Still not dead

Hey everyone, its been a while since I not only posted but promised you an update. I'll be quite honest, my career (and being an adult), just kept me too busy last year to keep up with the outdoor pursuits I love. It wasn't all bad though, because I was so busy with work I earned enough money to go to Spain... for two months! 

Me in Valencia during las fallasphoto credit Alex Squires

Shortly after I got back from Spain, the Nova Scotian Provincial Government axed the incentive to the film industry (where I work) effectively sending the fast majority of the film work available in Nova Scotia else where. I'm not going to lie its been heart breaking to see a thriving industry taken down by ignorance and misinformation, but now I am one of many film professionals fighting to stay in the province I call home. This said I have no real excuse to not fill my free time with the outdoor activities that keep me sane and healthy.

Doing my part at the NS Film Jobs Rally in Halifax NS.
Photo credit unknown

I have already started jogging this summer to make my self more competitive for this summers adventure races. I also intend to do a lot more paddling and cycling to supplement my usual backpacking adventures. Getting back into bouldering is still very high on my list as well but I am still recovering from a shoulder injury. However with the opening of Seven Bays (a bouldering cafe!) just down the street from me, I have little excuse to not at least try.

I am going to try something new with the blog. Apparently I'm not very good at sharing my personal story, but I do feel excited  about sharing my experiences (if that makes any sense). So I think I am going to move away from posting long verbose posts about my exploits, and try to focus on posts that you, the readers may find useful. I will start doing more reviews, not just on gear but on trails and businesses as well. I think everyone will agree this will be a much better use of this blog. The end goal (and I emphasize "goal") is to try and publish one post a week, This should provide a healthy variety of content that I hope readers enjoy.

Hopefully you guys look forward to some new content. I am definitely looking forward to the adventures that make that content possible.

See you out there!

Not dead.

That's right folks, I'm not dead. To be honest, my absence as been do to a lack of adventure (cue boos). That said I have been pursuing my professional career (which allows me to pursue my adventures). That said professional life has been awesome but I will save those stories for my other blog (theatrerats.blogspot.com).

However my life hasn't been completely boring I managed to get a trip to Toronto where I hiked with an old friend and did some zip lining, I enjoyed a ton of fishing around beautiful Nova Scotia, and I am currently traveling in Spain... For the next two months!

This trip to Spain is one of the reasons that I was so consumed profesionaly but I managed to pull it off financially. I am currently staying in Logrono, a small city in the north of Spain. It is the capital of the Antonimous Community of Spain, Rioja. The weather is warm. Between 0 and 10 degrees Celsius, but is forcasted to go up to low teens at the end of the week.

I ventured about yesterday, exploring and finding the lay of the land. I wandered through parts of old town with towering cathedrals and newer shopping districts with hidden markets. I am going to leave the details for later mostly because I'm not quite sure of them my self, but I look forward to exploring this city in further detail.

I appologize for the lack of detail but I need something to post about later. This is only the beginning of the resurrection. Tune into the next post for some adventure!

PS. Reviews to come. "Of what?" You ask! Gear, services, locations and food! You'll just have to keep checking back to find out!

The last EIGHT MONTHS!

Hey Everyone

  It has been an unacceptable amount of time since I last posted. But here I go.

  I guess I should start chronologically, So with my job eating more time than first believed, I was forced to take some time off school. I then promised my self if I was going to work and not go to school, I had to find ways to get my self out of the house that were completely independent of anything to do with work. This is very much a luxury in the entertainment industry but in my opinion, a very necessary one. Too many technicians spend their whole life at work, and though I have a sickening amount of respect for anyone that has that much love for their art/discipline, not only is it physically not healthy, it doesn't do much for your sanity either.

  My first step in this broadening of my social/adventuring horizons was to find a group of like minded people, and just my luck, I knew exactly where to look. The Halifax Outdoor Adventurers is a branch of the Meetup website, which I had previously found through a Google search. The Halifax Outdoor Adventurers is made up of a variety of people, The diversity in age, skill and backgrounds is only rivaled buy the vast pool of interests and influences, ranging from sea kayaking, and bird watching to trail running and backwoods camping. however this group is as welcoming as it is diverse, and having been on a couple hikes with these wonderful folks previously, I decided that their adventures and excursions would be a great way to escape and unwind.

I could go into great detail on the various trips I have gone on this last eight months but I think for the sake of time and progress, I will lightly touch on some of the highlights. Winter camping at Blomidon Provincial Park, which seemed less like a park and more like a post apocalyptic wasteland. A winter camping trip to Kejimkujik National Park, filled with Star Wars Monopoly, good food, and just the right amount of alcohol topped with a night spent on the Kedge beach beside a beautiful frozen lake. Late night star gazing at Cape Split, a rocking time at BoulderFest, and my personal favorite, a would be rescue mission turned impromptu camp fire/night time bacon and egg breakfast/marshmallow roast at Economy Falls trail head. Just so many things to talk about with really so little space or time to talk about them. For every trip it feels like I did ten plus day hikes, and for six weekends in a row I logged thirty kilometers or more a weekend. 

