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6/03/2020 5:27 pm  #1


Reasonable for Rookie Trip Sept 5-12?

My buddy and I are medium experienced, having done Quetico, BWCAW, etc.  We want to add Algonquin to our list and rotate there every other trip.  I've watched many videos and have begun the planning process for a trip.

My question is since the park is opening back up will early September be full from those with cabin fever?  Will it be difficult to find campsites because I don't know the lakes and routes other than from planning and maps?

Later in another thread, I'll ask some typical rookie questions.  Until then, I'm trying to find where other rookies (Algonquin) have asked the same questions.

Thanks, and Hello.

 

6/03/2020 7:33 pm  #2


Re: Reasonable for Rookie Trip Sept 5-12?

Early September seems to get busier each year, not even factoring in the cabin fever of 2020. So I'd anticipate it will be pretty swamped if you're near the hwy / access point. A bit deeper in and it should be a lot quieter.

It will be also be quieter if you go right before or right after the long weekend. But then again every day is a long weekend when millions are unemployed... so it really depends on how many people are working. School closures will play a big part as well. So it's kind of still too early to tell.

But later in September when it starts getting colder outside, it will for sure be quieter in the park

Myself along with the others here can help you plan a route if you'd like... just give us a starting point:

- How many nights/days?
- How difficult do you want the trip to be?
- How long do you want to spend travelling each day? 
- Single carry or double carry portages?
- Plan to move camp each night? If not, how many rest days?
- What are your trip priorities? Solitude? Nice campsites? Fishing? Park history? etc.


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6/04/2020 4:04 am  #3


Re: Reasonable for Rookie Trip Sept 5-12?

Early September is an amazing time to go camping, and people know it. The only thing that keeps numbers down somewhat is kids are back in school... but we don’t yet know what that will look like this year. If kids aren’t in school then I expect the park will be inundated.

Not knowing the lakes or routes won’t really make a difference. Your map will show campsite locations just like everyone else after all. But as trippythings said, getting deeper into the park thins out the crowds considerably. Anything in easy reach of an access point can and will be busy. Get over a long portage or two, and you’ll have room to breathe.

 

6/04/2020 6:40 am  #4


Re: Reasonable for Rookie Trip Sept 5-12?

Hi WonderMonkey!  Welcome to the forum - it's a great place to gather tons of information first-hand from folks who have traveled and traipsed across all corners of Algonquin.

I don't agree with terms like "swamped" and "inundated" - that implies that the park would be near or at capacity.  With all of the unknowns heading into this September, I would expect the dates you are looking at to be a bit busier at the front end (Labor Day holiday weekend) but drop off dramatically for the days following. 

There are going to be many individuals/families considering making plans but waiting upon the various school districts and other agencies to make final decisions in the weeks prior.  As such, I don't think many will be making full-week plans too far in advance.  I would recommend, regardless of when you go, if you are seeking fewer crowds that you put a few portages between you and your access point.

A great place to get a sense of what each area has to offer is through the triplogs section of this site.  It can be a bottomless pit of information but you'll get a sense of the area pretty quickly.  I would recommend browsing the reports with photos first as they tend to give the quickest answer to the question 'is this what I'm looking for?'

Take your time to browse through and don't hesitate to ask a boatload of questions.

 

6/04/2020 9:09 am  #5


Re: Reasonable for Rookie Trip Sept 5-12?

"Inundated" is meant in the relative sense of course - it's still the back country. Popular lakes near access points will likely be booked up or nearly so (Ralph Bice, anything off Canoe Lake, Booth etc), but there will be plenty of options and availability further in. 

 

6/06/2020 3:45 pm  #6


Re: Reasonable for Rookie Trip Sept 5-12?

Thanks for all that.  I'll lay out some generics and will be very interested in your thoughts.

trippythings wrote:

Early September seems to get busier each year, not even factoring in the cabin fever of 2020. So I'd anticipate it will be pretty swamped if you're near the hwy / access point. A bit deeper in and it should be a lot quieter.

It will be also be quieter if you go right before or right after the long weekend. But then again every day is a long weekend when millions are unemployed... so it really depends on how many people are working. School closures will play a big part as well. So it's kind of still too early to tell.

But later in September when it starts getting colder outside, it will for sure be quieter in the park

Myself along with the others here can help you plan a route if you'd like... just give us a starting point:

- How many nights/days?
- How difficult do you want the trip to be?
- How long do you want to spend travelling each day? 
- Single carry or double carry portages?
- Plan to move camp each night? If not, how many rest days?
- What are your trip priorities? Solitude? Nice campsites? Fishing? Park history? etc.

 

     Thread Starter
 

6/06/2020 3:46 pm  #7


Re: Reasonable for Rookie Trip Sept 5-12?

I agree.  I'll answer the previous question and I think that will help with your response.

Uppa wrote:

"Inundated" is meant in the relative sense of course - it's still the back country. Popular lakes near access points will likely be booked up or nearly so (Ralph Bice, anything off Canoe Lake, Booth etc), but there will be plenty of options and availability further in. 

 

     Thread Starter
 

6/06/2020 4:10 pm  #8


Re: Reasonable for Rookie Trip Sept 5-12?

