| Trip Reports » Two trip reports: Hike to White Partridge, and Foys Lk Loop » 9/18/2024 1:26 pm |
When I was reading your story about the hike from Basin Depot to Lower Spectacle I noticed Frog Lake on the map and thought 'I bet it would be nice to hike to Frog Lake". Low and behold, that is exactly what you guys did. Great Story!
| History » Tom Thomson Route: Achray to Basin Depot » 9/18/2024 1:14 pm |
I love reading your stories about hiking the less traveled routes in the park. I've had a couple of small adventures bushwhacking and hiking and it's a very different experience than a typical canoe route. I hope to do more but until then I'll just keep reading your stories and getting immersed in the adventure.
| Trip Reports » Bizarre encounter at Rain Lake access point » 9/04/2024 1:36 pm |
When leaving Magnetawan access point in August 2023 we encountered a couple ladies fitting the description who said their car wouldn't start and they had been stuck there for several hours. Same ones? Mostly my wife chatted with them and I think some guy was going to get them help in Kearney.
| Trip Reports » Solo loop to Burntroot in September » 8/29/2024 9:45 am |
trippythings wrote:
...There are massive, long cliffs directly behind the campsite that will immediately draw your attention from faraway on the water. He said the views from the cliffs were beautiful (easy to access from the site), on top of the already great views from the campsite. He mentioned it's not the most ideal campsite for amenities / tent spots though, if you're going to be with a big group, but looking at his pictures there seems to be at least two decent tent spots among the otherwise sloping ground...
That sounds like an added adventure to check out the view from the top. One good tent spot is good enough for me if I'm solo. If I could somehow convince my family to take the relatively long trip up there then one tent spot may be good enough. For the next several years I think we will still be able to squeeze all 5 of us into our 4 person tent. Thanks for the info!
| Trip Reports » Solo loop to Burntroot in September » 8/27/2024 11:38 am |
I enjoyed reading your report and I especially liked that you mentioned campsite 35 on Big Trout. I've been thinking for a few years now that if I were ever to head up towards Burntroot from the south then I would aim for that site because it should have a nice view and you have confirm that. Otherwise did you like that campsite? Looks like it would have views both to the north and the south.
| Catch-all Discussions » Who Stole My Lifejacket? » 8/12/2024 2:37 pm |
I just got back from a 3 night family trip to Ralph Bice lake. It was myself, wife, and 3 kids (6, 4, and almost 2) in an 18.5' Quetico, along with 5 packs. We were very organized, pull up to the portage, unload kids and bags, pile the lifejackets, paddles, and MEC Slog off to the side and go over the portage carrying the other packs and canoe. I'd start heading back to get all the remaining stuff and we would very efficiently get back on the water. We were heading out on Saturday and as expected the portages were busy but everything went well, we got back to the access, pulled the car up and loaded stuff in however now there was only 4 life jackets.
I searched all around the access point and my lifejacket was nowhere to be found. I thought I may have left it behind at the last portage but no, my wife remembers handing it to me and I remember trying to fish it out from the pile. I don't remember putting it down at the access but I assume I would have put it beside my MEC Slog. So we concluded that either someone accidently packed it into their car and drove away or one of the groups going out took it into the backcountry.
Losing the lifejacket is not a big deal because it was a cheap Body Glove model from Costco. Also, The pocket had my Burton TruArc3 compass. I don't really want to replace either of these items but I guess I can look for sales on premium lifejackets in the off season. This has never happened to me before but when I think about it I wouldn't be surprised if this happens all the time at any busy portage or access point.
| Trip Reports » Otter Creek Loop » 6/03/2024 10:05 pm |
Nice trip report. I love hearing about trips that are off the beaten path. I also like that Scott and Jeff were riding in my favorite model of canoe. Maybe one day I'll own one.
| Trip Reports » Father Daughter Son Ice Out May 2 - 4, 2024 » 5/19/2024 10:52 pm |
On second thought, maybe a fair amount of the base of "your" fire pit still existed but it seemed like to me that the official pit was on the other side and I didn't want to change the location of the official pit. Maybe it makes more sense to have the pit as it appeared in your pic. I wonder where the park staff located the official pit?
| Trip Reports » Father Daughter Son Ice Out May 2 - 4, 2024 » 5/19/2024 10:39 pm |
Ok now I'm super curious to see what it looked like from the same angle as my photo lol. Were all of those rocks from my photo removed and it was just the bare, large rock? So both sides were completely dismantled and left in a jumble, and then you rebuilt it on the opposite side to how it was when I visited?
When we arrived there was a large jumble of rocks with a small fire pit at the top which was really useless for having any kind of fire but evidence of previous fires was there. This was on the opposite side of the pit in your pic. I dismantled that and piled all the rocks to the side of the big rock.
The pit in your pic didn't exist, it seemed like it was mostly dismantled before we arrived but it looked like some fires had there previously because you could see the rock was blackened.
