RD's Camping and Travel Log

Feature 3 - What's in my pack (Volume 1)

2014-07-28T10:29:00.005-04:00

Here's a look at all the gear taken for my average trip. I don't have all the necessary gear to do a trip on my own, so as I collect more I'll write more volumes of "What's in my Pack". The missing gear is borrowed from my parents, or my friends bring. This will at least give you an idea of what's needed and how much you can fit in a pack. This pack is only about 50 litters, but I can strap plenty of stuff to the outside. Supplies vary from trip to trip, so this example is based on supplies for Trip 8, which I have yet to post.

In the pack

Wok
Small fry pan
Kettle
2 Plates
2 Bowls
2 Mugs
Cutlery (2 Spatula, 4 forks, 4 knives, 4 spoons, a jack knife...)
Tongs
Fire stuff (News paper, fire starters, matches, lighter, charcoal just in case, work gloves)
Hand saw
Grill
Grilling basket
Book on mushrooms of Algonquin Park (Which I've never read)
Clothes for day two
Towel
Toiletries & First Aid kit
Lantern
Camping dish soap, cloth and towel

Strapped to the pack

2 Chairs
Sleeping bag
Pillow (Decided to splurge on this trip)
2 Tarps (1 small, 1 medium)
Dry bag with valuables (Phone, keys, wallet, etc.)

Things worn

Clothes for day one
Life jacket
Binoculars
Camera
Park map
Water bottle (Frozen)

Food

Grapes (Inside 1L juice jug)
Juice concentrate
Deli meat
6 Flat bread buns
6 Granola bars
Cheese
Bacon
Eggs
Water bottle (Frozen)

What's missing

Camp stove
Pots and pans
More food
Tent
2 Camp mats
Barrel (Odor resistant pack for food)
Canoe
3 paddles (Need an extra for emergencies)
1 Life jacket (Need an extra for emergencies)

Everything that's in and on my pack

What my pack looks like with everything in it and on it.

What I wear and carry with me.

Cooler with my share of the food

Stuff I borrow from my parents.
Barrel, jacket, paddles, tent, air mats and canoe.

Questions?

Post a comment bellow, or tweet me if you want to know more. Are you're wondering why I packed something, or why I didn't? Do you want some help deciding what to pack for your own trip? I'm open for discussion so get in touch.

Trip 6 - Little Island Lake

2014-04-30T19:33:00.001-04:00

Travel Dates: June 23-24, 2012
Location: Algonquin Park, Ontario
Price: I forget (check current rates)
Distance Covered: Approx. 11.6 km there and back (not counting elevation on portages and wrong turns).

Extras:

Campsite: Little Island Lake

Photo Album
Video 1 - Heron on Tanamakoon Lake
Video 2 - Fishing on Little Island Lake

This was by far the most relaxed trip I've done to date. Maybe even a little too relaxed because I barely took any photos or videos this time around. It was a welcome change though, and for once I left the park less tired then when I arrived.

I met up with my friend, Nick, at Access Point 8 on Cache Lake around 8AM. The water was calm and we made good time as we casually paddled our way down the stretch leading to Tanamakoon Lake. We took a wrong turn, but ended up spotting a heron, so it was worth the mistake. I think it was on Tanamakoon Lake where we saw the heron. If someone who know's the area well is reading this, and know's if there's a heron there, feel free to correct me in the comments bellow. You can see the video at the link above, just please excuse the poor quality. From there, we were able to pass right through to Sheriff Pond, saving us the posted 120 meter portage. After a fairly easy 320 meter portage to Little Island Lake we arrived at our site some time between 10 and 11 AM. In hindsight, maybe we could have chosen a campsite on the other side of the lake, but I already had my sights on this spot. After setting up camp, I guess we were determined to take it easy because we didn't even consider going for a paddle. I think we were just happy to be out there with such nice weather and not a thing to do but enjoy the wilderness.

It was a very nice campsite, with a good fire pit, log benches, a work table set up between a couple trees, a small, somewhat sandy beach on one side where we parked the canoe and a rocky beach on the other side that was great for fishing and washing dishes. There was lots of flat space to set up the tent, and we decided on a lightly shaded area near some small trees. On top of it all we could hear the fish splashing away on either side, providing two different fishing spots. Not to mention, Nick actually caught some fish this time. They were just little things, certainly not trophy fish, but it was fun just the same and it gave us something to pass the time.

Well, that's all I can tell you about this trip. Check out the photo album and the short video clips in the extras section above. If there's anything you want to know or say, leave comments bellow and follow me on twitter. Don't forget to subscribe.

