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10/07/2018 10:13 am  #1


Western Uplands Trail Sept 28-Oct3 2018

Finally walked the whole big loop (don’t want to say hiked, as that implies vigour and speed). It was dark, cloudy, drizzly weather most days, and the trail was fairly mucky, with a lot of trees down everywhere.

I started Friday walking to Steeprise lk, starting around 3 p.m. To Clara lk on Saturday, Islet lk Sunday, West Otterpaw lk on Monday, Thunder Lake Tuesday, and out on Wednesday.

With under 12 hours of daylight, that was a good schedule, giving me about 1.5 hrs of daylight in camp in the morning, 7.5 hours hiking and 1.5 hours in camp in the evening before dark. 7.5 hrs x 2km/hr= about 15km per day. I know 2km per hour seems slow but it is a realistic pace for a middle aged guy travelling solo i.e., carefully. Not trying to win any prizes, just want to see some beauty and breathe some fresh air...mission accomplished.


I’ve posted some pics with a report here:
https://neelands.smugmug.com/Hiking-trips/Big-Loop-Algonquin-Western-Uplands-Trail-Sept-2018

Some pics:

Near Stammer Lake



Maggie Lake rare sunshine



Thunderbox at West Otterpaw Lk east site



Susan Lake lookout

 

10/07/2018 9:14 pm  #2


Re: Western Uplands Trail Sept 28-Oct3 2018

Now I'm even more depressed. I was planning a hiking trip this week and had to cancel.
Sounds like a nice trip. 


Dave
 

10/08/2018 8:03 am  #3


Re: Western Uplands Trail Sept 28-Oct3 2018

Great that you did the whole loop. Some nice colors! I agree that trail needs more look outs. I have wanted to do the whole loop for a while but thought it might be a bit boring. Trees and dirt can get a monotonous after a while. Where did you get the Pacer poles?

 

10/08/2018 11:46 am  #4


Re: Western Uplands Trail Sept 28-Oct3 2018

It’s too bad that those dang trees are wrecking the view. On one hand, I can understand why the forest is allowed to do what it does and grow. On the other hand, cut a few trees at each of the lookouts and suddenly we have a grand vista.

 

10/08/2018 8:57 pm  #5


Re: Western Uplands Trail Sept 28-Oct3 2018

Thanks for the comments.

Re: trees: If Algonquin were a Wilderness park, then I'd say don't mess with the trees. But it's not, so cutting a few trees and making a few vistas here and there would be nice, especially at Stammer Lake, where you are up so high and can see McCraney Lake shining in the distance, sort of, behind that branch, maybe.

Re: Pacer Poles: I ordered them online from pacer pole dot com and had them shipped from the UK. They were not cheap (L 79). A birthday present for myself a few years ago. They are definitely different. I like not having to deal with any straps. They fit the hand really well (dedicated left and right poles) with a base under the heel of the thumb that you can press on for support.

Re: monotony:  Yea, some sections were boring, like the whole east side south of Thunder Lake. I also found that parts of the trail that were former logging tote roads were annoying because they have less grade to them, and usually have more muddy sections. Where the trail veers away from the old tote roads it becomes naturally drier and more interesting.

@Algonquin Tripper  That's too bad. I think the leaves are peaking now. It was still a bit green when I went. But hey, there's always next year. The trail aint going anywhere.

     Thread Starter
 

Board footera

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