November music releases I'm looking forward to via @Storify

I decided to spend the afternoon checking out the new updates to Storify and simultaneously drafting up my Christmas wish list ;)

Snack city slide show: Food we ate during our Seattle weekend getaway

My Favourite Places on Vancouver Island: Mount Finlayson, Goldstream Provincial Park

The summit of Mount Finlayson

Hike length: Approximately 4km
Hike duration: 2-3 hours

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If you like your outdoor experiences to include an blood pumping workout, then this trail should be right up your alley.

The hike up Mount Finlayson in Goldstream Provincial Park just outside Victoria was one of the first trails we hiked after moving to Victoria.  It's among the select must-do day hikes locals dependably recommend to newcomers - a collection of world-class gems that includes East Sooke Regional Park's Coastal trail, for it's gorgeous vistas, and Botanical Beach at Juan De Fuca Provincial Park, for marine life viewing.

The Mount Finlayson trail can be accessed a short distance from the parking lot at Goldstream's main entrance on Highway 1, just west of Victoria (map).  From the main entrance, follow the side road from the parking lot across the bridge and into the park to the trailhead.  Just past the bridge, look for a large sign and an intimidating-at-first-glance flight of stairs.  If stairs aren't your thing, or if you're looking to ease into the hike, take the alternate, slightly less steep trail to your left.  The two routes meet a short way up the mountain.

After the two trails merge, the path continues climbing through beautiful, mossy, green forest until levelling out for a short stretch near the Bear Mountain subdivision.

The trees change from soaring pines to scraggly arbutus, then disappear all together as the trail turns into a steeper scramble up the remaining distance to the rocky summit.  I believe most hikers familiar with this trail see this as being the fun part of the hike, though I have had a handful of hiking companions suggest this section can challenge the reserve of anyone with a fear of heights.

The summit is a nice spot to enjoy a meal or snack before you make your way back down the mountain.  From the top you can enjoy views of the Olympic Mountains and the Straight of Juan De Fuca.

Planning tips:

• Sections of this trail are a bit technically challenging.  Wear shoes with good support and rubber soles that will grip rocky surfaces, especially important in slippery, wet weather.
• It's also possible to approach or descend from the summit of Mount Finlayson via the north side of the mountain from an access point a little over a kilometre down Finlayson Arm Road from Goldstream's main entrance. This is a gentler route that doubles the distance of the hike.
• As an added bonus, if you head out to Goldstream over the next month or so (mid-October to early December) you should also be able to catch the park's yearly salmon run.

How to make a pumpkin pie

 My first (successful) pumpkin pie

I felt ambitious enough to try my hand at making another pumpkin pie this year.  My last attempt, which had a disastrous outcome, took place when I made a somewhat less-than-stellar Thanksgiving dinner for my German hosts when I was traveling in Europe a number of years back. Gladly, I was very happy with the results this time around.  In celebration of the coming Thanksgiving weekend, and to atone for my sins of Thanksgivings past, here's the recipe. Guten Appetit!

What you'll need:

4 large eggs
3 cups fresh pumpkin puree
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons pumpkin spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 unbaked, 9 inch pie shell

To prepare the pumpkin, remove the seeds, cut into chunks and remove the skin.  Boil, roast or steam the pumpkin until tender then puree.  Cool to room temperature and drain off any standing liquid that forms.

Mix the pumpkin puree with the remaining ingredients until well blended and pour into an unbaked pie shell.  When it comes to pie shells, I usually use whatever pastry recipe comes on the box of the shortening I've bought. Read my blog post, Things I’ve learned about making pies, for more on how to make pie pastry.

Bake the pie at 350 degrees for 55-65 minutes.  The top of the pie will be slightly browned and the middle of the pie will still look slightly wet when it's done.

More tips:

- Use a small pumpkin.  I chose one that was a little bit smaller than a basketball and ended up with enough pumpkin puree to make two pies.

- If you don't have pumpkin pie spice, you can also use a mix of spices (1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon cloves, and 1/2 teaspoon ginger).