Until next time, take care.

Feature 2 - It's a Family Thing

2014-03-03T21:26:00.000-05:00

Fam and friends

I'm not sure how old I was when I first went camping, but I know my sister and I were small enough to sit side by side in the middle of the canoe. When I think back, I can't imagine how we had room for all our gear. Sure, we were smaller, but any time I've planned a trip the canoe was too full to add a child, let alone two. I think this speaks to how organized and experienced my parents were by then. On the other hand, they traveled light compared to me and my friends, with all our bells and whistles.

We used to go camping in Algonquin Park at least once every year, sometimes twice. We often went with a couple other families, the Todds and the Farmers. All together we were 6 adults and 8 children... sounds like a lot of work. On a few other occasions we brought friends or family members with us which was a nice change. We usually stayed two nights on Stratton Lake, spending one day at the nearby High Falls and leaving the next.

Me in squirt form

We did explore other lakes. I have vague memories of paddling trough areas with long grass sticking out of the water and hiking on trails somewhere. The first time I saw anybody place a coin on train tracks to be flattened was on one of those trips. Later on that hike we came across a strange looking object. Before anybody realized what it was, one of the girls picked it up. Turned out to me a moose hoof or something like that. Needless to say, she dropped it in a hurry.

My parents had been camping for many years before that and have been all over Algonquin Park. My trip 7 (to come), was the first where I visited a lake they haven't been on. Aside from having more years experience, they also have more interesting stories to tell. Some of which I hope to cover in future features. Keep an eye open.

Go Jump off a Rock!

Amateur portaging

When we were kids, we spent most of our time swimming and exploring. One year, we weren't able to get a campsite on Stratton Lake, so we camped on a super tiny lake off to the side. I'm not sure, but I suspect it was Marie Lake. To get there we had to do a 770 meter portage, up and over the mountain, which was the longest and hardest portage I had done at that point. We only carried over one canoe and used it as a fairy to the campsite. Once there, it was totally worth the effort. There were only two campsites on the tiny lake, and no one was using the other site. It was like our own private spot. After we got settled, me and two of the other kids paddled across the lake to check out a 20 foot high rock on the shore. The water bellow was nice and deep so we took full advantage. We each jumped off the rock a bunch of times before heading back to camp.

Amateur canoeing

However, the most memorable activity was going to High Falls. The falls near Stratton Lake make for a really amazing swimming hole. It basically consists of a large pool carved out of the rock by years of flowing water. A small water fall, about 6 meters wide, pours down one of the sides of the pool creating a natural water slide. On the opposite end of the pool, a stream winds its way down to a typical water fall. Bellow the falls is a very calm and deep lake which is a great spot for swimming.

The Taste of Memories, and Memories of Steak

I don't remember everything about our usual menu, but some things I won't forget. For example, when we arrived at Algonquin Park every year, we always had a light lunch before shipping out. The lunch we usually brought and I eventually grew to love were cheese and tomato sandwiches. Then, when we went to High Falls we always had trail mix, fruit and sandwiches made from canned ham. I remember we often had jiffy pop one night, which is always fun, but I don't think we ever did smores or even marshmallows for that matter. Maybe the parents thought is was too messy.

Washing dishes

Often included on our dinner menu were Lipton Sidekicks, which are super convenient and easy for camping. I only really remember one main course we had, and it was later in years, when I was in college. Camping with the immediate family plus a friend of my parents who knows how to identify edible wild mushrooms (Don't try this on your own, it can be very dangerous). We collected enough for dinner one night and sauteed them to eat with some grilled steak. That was probably my favourite camping dinner ever!

For breakfast, we might have had bacon and eggs sometimes, but I don't really remember. Sadly, I do remember having oatmeal packets for breakfast, which, as convenient as they are, they're not what I call a satisfying breakfast. Thankfully, we usually had oatmeal on the last day and afterwards we always stopped at Harvey's, so that made up for the disappointing breakfast.

Pictures

Me sliding at High Falls

It took me a long time to finish this post because I kept going through my parents photo collection and never finding the pictures I really wanted. I've included a few random pics, one from when I was just a little squirt and the rest from a trip where my sister and I invited some friends.

Well, that's a little background on me. I hope you enjoyed.

If there's anything you want to know about or say, leave comments bellow or follow me on twitter. Don't forget to subscribe. Until next time, take care.