Hiking the coast at Five Islands Nova Scotia
(photo by Cody Hatt)

Hiking at Sugar Moon Farms
(photo by Cody Hatt)

Winter Camping at Blomidon Provincial Park
(photo by Justin Hutchins)

More winter Camping at Blomidon
(photo by Justin Hutchins)

Winter Camping in  Kejimkujik National Park
(photo by Cody Hatt)

Walking on the Frozen Kejimkujik Lake
(photo by Cody Hatt)

Huge bonfire at a Cape Split
(photo by Justin Hutchins)

Camping just down the road from Economy Falls
(photo by Justin Hutchins)

29.5 inch Striped bass Caught in Five Islands (my first keeper)
(Photo taken by Shauna Hatt)

 As much as I love reflecting on the good old times it's time to to look forward to the good times to come, and I am happy to say my first multi day hike is quickly approaching. On Labor day weekend, members from the Halifax Outdoor Adventure group will be hiking Cape Chignecto Provincial Park's thirty kilometer trail.  I am no stranger to spending multiple days in the bush, but this will be first time I'm hiking and camping over multiple days. during my survival training we were left in the bush for three days with nothing but a knife, a piece of string and our wits, but we weren't covering any ground, in a survival scenario your actually encouraged to hunker down and wait for help. 

  However this is not a survival situation and presents a learning curve for my self as I am not known for being an ultra-light backpacker, So my goal for this trip (besides not dyeing) is to use the blog to explore and expand on some ultra-light backpacking techniques and gear. Following this theme, I am going to wrap up this post by talking about my first piece of ultralight gear.

The Inertia X-Frame by Klymit.

  We picked this baby up at Atmosphere for just over a hundred bucks. for that money you get the pad, a stuff sack, a hand pump, and a patch kit. I must say I am thrilled with it, though I have yet to try it in winter conditions, Klymit's website ensures their "loft pocket technology" will perform in cold conditions (I'm skeptical) but for the summer camping I have done with this pad, it's unbeatable. Light and compact it is small enough to fit in the water bottle holder of a pack. This is key for me as it allows me to pack it inside of my pack, protecting it from brush and other debris that could cause damage. Besides compact and light, this pad features "Body Mapping Technology". this just means if you were to lay on a flat surface, only certain part of your body would touch the ground. Klymit exploits this by putting pad in those areas and leaving spaces in the rest. This is of course is why the pad is so light and compact, but to be very honest, I find it quite comfortable. It's almost like sleeping in a gentle hammock and it kind of hugs you when you lay in it. In my opinion it is comfortable, light, compact, what more could you want in a sleeping pad?

That said I leave you with this final image. Cheers!

          

  

I know it has been a while since I have posted anything but you can expect a huge end of summer/fall recap very soon. Stay Tuned!

Hey Everybody

  I'm sitting on my couch going over some of the 500 plus, photos I took last weekend, and decided this was a good time for a blog post. The last few days have been just plain full of bouldering, photography, and some beautiful weather and locations.

  This adventure started with BoulderFest, a bouldering festival hosted by Climb Nova Scotia on the beautiful Dover Island. Dover Island is an uninhabited island just off the coast of West Dover, Nova Scotia, not far from the well known Peggy's Cove. Dover Island is well known by sea kayakers and sailors, but its claim to fame is really with the climbing community. The ocean facing side of Dover Island is subject to the harsh North Atlantic, and the action of the waves has eroded the soil away from much of the coast of Dover, exposing granite boulders, and cliffs, creating a bouldering paradise.

The side of Dover Island that faces the mainland

Photo by Cody Hatt

The ocean side of Dover Island

Photo by Cody Hatt

  BoulderFest is a climbing event hosted by Climb Nova Scotia, a none profit organization, run by volunteers, dedicated to supporting local climbers, and developing climbing in Nova Scotia. The great folks at Climb Nova Scotia give up alot of their time to make BoulderFest one of the best climbing festivals in the world.

  I showed up to the dock in West Dover around 10:30 am, with about twenty people in line for the next boat to the island. I registered, and got my bag of swag, and grabbed a piece of dock to sit and wait my turn. Evolv had a large selection of shoes to be demoed, so i grabbed a pair of Velcro Ceshidos and hopped on the next boat to the island.

Climbers waiting for the next boat to Dover Island
Photo by Cody Hatt

  After getting to the island, I got my tent set up and headed for the climbing. I didn't really have much of a plan so I just kind of rocked what ever route caught my eye. However, it was a pretty hot, and I soon joined the the growing fad of hiding in the shade of a cave. After a couple more sends and a dip in the tidal pool, I headed back to my tent to grab more water, and just happened to run into a good friend Marcel Bourgeois. Marcel and I met last year at BoulderFest, and even spent some time hiking in the Cape Breton Highlands. We quickly caught up and swapped some stories from the winter, then headed down for some supper and socializing.

