I love how everyone looks grumpy, but Jeff looks like he's having the time of his life.

"I'm not clear on the materials used for these experiments in terms of what prevents the pipes and/or chimney from charring the canvas of the tent that the people are sleeping in, where the canvas meets the hot metal."


Hot tenters use 'stove jacks' made out of fire-resistant materials around the area where the pipe enters/exits the tent. You can even make one yourself out of a silicone baking sheet, with a hole in the middle and velcro around the outside.  A whole world of hot tenting awaits!

Here is a thoughtful comment I’m pasting from Reddit by user CanuckBacon (not me):


I struggled to understand why they would do it, but have found three explanations that make at least some sense:

• To stem future May Long plans, as big bonfire parties have already been the source of transmission elsewhere (Grey Bruce). COVID-19 spreads less effectively outdoors but when people drink alcohol and party, they often get real close to each other
• The cost of rescuing someone in danger or who needs help is higher right now because emergency services are mainly focused on COVID-19, especially ICUs in many places.
• Avoiding people travelling. In the summer if people in Southern Ontario see that's there's tons of camping up here (because provincial parks are closed to camping right now). If people in big cities experiencing major outbreaks travel to"get away from it" they could end up in rural communities for food, gas, etc and interacting with people in settings where people don't have their guard up as much.

End quote.


So for those complaining about exemptions to the rule for treaty rights, keep in mind that the indigenous treaty-rights holder is not going to be driving North from Toronto to invade crown land. Likewise, if you live next to crown land, nobody cares what you do. This is to stop Bobby and Suzie from dragging their camper up highway 400 or whatever, getting a flat, breathing on the repair people, going to Tim’s, going to your local food-mart, breathing on you, and then invading your peaceful logging road campsite.
 

I've taken noobs to the park a few times. I ruled out Canoe Lake because it requires a fair bit of open water crossing once you pass the islands in the middle. This can be intimidating for noobs if the waves and wind are up a bit.

I've taken complete noobs to Pen Lake. There is very little big open water to cross, you've got a sheltered river section to begin with to acclimate to the boat and the paddlers before hitting the lake. One well-travelled portage of moderate difficulty (for Algonquin). A dock at the other end.

The Smoke lake trip is fine, but it can be intimidating for noobs right at the beginning because it requires an immediate crossing. Then you need to choose your shore to hug.

If you are just slow, then it is not a problem. If you are 'weak' then I'd go with Rock-Pen. I don't have experience with the other routes.

edited to add the word 'not' in the third last sentence!

Don't forget the longest days of the year are in June!

Nothing good ever lasts.  

West Otterpaw?

Interesting to hear people's thoughts on the topic of park fees. 

I recall doing an online Ontario Parks survey a few years ago that involved a lot of questions asking my feelings about certain price points, along the lines of "Would a fee of $X change the number of times per year that you would visit the park?" etc. I think I said $20 a night was a threshold I'd not be too happy about exceeding.

I can see where there would be a lot of pressure on Ministry staff to increase revenue in the southern Ontario parks that support the rest of the park system. 

In this thread, some ideas:

1) a minimum fee per site...(like Temagami and Massassauga will implement this year)
2) a long-weekend rate increase
3) a location based rate (Quetico charges more for certain entry points)
4) residency based rate (Non-residents pay more; this is already the case in NW Ontario)

Looking at the back-country fee page for 2020, there is a great variety of rate schemes. I get the feeling that maybe they are trying out all kinds of stuff to see what works. maybe in the future every park will have a different scheme.

Worst comes to worst, I think some combo of those ideas in the list would work well. A higher rate / or flat rate per site for popular lakes on Highway 60, with cheaper rates for less-travelled lakes a few portages into the park. Then a surcharge for long weekends.

As for as charging non-residents more, I'm not sure we ought to be chasing visitors off. Anecdotal, but one group I spoke to in Quetico last summer was pretty sore about the extra fees they had to pay, to the point that they were considering staying in the BWCA in Minnesota this summer.