Trip 5 - Lake Opeongo

2013-09-12T22:44:00.000-04:00

Travel Date: June 11-12, 2011
Location: Algonquin Park, Ontario
Price: Forgot (check current rates)
Distance Covered: Approx. 24km there and back (not counting elevation on portages and wrong turns).

Links:

Campsite: Lake Opeongo

Trip Photo Album
Trip Video

Trip Breakdown

My friend Nick had been suggesting Opeongo Lake for a few years. I kept putting it off, but finally caved. It's the largest lake in Algonquin Park, and the water can get pretty rough. Around 8AM, we met at access point 11, which is right on Opeongo Lake. Aside from the permit office, there's also an outfitting store if you need extra equipment. I think I actually forgot my life jacket and was able to rent one there. The layout made it pretty quick and easy to unload the cars and pack the canoe. Though, in hindsight, we should have taken an extra minute to tie everything in. Then we grabbed our permit and took a quick look around the store before shoving off.

Lakes & Portages

I'll start with the portages. There were none. Now for the lake.

Opeongo is a pretty big lake, so we just paddled from one end to the other. Not to say there's no challenge. It can get really windy and wavy out in the middle of the lake. It's probably wise, especially for beginners, to stay close to the edges... which we didn't do. We were pretty lucky the canoe didn't capsize since the gear wasn't tied in.

We paddled about 12 Km to our campsite. The distance wasn't too bad, but the waves are what tired us out. To make things more difficult, we were trying to find, Hailstorm Creek, a nature reserve on the north west part of the lake. The plan was to set up camp near there then explore the creek. We looked for the site we wanted for a while until we were too tired and just took our best guess. Even the next day we were too tired to go looking for Hailstorm Creek. Disappointing, but that's how it goes.

Once there we had time to set up camp, do a little fishing and watch the water taxi go by before it started raining. Did I mention you can get a water taxi on Opeongo? By the time we made it there we we're thinking we should have taken advantage of that option. Anyway we covered our stuff with a spare tarp and sat by the fire to dry our shoes while it rained. The campsite was a little awkward because it was on the side of a hill, but it had everything we needed and we were able to make an excellent cooking fire for our steak dinner.

It was windy and over cast most of the weekend, and it rained a little on our way out, but the water was more calm. Thankfully we didn't have to go against the waves either.

Highlights

This was a good trip. We could have done a few things differently, and the weather wasn't the best, but it was an adventure and that's what we're after. It was nice taking a break from portaging and it was fun to ride the waves. Nearly capsizing the canoe a few times was stressful, but made things more exciting. By the way, a little tip for paddling rough waters. Don't fiddle with you're camera. My fiddling almost made us capsize at least once. Also, don't forget to tie your stuff down. Anyway, there weren't as many sights to see on this trip, but I got some okay footage of the waves and our close calls. To see those and more, check out the photos and the video listed above. That's all for now.

If there's anything you want to know or say, leave comments bellow and follow me on twitter. Don't forget to subscribe. Until next time, take care.

Feature 1 - Tips on Packing

2013-05-06T21:25:00.000-04:00

Packing for your trip may seem like a simple job, but there are things you want to watch out for. So, here are some guidelines I use to make sure I have everything I need, and nothing I don't need.

My goal is to get everything into two packs. The idea, is that with only two packs, portaging is much easier and less time consuming. My model is to have all my clothing, toilitries and sleeping gear (tent, sleeping bag and matt, ect.) in the first pack. The second pack holds all my food and kitchen tools.

Pack 1 - Clothing and Sleeping Gear

The first thing is to get an idea of the weather and length of trip. Keep an eye on the weather forecast to see if it's going to rain, what the temperature will be and if it'll be windy. Don't forget to consider how cold will it get at night. Also, keep in mind how many days and nights you'll be gone.

If you consider that you aren't arriving at the park in your birthday suite then you're going to save yourself some pack space, and maybe a little dignity. Generally, on the first day, I'll wear shorts, an under shirt, a t-shirt and some sandals. I'll keep shoes, pants and a sweatshirt handy, and pack them at the last minute if I think I need them. It may not seems like much, but these few things can take up valuable pack space.

Let's say I'm going on a two day trip, and the first day I'm already wearing most of my clothes. If the weather's going to be mostly warm and no rain, I'll just pack an extra shirt, and for night time a pair of warm socks and a sweatshirt. If it's going to be cold and rainy, I'll pack the same stuff, but throw in a pair of pants and light shoes. Regardless of the forecast, I always bring a small plastic poncho, and that takes care of the rain. Usually you don't want to fill the pack with too much clothing because arguably the tent and sleeping gear are more important.

