Stanley Park

Stanley Park review

While searching for discs, I found this old beat up guy.

The owner said they were from the Winkler/Morden area which was a good 2 hour drive from Winnipeg (My hometown).  They asked if I was coming out to their tournament this year.  I wasn't sure if I was going to at the time but since I had a disc to return, it felt like a good idea.

The day before the tournament, I packed up a tent and made my journey.  The campsites were free and there were plenty available when I went.  While, some of the campsites are set up right next to some of the baskets, the course itself is pretty tight.  It offers some nice elevation changes as the area is in the Pembina valley.  A small creek runs through it, and some steep drop-offs add some danger to the shots.  The upkeep for the area seemed great, there were lots of nice open areas that were mowed and clean.  Dog owners would probably enjoy bringing their pup's as they would have a lot of space to run around in.  The park is surrounded by fields and forests.  It's far enough from any city that the night sky was full of stars.  Coyotes could be heard howling in the distance when the sun went down.  I loved it.

I returned my disc in the morning and while, it got rainy for the game, it was still a good time.

Out of all the disc golf courses in Manitoba, this is right up there with La Barriere as one of my favorites.

On my first night out, I only had a little bit of daylight left to preview the course.  I saw a car drive down in to the course area, it looked like a guy and girl in the vehicle but I didn't think much of it.

That was until I was around hole 2, throwing towards the wrong basket, I threw one that landed in the tall grass next to the creek.  That's when I spotted the car, not far across the creek from where my disc landed.  I tried to be quick about getting out of there but I was having so much trouble finding it, I bet they thought I was creeping on them.  I did eventually find my disc and got out of there.

So, overall, despite the weather and occasional love bird stalking, I really enjoyed making the trip out there.

Bad hip and lost shoes

Yesterday I saw on FB that someone lost a couple discs at Happyland park.  I was feeling sore from playing earlier plus going to work but couldn't resist the call.  I've been getting pretty good at finding discs but by the time I got there, it looked like it was a fruitless effort right from the beginning.  Last year, people told me that most discs lost at HL never came back.  There were a couple guys that would play there often that people suspected of stealing them.  I played with them quite a bit when I had evenings available.  I go there and play by myself a lot and they always invited me to join, which was nice.  After seeing them recover discs with names and numbers of people I knew, I asked the people if they ever got their discs back and they said no.  People had seen me play with them and I didn't like being known as a "disc thief".  So part of me returning as many discs as I can was because of that.  I get up early, and check the creek when no one is there.  This gives me a chance to take my time.

Yesterday, I was rushing along the path and not only tripped, putting a sprain on my ankle, I slipped and fell in to the creek.  The grass is so long now, it's hard to see where proper footholds are.  When I got home, I put them out in the sun.  I was going to grab them before falling asleep but I must have passed out while watching a movie.  I'm really hoping my neighbor took them in, because they're not there now.

It's so early, the sun has barely started to come up.  I'll probably head over to HL soon to see if I can get in a round and scan for anything.  My plan for today is to head to the outback and play until it's too hot, then go to the beach and chill for a bit.  I might take a nap somewhere.  Then I'll head back and play another round or two.  I'm hoping that my hip pain goes away because that's a lot of disc golf planned.

Sometimes, I really do like the fact that I never had any kids.

Building a bag

http://www.discpath.win/

Using this app is a great way to find the holes in your bag.  Simply pick the discs that you're using and compare the flight path's with one another to see when you're taking discs that are too similar.  It's been useful for a newcomer like me who is still learning how to throw.

early hyzer

Up at sunrise, did 20 toe-touches, sit-ups, and push-ups followed by a jog.  I plan on playing 18-27 holes at the outback before going to work this morning.  I'm still trying to learn how to drive.  It's something the other players can do where I can only get decent scores at Happyland (the shortest course in Winnipeg)

So I'm working on one main thing, keeping the nose down.  One tip a friend told me, is to hold the disc like your going to shake someone's hand.  This is a particular handshake where your fingers are pointing towards the ground.  Keeping the thumb down helps keep the nose down.  When the disc flies on a plane, it can go much farther.

