Boy Scouts have it right: Always be prepared.

Judy and I enjoy golf as a great source of exercise. It’s not just walking the 18 holes, but all the swinging and whacking that goes along with the 3 to 5 mile walk that tends to keep one a little more fit than sitting watching the tube. Problem is if you hit the course after sitting around all winter you probably won’t make it past the first nine. So, in the winter Judy and I will try to continue to walk. In Red Deer the park and trial systems were pretty easy to access and nice and easy to walk. We decided a walk in the foothills might be a great way to welcome ourselves to the Calgary area. I did some Internet searching and Grotto Creek came up as an easy walk (that’s what the search said…) with some interesting sites and even some native wall paintings.

Off we went in search of a new adventure.

The net said that it was an easy walk, ideal for novice hikers and we definitely qualify as novices. We had packed a lunch and some water bottles but for some reason when we left the car, we left it all behind. We started up the trail and casually glanced at the postings that showed the trail was this way. After about 1000 yards we crossed the creek and continued up the hill on the west side of the creek and started to climb. It was a beautiful spring day, and the sun warmed us enough that I thought about the water that I had left in the car. The hill got steeper and steeper, and I thought it sure would have been nice if we had brought some walking sticks (ski poles would have worked) to give us a little more stability. As the trail curled and twisted, I thought to myself “Sure would have been nice if I would have brought my Magellan Explorist GPS. Then I looked at my cell phone and noticed no service. We kept climbing for a bit and when Judy seemed a little winded, I said: “that’s enough let’s head back”. Judy is a never quit type, but I convinced her we weren’t properly prepared for this walk.

As we returned to the creek, we notice people walking up the creek on the ice. Ah Ha!! It turns out the Grotto Creek trail is a walk on the ice, up the creek. We had our ice cleats with us and the walk up the creek was much more relaxing than the hill we had just tried climbing.

We got the see the native paintings on the Canyon walls and pet a couple of friendly dogs. I even handed out some CRUFC business cards to a fellow hiker that expressed interest in ultra-lights and flying.

In retrospect I wasn’t much of a boy scout. I left the lunch and water in the car, had no walking poles, no map of the area, no GPS. I could have certainly been better prepared.

The point of the story is: what do you carry in your plane? Are you prepared for an off-field landing. Do you have the necessary essentials to survive a night in the wild? I have heard it said that you should always dress in a manner that would allow you to walk to safety. Do you go flying in the winter with only a light coat and no boots? What about gloves and hat? Does your plane have a first aid kit? A flashlight? Matches? What does your survival kit include, and when was the last time you checked it? I know mine has a nice set of snowmobile mitts but to be honest the bag in the back seat needs to checked for the current contents. I thought it might be a good idea as we move into the spring flying season to check our survival kits and restock for the upcoming summer season.

I am still lining up guest speakers for the rest of the year and we are looking forward to Butch Foster as this month’s speaker. Leona Crane from Transport Canada has agreed to be a guest speaker, but we are still lining up a specific date. (Her boss is fighting with budget restraints.) I have talked to Ted Beck (mosquito helicopter) and we have something special lined up for a future meeting. Stu Simpson has agreed to spend an evening giving us some tips on making quality aviation videos. One of his latest videos with Darren Scarlet has Darren avoiding the Paperazzi and autograph seekers. (Seriously this is one of the best videos on the net.)

The executive and I are working hard to make sure your flying club provides you with the information you need in a fun and entertaining matter. Please, if you have suggestions for meeting speakers: let me or one of the executives know and will try to make it happen.

Til next time I wish you Good Lies & Smooth Skies