- This is the kind of pie that needs to bake a while for the filling to cook.  If your pie crust starts to darken too quickly around the edges, cover the rim of your pie with a strip of tin foil (shiny side out).

- Save the seeds and roast them in a pan with a little oil and a sprinkling of salt.  Yum!

While your pumpkin is stewing you can roast the seeds in a pan with a little oil and salt.

Aidan Knight and Snailhouse, live and in concert! ...in my neighbour's living room

Aidan Knight and some of his Friendly Friends performing at a house concert in Victoria, BC.

About this time last year, I wrote a blog entry about my first house concert experience.  Over the past year I've had the pleasure of attending a number of these events, every one of them fantastic.  When it comes to live performances, the intimacy of watching a musician play to a small crowd in a private residence cannot be beat. 

The Aidan Knight concert I recently attended was no exception. Opening act, Snailhouse (Mike Feuerstack of the Wooden Stars) started off the night with a short - sadly, I felt, a little too short - set of emotion packed songs.  After a quick break, Knight took to the stage/living room floor while some of his backing musicians, the Friendly Friends, wandered through the rest of the house playing their instruments.  From the introspective and melancholy, Lambics, to the feel-good, Jasper, it was a captivating experience made all the more personal and charming in a home setting.  Knight's music is a carefully tuned harmony of contrasts (despite all the trouble he experienced with a faulty tuner during his performance).  Familiar sounding melodies with unusual orchestration; sometimes dynamic and filled with texture, sometimes sparse; and lyrics that reflect his youthful perspective balanced with just the right amount of world-weary wisdom. 

From time to time I get asked how to find out about scheduled house concerts.  As these shows are usually organized by home owners, promotional marketing is commonly limited to grassroots channels. If you live in Victoria, BC, my best recommendation is simply to sign up for the Victoria House Concert B Facebook Group.  If you live anywhere else, I'd suggest searching the web, or you can try asking friends who might be connected to your local music scene if they know of any upcoming shows.


Video shot by Dfinlan.

Rifflandia 2011 and the art of the singer songwriter, three ways

If there's one thing that sets the Rifflandia Festival apart from other music festivals I've attended, I'd have to say it's variety. Not only from venue to venue, but more definitively, from year to year. Each year I've attended, I've come away with an experience completely different from the last. In 2009, my Rifflandia experience was all about rock, last year, it was big on alt-country. This year, my favourite shows of the festival all featured talented singer songwriters, albeit in three very different veins.

The troubadour: Royal Wood

Royal Wood at the Rifflandia Festival 2011

In another world, the ideal venue for watching a Royal Wood show would be a smoke-filled club with shadowy corners, a bartender named Atticus, and a well tuned piano that's seen plenty of action every night since the dawn of time. Wood Hall, despite having none of those attributes, might be a fair contender for second place. I'll submit that observation based solely on the captivating performance Wood put on the Saturday night of the festival. The intimate recital space/former chapel was, perhaps unexpectedly, a fitting compliment to the subtle poetry of Woods' lyrics, smooth-as-butter vocals and rich melodies. Highlights of the performance included the sweet and lovely, I'm So Glad and Wood's pop-infused hit, A Mirror Without. Wood also performed a haunting, sparse version of Foster the People's Pumped Up Kicks. Unforgettable.

The traditionalist: Old Man Luedecke

Old Man Luedecke at the Rifflandia Festival 2011

Well, if we're going to continue on the theme of ideal venues, I'd suggest an Old Man Luedecke show would be best viewed at a barn dance, your neighbour's kitchen, or, as proposed by Luedecke himself, a farmers' market. Likewise, the mood of the moment at Luedecke's concert on Saturday was one of simple pleasures and good times. Unlike most other performances at the festival, Luedecke didn't fuss about waiting around for the official start time. Immediately after his short sound check he sat down with his banjo and began playing, choosing songs as they seemed to strike his fancy, or at times the fancy of the audience. The Joy of Cooking and I Quit My Job were particular crowd pleasers. And, oh yes, there was plenty of dancing and hand clapping enjoyed by all throughout the show.