The tent, sleeping bag and matt can hopefully be strapped to the out side of the pack, so they don't take up space inside. That saves room for toilitries. You'll need toilet papper, cuz honestly, who wants to use leaves? A tooth brush and some mini tubes of tooth paste, shampoo, soap and hand sanitizer. I also throw in a small first aid kit and some pain killers, just in case. Don't forget to bring a towel. I have a light, medium sized towel that I like to use, but you can get some camping towels that are absorbent and compact. Those are the basics, but you may want to add a few extra things based on the weather or your individual needs. You get the idea?

Pack 2 - Food and Cooking Supplies

This pack can get out of control quickly, especially if you're like me, in that my eyes are bigger than my stomach. For this reason it helps to be organized, so I ask myself a bunch of questions. What's my menu going to be? What are the ingredients, and how much of each do I need? Do I need oil, butter or seasonings? What will I drink with my meals? How will I prepare my meals? What pots, pans, utensils or other tools do I need? Do I have a camping stove and enough fuel for the trip?

To give you an idea, let's say I'm going to have steak, a potato and some fried veggies for dinner. I'll want to bring my grill so I can cook the steak on a nice open flame. I'll want some tin foil for the potato so the flames don't char the skin. I need to make sure I have a pot large enough to fry the veggies, along with some oil or butter. I'm probably going to want some seasoning or extra butter for everything. I'm going to need some tongs for the steak, and maybe a large spoon for the veggies. In the morning, I'm having oatmeal and coffee. I need a pot to boil water, a bowl to hold the oatmeal, and a spoon. I'll need a mug for the coffee and maybe some cream and sugar. I might just take instant coffee, but I'm a bit of a coffee snob, so I'll need to bring a press too, space permitting. This is the kind of thought process I go through, before I start packing.

Don't forget that you'll need to wash up too. A dish cloth and dish towel should suffice. Growing up, camping with my family we used sand instead of soap and it actually works quite well at cutting the grease, but you can also get some biodegradable soap.

One last thing to consider here is your stove. You really should have one, even if you plan to cook on the open flame. This is because, you never know for sure, until you get to your site if you'll be able to have a fire or not. Even then, it's always handy to have. I often use both. I'll use the fire and grill for the steak and potato and the stove for the veggies. Don't forget the lighter, and matches to back it up.

Hopefully that gives you a good idea of what you need for this pack. Really, there's much that could be said here, but it all depends on what you want and then you need to tailor your "kitchen" accordingly.

Extras

Here's where the packs suddenly fill up and you have to start leaving things out, because at the end of the day these things aren't always needed. Like, I usually bring my camera and accessories, a deck of cards and a small booklet on the mushrooms of Algonquin Park (After several years I've still never read a word of it, but I might some day and it barely takes up any room). My friend Nick always brings his fishing gear. Suffice to say, you might want to bring something to pass the time.

Another popular extra is a pillow. Personally, I grew up using either a bag of clothing or my life jacket as a pillow, so that really saves on space. But, there's a lot to be said about having a good pillow, especially when you're basically sleeping on the ground. You can find some decent camping pillows that are inflatable, or can be compacted into a small bag. I haven't invested in anything like this yet, but I have taken some small pillows from home, provided there's space in the pack.

Some extras are more important than others. For example, you're probably going to want a flashlight or two. I usually keep one with my clothing pack and another with the kitchen stuff. I've also experimented with bring small solar patio lights. An oven mitt can be really handy to have, but you can always use a towel if needed. I keep a pair of work gloves with the kitchen stuff, they come in handy. I always make sure I have extra matches. I like to bring news paper and/or fire starters to help if the fire wood is damp. I could go on forever, but I think you get the idea.

Two Packs? Check out Mister Luxury!

For some added perspective. Two packs per person is quite luxurious. Way back in the day, my parents claim they only had two packs in all. That's one pack per person! Sure I could argue that, the gear these days is bulkier, but that would only be true of things like, camp mats, sleeping bags, tents and many other things who's bulk can be attributed to luxury. I could also try to say something obnoxious like, "This isn't your parents camping", but that would seem to imply that my trips are more intense than there's were... given my gear is luxurious by comparison and I know for a fact that my trips haven't yet been as extensive as theirs, that would make the statement exceptionally hard to believe.

Trip 4 - Booth Lake

2012-12-16T18:46:00.000-05:00

Travel Date: May 15th - 16th, 2010

Location: Algonquin Park, Ontario

Price: Don't remember, but as of 2012-13 the current fee is $11.75/person/night, plus a parking fee.

