To be honest I'm relieved, as it was looking really tight to meet my deadlines at work by Friday before disappearing for a week. Besides, this will give me some extra time to perfect my carrying setup (seems the 70L bag isn't going to cut it for 10 days --hmm, I'm blaming the food and booze but it could be a host of other things). But then, I can easily move my vacation back a week at the last minute, a luxury I'm sure many don't enjoy. What concerns me at this point, however, is the greater likelihood of biting insects. Is there logic to the belief that a later ice out leads naturally to a later bug out?

Rob wrote:

A copy and paste from the latest bulitton.

For safety reasons, the entire backcountry/interior is closed until Tuesday, May 14th (subject to change). Day use is permitted in all areas of the Park that are open and accessible.

 
What defines the “Backcountry”? It’s not like there is a border with signs “You are now entering the Backcountry”. I think that just mean no permit will be issued so no overnight camping is allowed. As far as I know day trippers are welcome to use what ever lakes and portages they want ... as long as they are open and accessible. If you were really desperate for a backcountry fix then you could probably sleep at Mew and head out at the first hint of dawn ... returning at dusk. You could sit around a fire pit on a nearby Backcountry site all day long. It wouldn’t be the same but if you were desperate...

I’ll just keep my fingers crossed that permits will start being issued early next week. I only have one window of opportunity for a trip this spring and it’s approaching fast.

martin2007 wrote:

Paddlerunner: everything is possible! Ice, bugs, freezing nights, rain, sleet, snow and a killer heatwave. New, deeper ice forming to prevent access to portage put-ins and takeouts. Did I mention tornadoes? Damn, I forgot about them! But who would have thunk it? APP Interior closed till May 14 or 15?  In Park bulletins, phone calls, and emails the two dates seem to have happily morphed into some sort of bureaucratic two-days-in-one synthesis not unlike the half-man, half-fly in Cronenberg's movie, "The Fly". I agree, the original movie was better, but there I go again dating myself. Well, no one else will date me!

Paddlerunner, it sounds like you're engaging in the inevitable pre-departure ritual of last-minute additions. Isn't it fun? Nothing shall be subtracted during those final frantic hours before departure. Only additions are allowed. Today after much meditation and considerable see-sawing I bravely exchanged my 25-litre olive barrel for a gaping-mouthed 50-litre monster barrel to accommodate a few last-minute comfort items such as subsistence rations to ward off murderous hunger pangs and general lethargy, a proper frypan instead of the lame lightweight sticky thing I'd first opted for__it was too small to roast a mature chestnut in!__ a chunk of Stilton, a second container of whiskey, some more brownish-grey food I just took out of the dehydrator, and my Helinox chair (I was deluded into believing I could do without it for a 10-day trip. What was I thinking, anyway? I haven't tripped without a chair since 1994!

Ok, I'm going to be busting my ass double-portaging all this stuff into trout waters, risking life, limb, and whatever's left of my reputation as certified canoe-guy, and what is worrying me now? No flyrod! What?Goddammit, bring her along! What a shame to go all that way and not be able to cast a fly into those cold trout-infested waters. Settled!  Now, two rain jackets or one? Cliff Jacobson says two. On the other hand, I'm not Cliff Jacobson. We'll put that one off till the Algonquin Access parking lot. Cotton pants or wool? Cotton will save your life on hot days, but will kill you in the cold. The miracle fibre that hungry marketers are now saying will kill you. Wool, on the other hand, will stop your ass from freezing in single-digits, but on hot days will drain you of all joy and future reproductive potential.  Combine wool with sweat and you'll be scratchin'. Hopefully out in the backcountry there will be no witnesses. Unless, of course it's "merino" wool, which doesn't itch, and has recently been proven to partially reverse the effects of global warming. At least that's what the guy at MEC told me.  So this time I'm going "wool"! Wait a minute! For Crissakes, I lost track of time watching the ice melt. It's almost June already! Oh, shut up! I don't want to end up like Scott of the Antarctic!  What a disaster! With all the kicking and gliding on skis, and lugging sleds through snowdrifts, he figured  he'd never have the time to use his damned flyrod, so he didn't even bring it. And we all know what happened to him.