I never got around to rebuilding walls. We just had a single fire on the second day and it was on the large flat part of the rock. Whoever uses the site next has the option to build up the pit the way they like it. Hopefully they don't use the "auxiliary" pit that was on the east side of the site or the other "auxiliary" pit that was on the west side of the site. With 2 little ones running around and only being there for 2 nights I could only do so much. With more time I would have cleaned all that mess up. Not surprisingly, there was a lack of firewood anywhere close to that site.
| Trip Reports » Father Daughter Son Ice Out May 2 - 4, 2024 » 5/19/2024 12:25 pm |
I should have taken a before photo, the pit had no structure at all and was just a large jumble of rocks. I dissembled that and cleaned it all off so it could be rebuilt from scratch. That took a lot of time and energy. If I was there another day I would have built up some solid walls.
There is something weird about your photo, I don't remember having a view of the water from in front of the fire pit. I took a closer look and in your photo the fire pit is build on the opposite side of the rock compared with my photo. Seems like it was moved.
| Trip Reports » Father Daughter Son Ice Out May 2 - 4, 2024 » 5/17/2024 11:58 pm |
I had the chance to bring the two oldest with me for an ice out trip. I took my daughter (now 6 1/2 years old) on a similar trip 2 years ago and now I'm also bringing my 3 1/2 year old son. Just a simple trip to Ragged Lake which I have never been to.
So what happens if you take you get taken out of school/daycare and watch mindless TV for several hours without asking for a single pee break? You get a massive Ice Cream at 11 in the morning! This is daddy's parenting style at it's finest.
My 25 year old backpack had finally died so my new pack is the large MEC Slogg and I love it. No more need for all those little dry bags, just stuff in all the sleeping bags, clothes, and toilet paper, seal it up and go. My daughter had grown so I got her a new bag for her and packed it kind of heavy. My daughter's old pack went to my son who was carrying all the food.
We didn't see another boat all the way down to the portage. We were planning to single carry and things started out good until both son and daughter started struggling on the steep rocky and muddy incline, they were almost falling backward from the weight of their packs so change to Plan B. I put the canoe down and helped them carry their packs over the short portage then went back and got the boat. Still made good time and before we knew it we snagged Campsite 3 on Ragged Lake which was perfect for us. On a point with shore on 3 sides and wide open space inside. On the tip of the point I got an intermittent cell signal that allowed me to text the wife to assure her everyone was fine.
The hammock is the only toy we brought. The kids spent a lot of time hunting "crystals" which to me looked like slightly sparkly rocks.
There was a good climbing tree too.
Thi
| Equipment » new head lite recommendations » 5/17/2024 8:48 pm |
I like the ThruNite TH20 that I bought several years ago. It has some drawbacks in that it is a little heavy and it may now be discontinued, but there is lots to like:
-Single AA battery
-Single large button on side
-Minimal functions: on, off, and hold to change brightness
-Turn back on at brightness you had previously
-Two quick presses and you get full brightness when needed
-Rugged metal case
-Lowest setting is fairly low, which is useful
For me less is more. I don't want 10,000 lumens. I would prefer a better CRI (color rendition index) lamp such as a Nichia 219B but that seems impossible to find in a headlamp. I prefer a low lumen "moonlight" mode rather than red because you can actually make out the color of things. Recently my head strap broke so if someone can suggest a better model then I'm all ears.
| Trip Planning » Access Point #1 and 1a » 4/12/2023 2:10 pm |
As far as I know there should be no issue parking at the 1B unofficial access but the last time I did this was 2021. 1B is also on Crown Land so it should be fine.
| Catch-all Discussions » The end of a very long portage » 2/05/2023 2:18 am |
I feel for your loss. You only get to leave memories and a few footprints and it sounds like your dad left you some good memories. Thanks for sharing.
| Ethics » Disposable Items » 10/06/2022 10:46 pm |
I think Algonquin's can and bottle ban will only get you in trouble if you have a metal can or a glass bottle. My stuff has never been searched before so I can't say for sure. Also, I've never seen what is printed on the yellow garbage bags because I always decline them. But I do know that plastics, which are mostly hydrocarbons, burn quite well. Even those plastic wrappers with an aluminum coating seem to disappear completely into the ashes but I think you have a good point with that because I'm probably adding all sorts of tiny melted aluminum to the park environment.
| Trip Reports » Pishnecka/North Tea Loop » 9/22/2022 11:15 pm |
Thanks. I think it's a very over looked part of the park. Remote feel without the work.
I agree that this part of the park is often overlooked as I've been able to get sites with short notice at busy times. Thanks for your report on the beach site on Pishnecka. I think in the future I'll try to make it there with the kids, since there is almost nothing more popular with kids than a beach.
| Trip Planning » Can you still make a reservation at park offices? » 9/22/2022 11:02 pm |
I'm not sure what the current rate is but I avoided reserving in preference to just getting a permit "at the door" and it saved me $9 at the time. Also, I didn't have to worry about changing my reservation because once I hit the permit office I was fully committed.
1 