back, so I'll be able to help out a little bit more.

SPEAKER_03 36:17

Yeah. But the one interesting thing is because we did the taps in January, and um so it everything seems to slow right down. So I put a whole bunch of new taps out. All the new taps were filling up pails where the other ones were not. So what that tells me is that the lines were the the the original taps that we drilled are probably all closing up now. And so the in the new ones were getting good. So that tells me a couple things. One, because we went to these much smaller spiral spigots that go into the tree. Yeah. The taps you put in the tree.

SPEAKER_08 36:51

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 36:51

So they're healing a lot faster. And in one year you'll see they've all healed over with the small ones. I don't even use the old ones anymore. I should probably put those uh for sale on marketplace or wherever you sell that stuff because those big ones and the old aluminum and the stainless ones are nice. But uh to be honest, the size of the hole you have to use for them, the tree doesn't heal as fast.

SPEAKER_08 37:12

Oh, okay. Well I was gonna say usually those are hard to come by, but I guess uh they modernize those and to be more effective.

SPEAKER_03 37:19

And then Yeah, the the smaller ones are um do a lot less. Uh you can see the tree heals up every single year. Where sometimes uh some of the big holes, which is uh quite a bit larger, what is it, about a 5/8 as opposed to a 516 uh drill that we're using for the big ones. That's a big difference there. So yeah. Makes a big difference. So so but the new ones that we drilled, they were running pretty good, and uh they should be. Uh mind you, I was out today, nothing was running at all. So we'll have to wait and see if it's still gonna still gonna get some runs if we get some cold nights. Yeah.

Firewood Timing And Home Comfort

SPEAKER_08 37:52

Well, I know I've I've only been out once so far to check, but I haven't really paid too attention to the ground and everything else. Is uh how's a firewood season going for us, you know? Is it dry enough yet to start properly doing stuff or is it still too wet?

SPEAKER_03 38:06

Oh no. Uh where we get into Roley's spot and Bert's and Glenn's spot there, it's the uh the way the runoff is, it'll be a while before it's dry enough when we can get in there. But over at the other property, we've cleaned up a lot of the stuff there, so it's just stuff on the ground. But uh, you know, for the fireplace insert, we're pretty much done there on what we had and what we needed and what we're using. So although uh um Brittany and and Mum uh still get cool at night, so uh with the damp nights with uh the moisture out there, they like a little fire to take the dampness out. So I go out and I'll cut uh you know enough to have a fire for the night or a day afterwards, just find some dry stuff and use that and it burns pretty good.

SPEAKER_08 38:45

Yeah, the three branches you cut off, it makes it scorching hot every time I come upstairs. Yeah. I go up there and I'm like, oh, the base is nice and cold, it's a perfect temperature, and you know, good man cave kind of temperature where you're comfortable and you can wear shorts and be, you know, a nice comfy shirt or whatever. And I go upstairs, I'm like sweating up here.

Job Offers And Settling Back

SPEAKER_03 39:04

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So yeah, there's a couple times still that uh had to leave the sliding door open to the back just to make sure we didn't get too, too hot up there, but it keeps them out, it keeps the ladies happy and uh you know, happy wife, happy life. Oh, I understand that. Yeah, yeah. So, anyways, well, I think that brings up the date. So you're back now. Where are you gonna be working? What's going on there?

SPEAKER_08 39:28

Well, I've when I got back or I told everyone I was coming back to Ontario, I instantly gotten two job offers. So there's a huge bridge going up across uh it's the DVP area.

SPEAKER_03 39:39

Don Valley Parkway, where south or north of 401?

SPEAKER_08 39:41

Well, it's south of the 401.

SPEAKER_03 39:43

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 39:44

Um it's in that green space valley there. It's supposed to be a four-year bridge. And they've been looking for guys, looking for good guys, and they're and they've been steady. Um, and then I was also told about the nuclear power plant, so they've been looking for reforming or supervision there, and um I haven't had a response there yet, but they said they've been looking for guys, so I knew that job was available. And then I got a call for um a job out in Halifax there. There's a couple uh slip forms going off, and um Well, don't be doing that until after the maple syrup's done. Yeah, yeah. I get it. I'll be here.