Distance Covered: Approx. 18km there and back (not counting elevation on portages and wrong turns).

Links:

Parks Ontario - Algonquin

Friends of Algonquin

Campsite: Booth Lake

Trip Photo Album

Trip Breakdown & Itinerary

This was a much more leisurely trip from the two prior. We didn't cover nearly as much distance this time, but it was a good little trek none the less. Nick and I met in Matawaska, in the Stinson parking lot where Major Lake road meets Highway 60. From there, we drove into the park, towards Access Point 17, Shall Lake. I don't know what time it was when we arrived, but I imagine that it was around eight in the morning. We got our camping and parking permits as well as a couple bags of wood (it's a lot to haul, but nice to have incase you can't find enough wood lying around). Then packed the canoe and headed out, probably close to nine in the morning. First through Farm Lake, followed by a short, 90 meter, portage. Then a quick paddle through Kitty Lake and a fair, 550 meter portage to arrive on Booth Lake. We canoed just over half way through Canoe Lake, choosing one of the last campsites on the map. By the time we arrived at the site I think it was just past noon.

Lakes & Portages

Farm Lake and Kitty Lake were both very nice and calm. Right at the beginning of Farm Lake there was a little bridge or something that we had to pass under. It also starts out a little narrow, and eventually opens up. These are simple little things, but they make the paddle more interesting. At first we actually thought there was only one portage to do, so when we started we were ready to do a good hike. After a minute though, the portage ended unexpectedly. So, a quick look at the map and we realized that was just a warm up. Kitty Lake was very short, I don't remember any details but we must have crossed it in a matter of minutes. There isn't much to say about the next portage other than it was longer. Both were in relatively good condition and we didn't have any great difficulty with either portage. Booth Lake was a little bit choppy at first but quickly cleared up though there was plenty of wind. This is to be expected since it's larger than the other two lakes.

Highlights

There actually hasn't been much to say about this trip so far. However, there are two highlights. The first being that we saw a moose near the end of Farm Lake. I got some photos and a video, but sadly the quality doesn't do the moose any justice. Other than that, I'm excited because I got more video footage on this trip than any of our others to date. I was more prepared in that respect this time and I bought a handy little tripod from MEC that prooved versatile. We experimented with different ways of fastenning it to packs, paddles, jackets and even a tree at one point in order to take better shots and include both of us in them. Again, the video quality isn't the best, and of course it downgraded a bit more once on YouTube but if you'll excuse that I've edited the video down to about 6 minutes worth of time you can kill instead of doing more important things. Check it out bellow. That's it for trip 4. Check out my other trips if you haven't already and keep coming back to enjoy more.

Trip 3 - Galeairy & Rock Lake

2012-07-29T20:48:00.000-04:00

Travel Date: May 30th - 31st, 2009

Location: Algonquin Park, Ontario

Price: Don't remember, but as of 2012-13 the current fee is $11.75/person/night, plus a parking fee.

Distance Covered: Approx. 28km there and back (not counting elevation on portages and wrong turns).

Links:

Parks Ontario - Algonquin

Friends of Algonquin

Campsite: Rock Lake

Trip Photo Album

Trip Breakdown

This was one of the most exciting trips we've had to date. I was a little more organized in terms of taking pictures and videos so I have more to show. It was a pretty difficult trip. We had to cross two big lakes and we got turned around trying to locate the portage, which was only one hundred meters. However, the trip was mostly exciting because we got caught in a snow storm. Cold!

Itinerary

The plan for this trip was really simple. We only stayed one night this time, so we couldn't go as far, but I still wanted to do a fair trek. We met in Whitney Ontario,Access Point 13, sometime in the early morning, and drove up to the East Gate of the park to get our permits and such. Back down to Whitney, packed the canoe and headed off through Galeairy Lake. Near the end we had some trouble finding the portage and ended up getting turned around as a result. We took a break on an Island, had a snack and planned our next move. It paid off, we were headed in the right direction and saw some people come out from the inlet. I'm not sure I'm remembering the portage correctly, but I feel like it was a little narrow, rocky and a couple little hills. By the time we got out of the portage we were pretty tired so we paddle into Rock Lake a little way and set up camp. It must have been around one or two in the afternoon by then.

Lakes & Portages

These lakes were pretty nice, standards lakes. They're a nice distance for a good paddle. There are lots of little bays and inlets to explore throughout Galeairy which may have contributed to us getting lost near the end. There seems to be more traffic on Rock Lake, I know there's a camp ground at the north end. Since we stopped at the third campsite we saw, we didn't end up exploring much of the lake. In the the end it was probably a good thing we didn't go much further.

