2018 On the Road Again #5

I have come to the conclusion that I am too easily fooled by geography. The fact that I sensed a subtle change in the landscape when I woke up and immediately made the assumption that I was getting closer to my destination was naive at best. We were in fact hundreds of miles away. The landscape quickly reverted to swaps and dense bush.

It was a slow day. The train kept on moving, there were occasional stops to let off or get on a few more passengers or, surprisingly seldom longer waits on a siding waiting for a freight train going the other way. We even had to wait for VIA train #2 to pass us heading east. It struck me then that I could never remember stopping to have a train, going the same direction as us, pass us. That would mean, I think, that all of the freight trains heading west would be as late as the passenger trains. Strange how no one mentions that.

Somewhere along the way, as I was listening to music on my phone, the phone made a little noise and I saw that I had gotten a text message. For a brief moment we must have been passing within the range of a cell tower - just long enough for Telus to tell me that I needed to give them some more money. When we got to Sioux Lookout, I got out and resolved the issue. I wonder how many more spots there are along the train tracks that have some sort of cellular access. I suspect it doesn't very much as they are so brief that if one blinks, one would miss them.

For the first time that I can remember, as we passed from Ontario to Manitoba, one of the crew (who had occasionally got on the PA system to talk about the towns we were stopping at) made a very excited announced about our transition from one province to an other. She said that all of the crew were from Manitoba and that they were excited to be home. She also promised us eternally blue skies and the best sun rises and sunsets we would ever see. It was fun that she was excited about coming home. It had been a long few days for her and her co-workers. It was easy to forgive her slight hyperbole.

A hour or two outside of Winnipeg the train made two stops very close together. Both stops were at little places where the train station/shelter did not appear to be standard VIA issue. They were of different colours/designs and they were well maintained with no train "junk" around them. They were train stops for the cottagers in the area and all of the people that got on at the two stops knew each other. Some were going back home as they had to go to a wedding and at least one man was going back to Winnipeg to buy a new lawnmower. I think I heard him say that the lawnmower (I assume it was a riding one) would be shipped to the head of the lake and he would motor boat his way up there to get it.

Eventually the landscape did change, and stayed change. The land became flatter, the lakes looked larger and the groves of birch and popular started to overwhelm the smaller and smaller stands of fir. And then, almost without any transition, the land becomes flat with acres and acres of land under cultivation. And then there was Winnipeg. We were not only on time (well 12 hours late) but we had actually made up time.

2018 On the Road Again #4

2018 On The Road Again #3

2018 On The Road Again #3

The train, at least in the economy section was not very full. There were lots of seats available but only a few met my rather specific needs. I like to be on the right hand side - I sleep better leaning against my right side. As well, I like to be in a seat where there is not a window column obstructing my view. In the first car there was only one seat left that met those criteria. After I talked to the conductor, got myself settled in and started to get comfortable, I realized that the seat back had lost some of its padding and there was a metal rod digging into my back. I packed up my stuff and moved to the left side of the train.

I am glad I did. The view was so much better There were numerous lakes, rivers and swamps on the left side. The sun was on that side and the water fairly glistened. It was quite beautiful and did much to make me glad that I had decided to take the train as opposed to the bus.

The gentleman in front of me is European - when he talks to his friend across from him, it sounds as if he is speaking in one of the middle European languages. He has just done something that I have never seen before, at least not on a train. The gentleman got a pot of water, plugged in an immersion heater (I have not see one of those for years) and heated the water. He then mixed in a dried food package and had supper! I am not too sure if that is allowed - but as long as he doesn't start a fire or perhaps even more likely burn himself - I imagine no one will care. The conductor strikes me as far too young and non-assertive to say much.

I would like to say that the trip has been without unscheduled stops but alas I can't. We have had two - the first was fairly short - the second seems to have been longer. While I know that I have no control as to when the train will get into Winnipeg and that my only choice (to stay sane) is to relax and not worry, it is hard not to be aware of the problems I could face if we arrive in Winnipeg after midnight.