SPEAKER_03 40:21

I'm only kidding, though.

SPEAKER_08 40:22

No, no, no. I've been uh I've been away too long, so it's nice to be back and see friends and family for a bit and hopefully uh be able to enjoy the summer, go up to the cottage a bit more this year. It'll be really nice.

SPEAKER_03 40:32

Well, it's nice to have you back, but get out and get some work done.

SPEAKER_08 40:37

Can I at least get one day of rest before I have to go back at it?

SPEAKER_03 40:40

I'm only kidding, you know.

SPEAKER_08 40:42

Like I said, I was working nice and went back to days and drove across, and then all of a sudden it's unpack and take a look to the codge and prep all the stuff here, and then it's you know, I get one day off and you know, go into the bunch of appointments or anything else, so it's nice to get one day off. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 40:58

No, I'm only kidding. No, that's good. It's great to have you and uh Brittany back and and Belle and well, although I don't see it, the one cat.

SPEAKER_08 41:08

Well, we keep it in the room.

SPEAKER_03 41:10

So, yeah, because I'm uh desperately allergic to cats.

SPEAKER_07 41:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 41:13

My sister, you know, my sister, the one we met in Branitoba, had a cat.

SPEAKER_07 41:16

And I'd take medication uh before I went over to our place, and and within 15 minutes I'd be gotta go now, see you, darn.

SPEAKER_03 41:27

Anyways, so that's good. It's good to be back. It's good you got uh job offers out there and potential things. I'm sure you'll sift through to find out what gives you the best long-term position to have some consistency for work rather than a couple days here, a couple days there.

SPEAKER_08 41:42

Yeah, like I said, uh I got uh a couple things looking forward to, so to be able to make a good decision there.

SPEAKER_03 41:49

Yeah, sounds good. All right, Garrett. Well, thanks for updating everybody and giving us an update. And Gunner has now got a uh Gunner and Bell, your your dobe is what do you call it? A German pincher?

SPEAKER_08 42:03

Yeah, if anyone else asks, like of authority or you know, you're going on the plane, it's a German pincher.

SPEAKER_03 42:09

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 42:09

But you know, it's uh it's a dober, man.

SPEAKER_03 42:11

Okay, so yeah, and they get they're getting along fine now. At first uh she was a little cranky whether that's just a medication from flying or what, but uh they seem to be buds now, which is good. Anyways, good to get an update, great to hear things are going well with you and Brittany. And just a little something different. What's happening out there under the canopy?

SPEAKER_08 42:32

Yep, thanks for having me. Really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_07 42:57

Now, you might know us as the hosts of Canada's favorite fishing show, but now we're hosting a podcast.

SPEAKER_06 43:03

That's right. Every Thursday, Ang and I will be right here in your ears, bringing you a brand new episode of Outdoor Journal Radio.

SPEAKER_07 43:10

Hmm. Now, what are we gonna talk about for two hours every week?

SPEAKER_06 43:13

Well, you know there's gonna be a lot of fishing.

SPEAKER_09 43:15

I knew exactly where those fish were going to be and how to catch them, and they were easy to catch.

SPEAKER_07 43:20

Yeah, but it's not just a fishing show. We're going to be talking to people from all facets of the outdoors, from athletes.

SPEAKER_09 43:27

All the other guys would go golfing. Me and Garchomp Turk, and all the Russians would go fishing. But now that we're reforesting and anything, it's the perfect transmission environment to line with these.

SPEAKER_00 43:41

If any game isn't cooked properly, marinated for me, you will taste it.

SPEAKER_06 43:46

And whoever else will pick up the phone. Wherever you are, Outdoor Journal Radio speaks to answer the questions and tell the stories of all those who enjoy feeding outside. Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.