Our campsite was in a bay on the side of a cliff. The cliff was cool and we had a pretty decent view of the lake. When we were ready to start the fire it was getting pretty windy. So, we set up a tarp between the fire and the lake to help cut down on the wind. It was a nice campsite, a log bench, a plywood table, and it was pretty flat, which is always nice for sleeping. Despite all that, it didn't seem like the best spot to be in when we woke up the next morning.

The Storm

So, it rained pretty hard all night, and it was windy, very windy. Oh yeah! Did I mention the cold. It was cold, very very cold. Like, I'm wearing my wool socks and three shirts in my sleeping bag, kind of cold. Lucky for us it was clear when we got out of the tent. Not lucky for us, by the time we started cooking breakfast we could see more of the storm come towards us from across the lake. We cooked breakfast as fast as possible. It was actually really awesome. Bacon, toasted baguette and scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and Jarlsberg cheese.

Anyway, back to storm. We scarf our breakfast as fast as we can and duck inside the tent for cover just as it starts to pour. This wasn't so bad, we often keep a lot of our stuff under the little shelter flaps at each door of the tent. So, this way we were able to pack up most of our gear while waiting for a lull in the storm. Quickly we packed up our tent and remaining gear, tossed everything in the canoe and took off. Now this is the fun part. Thankfully the water in the bay was fairly calm because at the edge of the bay were three foot waves that would soon be traveling diagonally across our bow. Normally this wouldn't be too big a deal, but considering we were in a bay the waves would be pushing us right back in, and in this case, straight towards the big rock cliff. We had to be sure we could paddle across the waves, out around the cliff and there wasn't much room. So, we headed towards the opposite side of the bay. When we reached the edged we had to swing the canoe around quickly so the waves wouldn't push us over. Now we were ridding the waves.

It was awesome! I wish I could have got a video, but that would have been a bad idea. It would have been pretty sweet to ride the waves all the way home but the water calmed down once we got out around the cliff. The whole time it was snowing and I did manage to get a photo and video of some of that. From then on it was more or less smooth sailing all the way home. Then sun even came out a little.

This concludes Trip 3. Bellow you can check out the video of us caught in the storm. Come back for more. :-)

Trip 2 - Burnt Island Lake

2012-06-19T22:54:00.001-04:00

Travel Date: July 26th - 28th, 2008

Location: Algonquin Park, Ontario

Price: Don't remember, but as of 2012-13 the current fee is $11.75/person/night, plus a parking fee.

Distance Covered: Approx. 30 km, not counting elevation on portages and wrong turns.

Links:
Parks Ontario - Algonquin
Friends of Algonquin
Campsite 1: Teepee Lake

Campsite 2: Burnt Island Lake

Trip Photo Album

Trip Breakdown

Itinerary

This is the kind of camping I'm more accustomed to, back country camping by canoe. I planned a loop that would take us around to Burnt Island Lake staying two nights in the park. Being the first canoe trip I had ever planned I didn't know how long it would take us to cover the distance. So, by 10AM we were already at our first campsite. We had each been up since around 3AM, so at least we had plenty of time to rest for the next day. Early dinner and early to bed.

The following morning we set off to Fawn Lake, followed by Littledoe Lake. Then we had a awfully long 1140 meter portage followed immediately by a shorter 200 meter portage and we had arrived at Burnt Island Lake. We paddled around a bit looking for a site and set one up by about noon. We had time to have some lunch, fix up the fire pit, gather some wood, and chill a bit before starting dinner.

The next morning we headed out the same short portage we came in and quickly made our way through the Baby Joe Lake. Then we did a somewhat difficult 435 meter portage. Then a really short paddle followed by another 165 meter portage followed by... nothing. So, we portage more, through the woods until we found some water. This was Little Joe Lake which ran into Joe Lake, closing the loop. I believe we made it back to the Access Point at about noon.

Lakes & Portages

The water was pretty calm all through the park so the paddling was easy, and we didn't get turned around too much because they had plenty of signs pointing to the portages and/or lakes.

On the second day we finally made it to Burnt Island after that gruling 1140 meter portage I mentioned before. We were awfully tired and didn't feel much like scouting the whole lake to find a prime campsite. There were a few near the beginning, but then we just stopped seeing them. So, we did some poking around the official Burnt Island (at least I hope we were looking at the right Island) then headed back to a site we saw near the lake entrance.