One of the advantages of getting on the train after 5:00 PM is that bedtime comes soon. By just after 10:00 I had gotten my sleeping bag out, blown up my neck pillow, found my eye shades and was trying to remember how to get comfortable enough to get a good night's sleep.

On the Road Again 2018 #2

There are always a couple of themes to my writings as I start to head west. One is the constant background sound of Willie Nelson singing On the Road Again - I am not too sure when I adopted the song as my theme song - but it seems somehow that it does. A second theme that has emerged as been the constant lateness of the Via train.

On Friday I got an email from VIA saying that the train # 1 would be leaving 9 hours late due to equipment shortages. I think that was VIA's way of saying that the east bound train was going to be late getting into Toronto. 24 hours later I got another email informing me that the train would be approximately 12 hours late in leaving Toronto. I am now on the train, which is running almost exactly 12 hours late.

It has been a frustrating 24 hours in part because it is easy to assume the worst about VIA's capacity to keep to a schedule and that therefore we might be an additional 6, 7 or even 8 hours late. Getting into Winnipeg at some point in the wee dark hours of the morning would mean that not only would I have nowhere to stay (and hanging around downtown Winnipeg seems a really poor option), but as well I would be getting on the road 24 hours later than I had planned. I was not a happy camper. I looked at other options but 24 hours on a Greyhound bus just seemed unbearable as did spending $600 on an airplane ticket.

I suspect I was less of a good house guest at my daughter's than I should have been. We did have a bit of fun after we found a VIA website that allowed us to track the train in real time. The other highlight of the somewhat torturous wait was the Winnipeg Transit system. I emailed them to ask how late the buses ran. The one bus that I usually used seemed to stop running just after 6:00 PM. It took three emails but I got a very detailed answer that gave me some alternatives - not great ones but at least I had a plan. Quite simply - if the train got into Winnipeg and the bus was still running - I would head towards the Flying J just outside of town and hand around until early morning on Tuesday 24 hours late - but at least I would be on the road. I was much more optimistic or at least resigned to being late once I knew that I would not be stuck in downtown Winnipeg.At any rate I am on the train, what happens next - whether we are late or not is beyond my control. I might as well sit back and enjoy the ride.

2018 On the Road Again 2018 #1

The trips that I made 15+ years ago were an adventure. I, certainly on the first ones, had no idea as to what to expect. When I was working, for most of my trips ,I spent more time trying to get to Duncan and then back again than I did on Vancouver Island. My pack was impossibly heavy - it towered over my head, I walked for far too many miles looking for the perfect spot to stand and various parts of my body hurt for most of the trip. But they were fairy impressive trips - thousands of kilometers in a few weeks. I ended most of my trips with the comments "not to shabby for an old man".

Things have changed - in part because I am older and I no longer feel the need to show how tough I am but also because I know where I am going and usually it is only just one way. I have reduced the size of my pack significantly, I walk far less than I use to and while I am not in better shape than I use to be, because my annual trips are over almost before they begin - there is not sufficient time for me to damage my body. Whatever sense of adventure that may exist, is greatly reduced.

This is all a somewhat convoluted way of saying that at least technically I am on my summer trip but it does not feel like it. I flew to Sudbury. Other than my pack arriving 12 hours after I did, the trip was uneventful. I will hang around here for a week, catch a train to Winnipeg and then hitchhike west from there. Not very exciting. I will have a good time hanging out with my daughter and hopefully on the way back - I will meet a few interesting people. However, compared to some of my earlier trips , there is less opportunity for adventure. Not that I want anything really weird to happen - but just a small adventure would be nice.

There is, of course, some satisfaction in being 69 and even considering taking a 3-4 day hitchhiking trip. It is a great country populated by interesting and generous people. Perhaps the last 15-16 years of cross-country travel have left me just a little bit jaded, too comfortable in my travels across the country to get really excited. But as I typed those words, I realized that that was not true..... I am looking forward to being on the road again., even if it is only a short trip.