Algonquin - Western Uplands Backpacking Trail - October 2017

As mentioned in my 2016 post on the Algonquin Western Uplands backpacking trail, I had planned to complete the trail again in 2017 without suffering the same knee and foot injuries. I succeeded in this, and attribute this to:

• Pacing myself for the long haul. I over-reached on the previous trip, in some cases from frustration. Going in knowing what to expect over the long run makes a difference.
• Better, larger boots. Specifically, Scarpa Zanskar GTX in a EU size 46. This is roughly equivalent to a US size 13 and is therefore about 1 full size larger than I'd normally wear. Very good boots, and kept the water out on what was a much wetter and muddier trail than it was in 2016.
• Heel lock lacing pattern to keep my heel from slipping in the larger boots. Combined with some grease rubbed on my heel each day for anti-friction (I normally use Burt's Bees Hand Salve but for this trip used a Burt's Bees lip balm stick due to the much smaller weight/size), I avoided heel blisters for the first time on a backpacking trip.

There's not much else to add about this trip, as it was largely a repeat of the 2016 route with largely the same gear with some things left behind 35lbs of equipment, which was down to 25lb by the end (due to food and fuel consumption).

Some notes on relative difficulty:

• Day 1: Entry to Maggie Lake E: Average difficulty.
• Day 2: Maggie Lake E to Pincher Lake N: Second most challenging day. Shorter distance but more terrain variation.
• Day 3: Pincher Lake N to Brown's Lake: Longest distance but counteracted by less variable terrain. This was the only day it rained significantly and when the first picture below was taken.
• Day 4: Brown's Lake to Susan Lake: This was the hardest day and where my feet suffered the most.. The trail is narrow and slanted in many places as well as being rocky or laden with tree roots, increasing the friction between your shoes and feet.
• Day 5: Susan Lake to Exit: I had an overwhelming memory of the 5th day being easier from the previous trip, but I must have been remembering the relief offered by the final few kilometres. The early part of this stretch is as challenging as the rest of the trail.

There aren't any grand lookouts on this trail, but I've attached some pictures from along the way.

Demise of Sears Canada

In what already feels like old news in the news cycle of today, Sears Canada will eventually be no more.

Here's what I take away from the coverage so far:

• Nobody is surprised
• Online shopping is partly to blame, but so is a lack of investment on the part of Sears.
• Sears is a source of memories of bygone days. It's mostly older people that lament the passing of Sears, and they sound as if they are talking about Werther's Originals.

From my own perspective, it's been awhile since I shopped there with intent. There isn't a Sears close by, and when I did have a chance to visit one I used it for comparison shopping with The Bay (since they were frequently at opposite ends of whichever mall contained one or the other). In those cases, I usually ended up buying from The Bay because I liked their offerings more.

There was a Sears mattress and appliance store in town from which you could pick up catalogue or online orders, but it just seem to have disappeared one day.

Some general thoughts:

• Outlet malls and high-end malls that have tightly-focused, branded offerings seem to be doing well.
• Online shopping isn't the only part of online that's to blame. Direct marketing by brands is also a factor - many people no longer go to a store looking to be sold something in a particular category. They go looking for the exact thing they've already been sold online and just need a place to buy it.
• The vast number of products sold under even a single brand produces cross-brand permutations of products that are now too large for a single department store to hope to satisfy and carry.
• This makes outlet malls and high-end malls the new department stores. It also makes a lot of sense why The Bay is both present at outlet malls and has subdivided many of their stores into brand-focused departments within category-focused departments. It also makes Sears' selling off of their high-priced real estate (in high-end malls) look especially counter-productive.
• Small towns are said to be affected. But the writing must have been on the wall in small towns more than anywhere else because they are just as reachable by online shopping as are major centres. If the Sears catalogue combined with local pickup drops was of particular benefit to small towns then I don't understand why online shopping where the products are delivered to your door isn't many degrees better.

I respect the challenge that they faced. Running a large, legacy business is hard during times of change, but they did not make the same effort as The Bay to stay current. The Bay is also not doing that well financially, but they at least seem to have identified what their modern market looks like.

Like many other people, I lament the passing of Sears as it's a part of my past, but it won't affect my present very much at all.