Yes that is a massage table and yes there was a Masseuse
Photo by Cody Hatt

Working the Solarium
Photo by Cody Hatt

  Supper was pasta and salad, served by the great volunteers from Climb Nova Scotia, and a keg of Propeller Beer to wash it all down. Propeller was gracious enough to donate a whole keg to the event, and with only about a hundred people on the island (to protect the delicate ecosystem on Dover Island), there was more then enough beer to go around. After dinner, the prize draws, with prizes ranging from chalk bags to crash pads, had everyone on the edge of their seats. I didn't win anything of course, but I did make a couple new friends.

  After supper and the prize draw I grabbed my gear and joined the train of people with head lamps and lanterns heading to the climbing routes for some serious night sessions. I watched some people work The Bear (V4) before heading to my project of the night, The Wave (V5) also known as Jody's Roof. I didn't get the send, but I did make progress so hopefully before the end of the summer. A couple hours went by and the word came that there would soon be fireworks back at the meal area so I started heading back. I caught the fireworks, made my self a cup of tea and socialized for a bit, but I was pretty tired, so I went to bed, and caught some z's so i would be ready for the next day of climbing.

Working The Wave during a night session
Photo by Cody Hatt

  The next morning I woke up and headed to breakfast. Climb Nova Scotia came through again, and supplied croissants, huge muffins, and coffee. I met up with Marcel and we agreed to meet at The Wave when we were done packing our kits, so I scarfed my food down, headed back and packed my kit up then headed to The Wave. Marcel soon showed up and we worked the wave for a while, I made about one more move in progress but Marcel finally managed to send it on his last attempt. We met up with a couple of other climbers that we had met the night before, and we all headed to the next project. We ended up at John Doe (V4), and started working out the beta. We all realized very quickly that we were all quite tired, so after watching many attempts but no sends, Marcel, our new friends, and I decided to call it a day. We grabbed our stuff and headed to the boat launch and with a bit of a lineup Marcel and I let our new friends go first since we were in no hurry to get back to the mainland. But our turn came and we were soon back in the real world heading towards Halifax for some food.

  We ended up at Rogues Roost, and with some great food and a great view of  "Skin-Garden Road". Some how though, Marcel managed to talk me into going to Monday Night Bouldering, and the next thing I know we are at a gas station and I'm stocking up on Gatorade and Redbull. We showed up to the carpool location and met up with the other climbers. We were soon on our way to the West Dover area... again. This time we were heading to The Lake Boulder, a great boulder, in a great spot with a bunch of problems on it. That said I wasn't in any condition to be climbing, so I ended up taking a bunch of pictures. Marcel was in the same boat so we soon called it a night and Marcel dropped me off, we said our goodbyes and he headed back to New Brunswick.

Marcel and the gang, on our way to The Lake Boulder
Photo by Cody Hatt

Working The Lake Boulder
Photo by Cody Hatt

The view from The Lake Boulder
Photo by Cody Hatt

  That was pretty much my BoulderFest and it was worth every last penny. can't wait till next year!

  As some of you may know I happened to purchase a Nikon D70S Digital SLR about eight months ago, and ever since, I have been teaching my self some photography basics. When I was in Europe I discovered that I really like taking pictures of lighting, and Tuesday night was awesome for lightning! With large lightning storms moving across Nova Scotia, I couldn't help but climb a large hill and try to get some good pictures.

It's about time we got some posting up in here.

OK so after various technical difficulties this Blog is going up, hell or high water! So I would like to welcome you to the brand spanking new blog that I have been trying to get going for the better part of two months. Ladies and Gentleman, I give you the Diaries Of An Adventure Junkie. This is a place for Me (Cody Hatt) to record my exploits in rock climbing, hiking, urban exploration, and life.

A little about me, I am 21, male, live and work in Halifax Nova Scotia. I spent two summers participating in survival training and another two summers teaching survival skills to teenagers with the Royal Canadian Air Cadets. I am an avid adventurer, and decided to chronicle my adventures through photography and blogging... nothing wrong with that.

Cody Fishing in Five Islands Nova Scotia

This summer has already been off to a great start, on top of the regular Monday Night Bouldering with Climb Nova Scotia, I squeezed in a lot of hiking, some urban exploration... Oh ya, and a trip to Europe! Rafting and fishing the Vltava, Geocaching and rock climbing, all while I lived in the Czech Republic for a month. Not to mention  exploring beautiful Vienna and climbing a mountain in Austria with my good friend Emily Turner!

Cody kayaking through Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic
(Photo by Marlee Bygate)

Cody Bouldering in Point Pleasant Park
(Photo by Taylor Andrews)

There has already been so much happening this summer it's hard to believe the are are still more fishing trips, dark spaces to explore, boulders to climb, and one big trip left to be had before the summer is out. Stay Tuned