The camp site on Burnt Island Lake was pretty good, except for a couple things. One, it was on an island (not Burnt Island though). The problem with this is that you have limited wood resources and scrounging for just the smallest amount of kindling can take some time or just be down right fruitless. Second, it was wide open to the wind. I mean, this can make a nice site, but when you're fire pit is right out in the open it can be a pain to get a good camp fire going. Either you can't get it started due to the excessive wind, or the wood burns faster because of all the air flow. Of course, on top of that, the people who previously used the fire pit obviously weren't using it for practical reasons. You could tell from the slightly charred tree branches above and a pit that was no more than a large circle formed with a dozen rocks. They made a huge huge fire, just for entertainment, and they burnt up all the wood they could find. There were even axe marks all over trees and they had obviously chopped down a few which I believe is prohibited under the park rules. So anyway, we spent a good 20 minutes or so building a new, functional fire pit.

Later that day we had some difficulty getting the fire going, due to all the wind. I remember we dropped a sausage in the fire too. It's not always easy or doable, but it's nice to have a level cooking surface, especially if your cooking things that are prone to rolling. That night we heard a suspicious sound while nodding off to sleep. The next day we discovered a chipmunk had eaten a whole into our garbage bag and pulled out a bunch of the garbage. We should have put it in the food barrel or something else overnight.

Encounters

Sailboat Pinball

Being the first time I planned a canoe trip I didn't really know how quickly we would cover the distance to our first camp site. At one point we were actually further ahead then I expected. So, we came around a corner to find the lake full of sail boats that were making their way back and forth across the lake in front of us. This... had never happened to me before, and I didn't know what to do. From looking at the map it seemed like we had to cross them diagonally. Truthfully, not a good approach. We weeved our way through all the boats and eventually made it without any mishaps or near misses. Once through however, a woman in a motor boat came zooming out from where we were heading and stopped to talk to us. I guess maybe she felt we were disturbing her sailing class, or whatever was going on. I don't know. She asked to know where we were headed. I point to where she came from and said, "Teepee Lake". She told us that we had to head to the right side of the lake, not the left. So, I guess we could have gone around all the sail boats and kept to the waters edge after all. Oops, we'll know for next time.

Lone Ranger

Later that day, after we set up our site and were trying to dry out some damp wood to get a fire started, we had a park ranger stop by our site. This was another first for me, and started to wonder if we were in the wrong place. Turns out, he was just doing rounds to make sure campers were registered. So, he was on his way after showing him our registration and having a quick chat.

Sightings

The Plane

Not long after we had set up the camp on day 2 we were taking a nap when we heard the roar of a nearby plane. After we heard it fly by a couple times, then continue to make some noise we finally left the tent to see what was up. Luckily, we got out just in time to see the plane taking off from the lake. That was pretty cool to see, it's just too bad we didn't have time to snap a picture.

Canada Geese

There were so many geese all over this section of the park. I don't know if it was because of the time of year. Maybe it's because that area gets lots of traffic and more people feeding them, or leaving food around. They were everywhere though, and they weren't too worried about keeping their distance either. We had several fairly close encounters, but check out this video on the right. Almost looked like one of them was going to attack Nick.

Trip 1 - Mont Megantic, Quebec

2011-10-27T12:05:00.000-04:00

Travel Date: May 20 - 21, 2006

Location: Mont. Megantic, Quebec

Price: Don't remember, but on the website it currently seems to be about $23 per person.

Distance Covered: Approx. 10.7 km, maybe more if you count our trek up the mountain

Links:
Park Website
Google Map

Trip Photo Album

My first trip, is of course the one kind of camping trip I forgot to mention in the introduction, hiking. Maybe that's because it's the only hiking trip I've ever done, but I do hope to do more of these trips in the future. This is the trip, for the purposes of this blog anyway, that started it all. That is, it was my first camping trip I went on without my family. I will however at some point, let you in on some of the camping experience I had with them while growing up. Let's begin.

My friend Nick, who invited me on the trip, did the planning and made the arrangements, so I have few details in that respect. I met up with Nick in his home town on the Friday night and we went and bought the food we needed for the trip. The next day we got up early enough, packed up and headed for the mountain. I think we arrived around 10:00AM. It was raining, just a little drizzle, so we threw on our rain jackets and headed out. I believe the camp site was around the 2.2 km mark, and we were pretty damp when we got there. Nick had rented a Yurt, or tent cabin as they call it on the website. Basically, this is a cabin frame wrapped with a tarp like material and usually houses bed frames to set your mat and sleeping bag on, a wood stove, and hopefully a table/bench. It was quite comfortable and there was a stash of wood piled in a shelter next to the cabin.