I'm also focusing on my follow-through.  Yesterday morning, I threw a shot that caused a sharp pain in my right hip.  I've been dealing with hip pain for many years now and throwing a RHBH (Right hand back hand) throw can cause the pain to flair up.  I need to remember to follow through with the throw so the brakes of my body aren't put down on my hip.  It's important to have a pain-less throw so I can practice 100+ drives in a day.

Today's experiences, wet dogs and white owls

This morning I went to one of my favorite disc golf courses in Winnipeg, "The Outback" in Kilcona park.  What is it about dogs when they get wet, why do they think it's so hilarious to shake off right next to you?  The dog's owner was yelling no at him, which seemed quite futile given the results.  He jumped on me to add insult to injury.  This was right after I shanked my drive into the woods.

I threw my buzzz, given to me by a super cool guy in town after I had returned a bunch of discs in the spring.  After witnessing another player score an ace with a buzzz, following this crazy bee line at hole 11, happyland, I had to get one of my own.

So today, I was practicing driving with mid-ranges, I didn't expect it to flip to the right so easily.  The morning mist had covered the wet weeds, I was trying to find the right words to express the situation while looking at the mess I had to get through... I couldn't find them, but I suppose thistle dew.

I was about to dive in when the dog sprung in to the woods a few meters to the left of me.  The guy said, "Oh geeze... it's gonna grab it!"

I thought the dog was way off but I guess the scent gave it away, he bounced out and gave it to me without leaving any teeth marks.  I was still a little frustrated about being wet but now that I think about it, the pup was probably thinking, "sorry about fucking with you buddy, here's your disc."

Made me think, I should get a dog.  I would really love to have it for recovering discs like that.  I'm not sure how many other players have their dogs trained well enough to only get them when asked.

It would be fun to try and train one.

So I continued on my game and while picking up a disc, a white owl got scared when I got too close and flew to a different tree.  A beautiful snowy white owl.  I haven't seen one since I was younger.  I was with a guy who I won't name that was hunting.  He shot one.  I don't know why I need to get that out, but it was a shitty situation that made me appreciate... not killing things?

It was a very long time ago, but since then, it was last one I ever saw.  So today, it was a surprise and a delight to spot one that looked to me like a younger fella.  He didn't make a hoo noise but just shrieked at me.  I left him alone and continued playing.  I met up with some friends and played a round, while talking about the owl coming up to the same area, he flew by, and then another one did, and then we noticed another one looking down on us.

It was a whole family.

And those fuckers want to tear down that park.

Disc Golf

I've been thinking about focusing on disc golf when it comes to my writing.  I saw someone in Reddit looking for disc golf bloggers and I really feel like I can be a valuable asset for them.  I've got lots of little adventures that are interesting and I've been wanting to share them.

http://imgur.com/a/kHm4F

The photo's seem to work great for reminding me of all the little things I've seen so far this year.  Some ideas for things that I can write about:

When I find discs, I could do little interviews with their owners.

Happyland drama.  (The skatepark kids using the blocks from the retaining wall for doing tricks on.)

Repairing the broken sign

Course walk-throughs.  Showing pics/vids of the course to help new players find their way before they play.

How disc golf lessons can be applied to life.

doing alright

I've been doing alright.  I haven't bought any drugs in over 2 weeks now.  I smoke some weed with my neighbor occasionally.  Yesterday I played 6 rounds of disc golf.  There are a lot of things, like disc golf, that feel like it's not quite the same without weed.  I'm trying to train my brain to think differently.  I had noticed that I was repeating stupid mistakes when I played while baked.  Learning how to get better and keeping track of all the little things is a lot easier when you have a sober mind.

I've been getting more dreams lately.  Last night I dreamt I was at work and stormed off over an accusation that I was smoking weed at work again.

I'm almost ready to go out and start playing a few rounds, it's not even 6 in the morning yet.  The sunrise at the crack of dawn was amazing today.