The enigma: Damien Jurado

I'm not even going to try to suggest an ideal setting for a Damien Jurado show. In my books, I suppose any place where you can watch him perform, it'll most likely be an extraordinary experience. I took in Jurado's show at Rifflandia with a friend who was only planning to stick around for a couple of songs and he ended up staying for the entire set. That's the kind of musician Jurado is. His songs have the ability to capture and draw in every audience member, no matter how large, or unfamiliar, the crowd. Mesmerizing in a disarming combination of deep introversion and unguarded openness.

There's really no picking favourites with Jurdado's songs, but if I had to choose, I guess I'd say Sheets and Cloudy Shoes were amoungst the most memorable moments of the night. Jurado mentioned the show would be his last before taking a well deserved six-month hiatus, so if you're interested, you may have to be patient in waiting a little while to catch his next performance. That said, I'd urge everyone to go see Damien Jurado in concert at the earliest opportunity.



View more of my pics from the festival in my Rifflandia flickr set.

What's in my backpack?: Packing for a long distance hiking trip on the west coast

The beach near Laura Creek on the North Coast Trail, a photo by theotherlondon on Flickr.

Everyone packs for a backcountry camping trip differently.  Some are minimalists, some pack as much gear they can manage to carry just in case. I think I fall somewhere in the middle.

At the moment, I'm getting ready for a 4 day, 47km hiking trip on the Juan De Fuca.  The last time I did this hike was in April of 2009 and as wonderful as it was, it was also the wettest backcountry trek I've ever experienced.  This time around I'll be going with a few friends, two of whom will be doing an overnight backpacking trip for the first time, and I've been getting some info together to help them prepare.  Below is a list of items I'm planning to take along, which is a pretty much a run down of what I generally pack on backcountry camping trips (my pack usually weighs about 40lbs).

What's in my backpack on a 4-day, west coast hiking trip in autumn:

Waterproof backpack cover
Eureka 3-season tent
Pine Ridge 3-season sleeping bag
Thermarest air mattress
Petzl headlamp
Victorinox Swiss Army knife
First aid kit
Waterproof matches and a lighter
Rope
Bear spray*
Trail guidebook*
Notebook and pen
Point and shoot camera

Food and water
PUR water filter*
Collapsible bucket*
MSR backpacking stove
1L camping fuel
2 water bottles
Cascade Designs ultralight aluminum backpacking pot with lid 1.5 L + potholder
MSR stainless steel bowl
Set of Lexan utensils (knife, fork and spoon)
Can opener
Breakfasts and lunches - oatmeal, cheese, bagels, nuts, gorp, chocolate, jerky
Dinners - Pasta with pesto and pepperoni, instant mashed potatoes with flakes of ham, soup with dumplings, mac and cheese with tuna
Small mickey of scotch
Tea
Spare Ziploc bags
Cloth for cleaning up

Clothing
1 spare tights quick dry/moisture wicking
1 spare top, quick dry/moisture wicking
4 pairs socks
1 pair waterproof socks
Underwear
Gaitors
Water repellant soft shell jacket
Fleece jacket
Warm hat
2 pairs gloves
Comfy shoes to wear around the campsite (sandals)

Toiletries
Camp soap
Tooth brush and tooth paste
Brush and hair elastics
Toilet paper

*In my experience, I've found only one person in the group needs to pack these items.

Most of the questions my friends have asked have been about what food to pack, and rightly so!  I'll be posting info on what I'm bringing to eat and how I'll prepare it soon.  Of course the easiest solution where meals is concerned is to buy dehydrated meals from your local camping store.  I know there are many people who find dehydrated meals to be acceptable fare, but I'm not among them.

Other resources on how to pack for a backcountry camping trip:

• Backpacking Lightweight
• Backpacker Magazine
• The Backpacker