Once at the cabin we unpacked our gear, set up our beds, cooking supplies and made use of a little clothes line that was already set up near the stove. Mostly, it was great to get out of the rain. The cabin warmed up quickly and it was nice not having to bring a tent. For clothing I always try to pack as little as possible, while keeping a mind to the weather forecast in the area. Packing light is always important, but even more so when hiking as apposed to canoeing, since you have to carry everything. I can't remember the details of what clothing I brought, but my camping experience tells me it went something like this: 2 pairs of socks, 2 pairs of underwear, 2 shirts, 1 pair of shorts, a hat, basic running shoes, I think I may have also hauled my sandals around, they can be handy to have. This would include what I was wearing, so not all of that was in the pack. I probably left a change of clothes in the car too, it's nice to have them even if you don't end up using them.

After setting up the Yurt and drying off, we headed for a trail that lead to the mountain top. Luckily it had mostly finished raining by this point and there was good cover under the trees. The trail ran along a stream that went all the way up the mountain (or down the mountain, as it were). We started off at a fair pace and managed to jog a bit, but after a while it seemed to be taking forever. We took a number of pictures along the way, including some sections of the stream where it ran right under the trail and along the roots of trees (see video bellow). I also took a photo of Nick further up the trail, between all the trees (see photo & video album above). At one point we found a patch of snow, so naturally we had a snowball fight. Finally, we made it to the top where there was a large telescope... and a road. You mean we could have drove up? Figures! You wouldn't believe the view though, it was so... so... it was really foggy. We couldn't see a darn thing! I did snap an awesome photo of the fog hovering above the tree tops though, which I often use as a wallpaper on my computer. In fact, it's the background of this blog. Anyway, we snapped a few more photos and hiked back down. Not much to say about that, same story in reverse and played out more quickly. I'm not sure what the distance was and can't figure it out from the website, it seemed a good deal more than the 2.2 km we started with though, and much steeper an incline. Needless to say, we were pretty tired when we made it back to the camp. After a little break we made dinner. Nick and I often eat very well when we're camping. I can't remember exactly what we had, though we did start off with some brie and a baguette though. We were able to toast the baguette with the wood stove, which was awesome. Other than that, all I remember were sausage patties. Finally, a night cap of hot chocolate and Crown Royal to wash it all down.

Don't remember at all what we had from breakfast the next morning. Luckily though, weather was nice and sunny. That was great because we had further to go that day, and the hiking was much more pleasant despite being sore from going up and down the mountain the previous day. We got a some nice pictures along the trail. We stopped by a stream at one point to cool our water bottles, and have some lunch. Don't really remember the lunch either, though I think it was sandwiches made of left overs. I think we made it back down around noon, but again my memory is foggy on the details.

Well, that's the first story. Hope you enjoyed it and I promise to get better at this as I go, as well as provided more details, useful and/or interesting.

Here's a video showing a section where the water rushed under our feet and among the tree roots which were keeping the ground above intact.

Introduction

2011-09-14T14:37:00.001-04:00

Hi there,

As I've outlined in my blog description this will be an on-going set of blogs that will help you explore the experiences I've had on my annual camping trip (or trips, if I'm lucky enough to go more than once a year). I'll also be adding posts regarding traveling that I've done, though I don't have many opportunities to do so (I hope to change that).

I have two main goals which I hope to accomplish. One, document more thoroughly my camping exploits and provide greater context to my photos and short video clips. Two, I hope to be able to inform and help you in your search for good camping opportunities, and share with you some of my tips and tricks that I've learned in my life time of experience, albeit somewhat amateur, doing back country camping.

Lastly, some background info you may like to know. When I say camping, I'm talking about what is commonly referred to as "back country" camping. This means, canoeing, portaging, sleeping in tents, and ideally cooking by use of a camp fire. Most importantly, to me, this also means camping in a location that is not accessible by automobile. In other words, this is not about camping in "tent cities". If you don't know what I mean about "tent cities", I mean those so-called "camp sites" where everyone drives in with their cars, parks, puts up a tent right there, can see their neighbors all around them, and often proceeds to drink the night away until they pass out either in their tent or lying on the nearby picnic table...

Not that "tent city" camping can't be fun in it's own right, and I may share such experiences with you from time to time, but this blog just isn't meant to be about those trips.

Enjoy!