It’s not too cheap but is incredibly durable- thin diameter cord for climbing applications. Most outdoor recreation stores (MEC, Bushtukah, Wild Rock, etc) should have it, usually on a spool and about $1-$1.50/m if I recall. It’s very slow stretch. For cheaper, lower stress, stretchier applications I’ve also been happy with quality paracord. I doubt major hardware stores have anything that’s really worthwhile.

Fair enough, it was a lot of typing though . I've gotta say if I was leaving I probably still would have been inclined to take the rum, but I've come to learn that I can't explain other people's behaviour. 

I did read the ghost tent thread on MyCCR and to me it seemed like most people were not sympathetic to them, and would happily take them down. Of course no one is suggesting dismantling someone else's active campsite, but it's pretty easy to tell the difference (IE, is the tent a cheap piece of junk that's completely empty and just acting as a space holder, usually monitored for days). Most of that conversation referred to crown land, but leaving ghost tents in Algonquin is surely against the rules as well as being morally dubious.

I guess I need to provide the full set of circumstances to avoid being immediately judged as a thief!

It was a small lake with 2 sites on it. We had one reservation for the weekend, and the second site was already booked when I made my reservation. When we arrived at the lake you could see one party set up on the other site, and you couldn't see the site with the green tent on it. We paddled over to the unoccupied site and were surprised to see a tent set up, as well as other garbage (or unrelinquished possessions, depending on your perspective I guess): A brand new, incredibly low quality fishing rod/reel missing some parts, which were later found strewn around the campsite, The packaging for said fishing rod as well as other fishing gear, A 1/3 full glass bottle of Appleton's rum, Miscellaneous other garbage/packaging. Naturally, we immediately assumed that the site was occupied (illegally, as we were the second permit holder for the lake that night) and pondered our next step. The tenants of the other site on the lake walked over (the sites are in pretty close proximity) and we chatted about the tent and the fact that when they arrived on the lake they also assumed that site was taken so they went to the other site. However, no one had shown up to the green tent in the hours between when they arrived and we arrived. 

We all decided that in fact, the tent had been abandoned. That perception was reinforced by taking a look inside the tent (breaking and entering?)- it was completely empty save for the inch of rain water pooled in the low end (thanks Canadian Tire). With that, we decided to declare the items abandoned, and proceeded to set up on our reserved site (yes, I understand you don't reserve specific sites in Algonquin- again, 2 sites on the lake, 2 permit holders in attendance on the lake, we each get one). Over the next 2 days no one showed up to claim their garbage. When we left we packed up all our stuff, and all the garbage, and left the site in nice,

Amazing, just bought the developers a couple coffees.

I will quote again from my March 11, 2020 email from Ontario Parks, which was a followup to my original inquiry. In other words, in early 2020, this was the second time that they lied about intending to reinstate this level of information on the booking site:

"Thank you for your response.
 
We want to assure you that we are working closely with our service provider to address your outlined concerns. We are unable to provide an estimated timeline for implementation of backcountry zone occupancy at this time. Thank you again for your feedback.
 
Sincerely,
 
Ontario Parks"

I'm glad someone was willing to get up and do it. Obviously it's not impossible, and it's great to have that information available again.

rgcmce wrote:

petey wrote:

.... Regardless, we are in a much different situation compared to last year and more things were open last summer.

We are currently running almost a factor of 10 higher than the case rate for this date last year with the death rate being about the same.
(Sorry petey, I was quoting Austin.M, not you)

 
Year over year case rate comparisons aren’t very useful however. Our testing protocol is way more thorough now than it was then. Hospitalization and deaths were a more accurate indicator- look at the first wave vs second (spring vs fall of 2020)- the hospitalization numbers were similar but the ‘case numbers’ were way higher in the fall. It just means we were actually testing by the fall. If the case rate in spring of 2020 was accurate, THAT varient (the original) would have been far and away the most deadly, but our case counts weren’t accurate.

I think you’re right. Unfortunately for them they can’t say it outright, so I’m going to bug them again! 

It shouldn’t be too much to ask for a FOI on the current park usage stats. That information must be pretty at-hand, with the reservation system they know the party size per reservation made.

I would suspect that it averages out to about 4, but I don’t know. But in the end it doesn’t really matter- if the system was operating at a 10% deficit they should raise the prices by 10%. Easy as that, no one would complain, most people wouldn’t even notice. This isn’t a business, it’s not necessary to maximize revenue or ‘streamline models’ (ie, just make the prices similar...? How this would have any practical ‘streamlining’ function I can not imagine... what are they even attempting to ‘streamline’?).

Any costs incurred by making a reservation are surely covered by the reservation fee, and CAMIS is the party responsible for that. The park’s operating expenses are going to be higher level things- flying planes to check ice out, having rangers and front line staff and washrooms and parking lots, clearing portages, all the office costs. In the end I would think that the cost of running a park is pretty much based on how many people go to the park, and not the act of having a campsite and booking people on it. Raise prices 10%, and you’re done. All the downsides of the per site pricing have been clearly laid out here- it’s time to email Jeff Yurek directly. I doubt anyone gives a hoot about our whining on this forum.

ShawnD wrote:

And if you don’t like money but are sick of sinking into soft soil or sand a UK company has started making these.

https://www.chairbuddies.com
£25 shipped to Canada.

https://outdoorguru.com/outdoorgear-en/camping-table-chairs/chair-buddies-clip-on-camping-chair-feet-review/

 
Made in the UK too, nice!