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9/19/2015 11:03 am  #1


Solo 1-2 day trip in October, where to go?

The following was just posted on the old forum by "ASH", so I'm copy/pasting it here since he's looking to day-hike in the backcountry and I've indicated to him to use the new forum ...

"I'm visiting Toronto for the first time in October and think I can make time to visit Algonquin around October 20-22nd time frame. I know its not the most ideal time to visit, but I cant change my itinerary. I'm not looking to camp, but rather just day hike to the scenic parts of the lake. I'll have a car so I'm hoping to find accommodation cheap lodging outside the park. I've researched the trails off of HWY 60 and plan to hit many of them. Any other must visit places that I should be looking at?"

 

9/21/2015 10:28 am  #2


Re: Solo 1-2 day trip in October, where to go?

This looks to me like a frontcountry thread, not backcountry hiking (backpacking) trip planning?

Anyway the Centennial Ridges Trail is no question the most scenic trail in the park, so make that a priority. Might be some remnant fall colours in the view from there. If you're looking for scenic spots aside from the interpretive trails the park offers info about, you could try going to the Starling Lake lookout on the Highlands backpacking trail. It would be a 4+ km hike each way if you start from the Highlands trailhead, but you can take a bit of a short cut by starting from the Mew Lake end of the Track and Tower Trail, or much more of a short cut by starting from the Lake of Two Rivers - Provoking Lake portage, if you can get there either by canoeing across Lo2R or biking along the Old Railway Bike Trail.

One place I haven't actually been to is the "Costello Creek lookout trail", which is not an official trail but shows on Jeff's map, starting from a logging road off the Lake Opeongo road. The park's web page on fall colours notes the Opeongo road as being good for "late season foliage viewing" (perhaps because of all the tamaracks etc), so maybe that would be a good one for late October?

 

9/21/2015 1:54 pm  #3


Re: Solo 1-2 day trip in October, where to go?

The distinction between backcountry and frontcountry can get a bit fuzzy at times. But I've come to use the appropriate best practices and regulations as the indicator.

When one has water taps, toilets, cans, bottles, garbage cans, picnic tables, parking lots and buildings around .. that's frontcountry.

On the other hand .. when one can gather wood for a fire in a designated firepit, when one's not supposed to bring along cans and bottles, when one has to carry out your garbage, when one doesn't have 'facilities' nearby and when you loose sight of cars .. I tend to consider that backcountry.

I know that means a lot of the area north and south of Highway 60 counts as backcountry. But I'd rather see drive-in campers appreciate that their day-hikes and afternoon paddles are taking them into the backcountry and adopt the appropriate practices and skills.

Too often we find neglect and destruction resulting from unaware frontcountry campers on their daytime forays into the backcountry .. bottles and cans discarded on interpretive trails .. improper fecal "deposits" along trails .. daypaddlers blocking portage landings as they have a picnic .. the Booth's Rock Trail forest fire from a dayhiker's lunch fire .. the Canisbay Lake island's forest fire from a daypaddler's lunch fire. These are typical examples of people not even realizing they were in the backcountry and expected to modify their behavior.

The application of regulations, infractions and fines by wardens doesn't depend on whether one's registration is at a campground or as an "interior camper" .. but rather depends on whether one is physically in the frontcountry or the backcountry when an infraction occurs. In other words, a campground camper is still expected to follow backcountry regulations and best-practices when away from their campground and its associated "frontcountry" environment.

If this has read like a "rant", I apologize.

     Thread Starter
 

9/21/2015 2:36 pm  #4


Re: Solo 1-2 day trip in October, where to go?

No, it's an important point, of course. I only made the comment I did because I would have thought "frontcountry" discussion would be about car camping and roofed accommodations trips, including the activities typically associated with such visits, such as day hikes. I know stictly speaking the "interior" is everywhere in the park that cannot be reached by car but since the interpretive hiking, biking and ski trails are specifically provided for "frontcountry" campers/day visitors it would seem to make sense to include them in discussions of that type of visit for trip planning purposes even if the backcountry bottle and can ban does apply there (which I didn't realize it did, btw, thanks for pointing that out). I know it doesn't make for a perfect geographic delineation, but it seemed like a topical delineation that made sense.

Anyway it's up to you in the end, and I'm sure posters won't be completely consistent about it regardless, I'm just explaining why I thought that way.

 

Board footera

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