• Garmin Forerunner 55 How To Tutorials

    Summer of 2021 saw the release of the new Garmin Forerunner 55 which is positioned as the latest entry sports watch, focusing on running and other outdoor & indoor activities. With the features included, the watch feels like it is the go-to series en lieu of the Forerunner 200 models, which makes sense as the…

  • Encrypted Messaging Server Using Matrix Synapse

    Encrypted Messaging Server Using Matrix Synapse

    Join the Avoiding Chores Messaging Server here. Over the holidays, I decided to setup an encrypted decentralized messaging server similar to Signal or Telegram. An open source initiative called Matrix went out of beta in 2019, offering a decentralized node messaging server that looks very interesting and so far has been utilized by the government…

  • Planning An Urban Hike With Gaia GPS

    A great smartphone app for outdoor recreation is Gaia GPS, I tend to use it to record my hiking activities around the urban core or use the downloaded maps when in the backcountry. In this video, I’ll show you some use cases where you can use Gaia GPS with your smartphone while out hiking. Gaia…

  • 2020 Year In Review – Outdoor Recreation Stuff

    This past year was full of challenges, but one thing that more people started doing this year was to get into the outdoors any way then could due to the various shutdowns caused by COVID-19. Here’s a list of cool items that the Avoiding Chores Community has been ordering in 2020 either via my Amazon…

  • 30 Minute Hike – Rogers Brook & Grafton Woods – Kejimkujik Nova Scotia

    I hike along two trails within Kejimkujik National Park in the fall – my favourite time of the year to come and explore. Today we do the short Rogers Brook trail. This is a nice relaxing walk along the Mersey river and the wetlands before the jakes landing. The other trail is just beyond the…

  • 30 Minute Hike – Coastal Hike Along Clam Harbour – Nova Scotia

    It’s November and no better time to hit the beach and hike along rugged Atlantic Ocean coastline in Clam Harbour Provincial Park. Park up to the gate (if it’s closed) and simply walk in as parking lots are not maintained in the winter but the road up to the gate are maintained. Start by walking…

  • Garmin Handheld Pre-loaded Maps Options

    Now that most of the Garmin Handhelds have had a refresh in the last 3 years, it is time to take a look at a common question that arises when owners are shopping to upgrade their handheld or new users looking for an upgrade. eTrex 22x 32x – Montana 700 Series Pre-Loaded Maps Garmin included…

  • How To Contribute Your GPS Track To OpenStreetMap From A Garmin GPS

    In this video, I’ll show you a common situation where we are hiking a new trail and the map doesn’t have it. However, if the map product uses OpenStreetMap (OSM), then we can submit a trace from our track file to the map set and eventually on the next refresh the trail will be added…

  • How To Export & Share GPS Tracks Using Garmin Explore and GaiaGPS

    I’ve been slowly trying to get away from the Garmin eco-system for the last few months. For years now, I’ve been adding tracks to my Garmin basecamp collection but as my personal computer usage goes to more portable devices like a smartphone or tablet (all the content you’ve seen from me in 2020 has come…

  • Tilley Wool Fedora Montana Hat

    Last time I talked about Tilley hats, they more mostly warm weather hats. Ever since I was thinking about expanding my collection to include hats that I could wear in colder months of the year; specifically from labour day to Easter. After browsing a number of sites that could ship to Canada, I couldn’t quite…