 Awesome

So the announcement said the park was closed til the 14th but I just got an email telling me it’s the 15th and I have to reschedule (even though I start on the 15th). Confusing. I’ll call in this morning and try and get some clarification.

For what it's worth, I just phoned in to Ontario Parks to change my existing May 11-14 registration and the agent advised me that they had received confirmation this morning that the opening date for Algonquin backcountry is May 15th - despite the official notice indicating May 14th.

"Park  Advisories: The  flight  revealed  that  the  vast  majority  of  our  lakes  are  still  ice  covered.  For  safety reasons,  the  entire  backcountry/interior  is  closed  until  Tuesday,  May  14th  (subject  to change)."

I thought I'd check the online reservation system to see what day it allows bookings.. but it doesn't seem to be aware of the change. I can start a trip in the interior on the 13th through the site - that's dumb of them. 

Anyway, I just called and rebooked for the 15th. This is the fourth time I've changed my route and the third time I've changed my start date - hopefully this is the last time!

Yea, I read that. When APP called today about my reservation I asked them about 'backcountry' versus 'day-use' and she led me to believe that if you need to portage to the lake it's backcountry. Only the lakes that the open campgrounds are on would be available for day use. 
Although she did say she wasn't 100% on that. 

martin2007 wrote:

Paddlerunner: everything is possible! Ice, bugs, freezing nights, rain, sleet, snow and a killer heatwave. New, deeper ice forming to prevent access to portage put-ins and takeouts. Did I mention tornadoes? Damn, I forgot about them! But who would have thunk it? APP Interior closed till May 14 or 15?  In Park bulletins, phone calls, and emails the two dates seem to have happily morphed into some sort of bureaucratic two-days-in-one synthesis not unlike the half-man, half-fly in Cronenberg's movie, "The Fly". I agree, the original movie was better, but there I go again dating myself. Well, no one else will date me!

Paddlerunner, it sounds like you're engaging in the inevitable pre-departure ritual of last-minute additions. Isn't it fun? Nothing shall be subtracted during those final frantic hours before departure. Only additions are allowed. Today after much meditation and considerable see-sawing I bravely exchanged my 25-litre olive barrel for a gaping-mouthed 50-litre monster barrel to accommodate a few last-minute comfort items such as subsistence rations to ward off murderous hunger pangs and general lethargy, a proper frypan instead of the lame lightweight sticky thing I'd first opted for__it was too small to roast a mature chestnut in!__ a chunk of Stilton, a second container of whiskey, some more brownish-grey food I just took out of the dehydrator, and my Helinox chair (I was deluded into believing I could do without it for a 10-day trip. What was I thinking, anyway? I haven't tripped without a chair since 1994!

Ok, I'm going to be busting my ass double-portaging all this stuff into trout waters, risking life, limb, and whatever's left of my reputation as certified canoe-guy, and what is worrying me now? No flyrod! What?Goddammit, bring her along! What a shame to go all that way and not be able to cast a fly into those cold trout-infested waters. Settled!  Now, two rain jackets or one? Cliff Jacobson says two. On the other hand, I'm not Cliff Jacobson. We'll put that one off till the Algonquin Access parking lot. Cotton pants or wool? Cotton will save your life on hot days, but will kill you in the cold. The miracle fibre that hungry marketers are now saying will kill you. Wool, on the other hand, will stop your ass from freezing in single-digits, but on hot days will drain you of all joy and future reproductive potential.  Combine wool with sweat and you'll be scratchin'. Hopefully out in the backcountry there will be no witnesses. Unless, of course it's "merino" wool, which doesn't itch, and has recently been proven to partially reverse the effects of global warming. At least that's what the guy at MEC told me.  So this time I'm going "wool"! Wait a minute! For Crissakes, I lost track of time watching the ice melt. It's almost June already! Oh, shut up! I don't want to end up like Scott of the Antarctic!  What a disaster! With all the kicking and gliding on skis, and lugging sleds through snowdrifts, he figured  he'd never have the time to use his damned flyrod, so he didn't even bring it. And we all know what happened to him.

Im showing up sans fly-rod and chair just to confuse you further.