We would leave our house in Ohio on Friday the 4th of September and drive the 9 hrs to the Southern part of Algonquin.  We would want to get on the water on Saturday, the 5th.  Where we launch depends on the advice of this forum.  Should we drive further North so we get into less populated areas?  Or not?

Length of trip: Six or Seven days, depending on the time off the water.  We still have to drive back to Ohio and get to work the next day.

Difficulty Level: We are not hardcore in how many miles we put in.  We like to enjoy the journey and each other's company.  Being at camp and not having to stress about setting up and getting a meal each day is key.  We can do that sometimes on some travel days, but we don't want the routine to be getting to camp late, setting up, food, falling into our hammocks, getting up the next day and doing it again.  We can certainly do that sometimes on a travel day but don't want that to be the norm.  Fishing is not a priority.  We may do a bit but we will also carry our food and won't rely on fishing.

I have a knee issue, but even with that, I'm willing to do a few medium-hardcore days of traveling and portaging to get to where we don't have to fight to get a decent campsite.

As for how we want to conduct our trip, I'd be ok with either:
1 - Doing a moderate travel each day as long as we had a nice and relaxing evening at camp.  Get up and on the water at first light and get to camp late afternoon, maybe.  Most days.
2 - Travel decently one day and camp at the same spot the next
3 - Combo of #1 and #2.

We could either get back to our vehicles late on the following Saturday or early on Sunday to travel the distance home to Ohio.

As for portaging, we would single-carry on standard portages and double-carry on rough ones.  Three packs between us.  Personal pack each and a shared food barrel.

As for priorities we would like nice campsites and be able to stare at the wild.  Watching people go buy isn't a bother but we don't want to be in the middle of a populated camping area.  We want solitude on our campsites but are ok with people going by or another campsite across the water.

     Thread Starter
 

6/06/2020 4:15 pm  #9


Re: Reasonable for Rookie Trip Sept 5-12?

Uppa wrote:

"Inundated" is meant in the relative sense of course - it's still the back country. Popular lakes near access points will likely be booked up or nearly so (Ralph Bice, anything off Canoe Lake, Booth etc), but there will be plenty of options and availability further in. 

I think each park has their own version of "inundated" of of course each person's version.  In Queitico where the number of entries is limited but the lake reservations are not, you get out of reach of people quicker.  I know that at Alqonguion you have to reserve almost a "route" meaning you are at a lake on a certain day.  I don't know how many people pay attention to that.  If people don't then I'd like to know.  If they do, I want to be a good tripper and also do so.

Last edited by WonderMonkey (6/06/2020 4:15 pm)

     Thread Starter
 

6/06/2020 4:21 pm  #10


Re: Reasonable for Rookie Trip Sept 5-12?

Uppa wrote:

Early September is an amazing time to go camping, and people know it. The only thing that keeps numbers down somewhat is kids are back in school... but we don’t yet know what that will look like this year. If kids aren’t in school then I expect the park will be inundated.

Not knowing the lakes or routes won’t really make a difference. Your map will show campsite locations just like everyone else after all. But as trippythings said, getting deeper into the park thins out the crowds considerably. Anything in easy reach of an access point can and will be busy. Get over a long portage or two, and you’ll have room to breathe.

Thanks.  We are willing to do a few difficult days to get deeper into the park.  And yes, all the things that are going on will change things.  I'm willing to drive and launch deeper into the park or do two days of moderately difficult days.  It's just us and we are willing to put in the work to then relax.

     Thread Starter
 

6/06/2020 4:24 pm  #11


Re: Reasonable for Rookie Trip Sept 5-12?

PaPaddler wrote:

Hi WonderMonkey!  Welcome to the forum - it's a great place to gather tons of information first-hand from folks who have traveled and traipsed across all corners of Algonquin.

I don't agree with terms like "swamped" and "inundated" - that implies that the park would be near or at capacity.  With all of the unknowns heading into this September, I would expect the dates you are looking at to be a bit busier at the front end (Labor Day holiday weekend) but drop off dramatically for the days following. 

There are going to be many individuals/families considering making plans but waiting upon the various school districts and other agencies to make final decisions in the weeks prior.  As such, I don't think many will be making full-week plans too far in advance.  I would recommend, regardless of when you go, if you are seeking fewer crowds that you put a few portages between you and your access point.

A great place to get a sense of what each area has to offer is through the triplogs section of this site.  It can be a bottomless pit of information but you'll get a sense of the area pretty quickly.  I would recommend browsing the reports with photos first as they tend to give the quickest answer to the question 'is this what I'm looking for?'

Take your time to browse through and don't hesitate to ask a boatload of questions.

Thanks for the info.  Trip logs has always been a great resource to me and I'll follow your advice here and do that same.

The same theme of "do a few days of portages" have been coming up and we are willing to do that to then relax and meander about.  Once I get a starting point and route down I can reserve what is needed then go from there.
 

     Thread Starter
 

6/06/2020 6:45 pm  #12


Re: Reasonable for Rookie Trip Sept 5-12?

Thanks for all of the detailed info re what you're looking for. It seems like the goal, simplified, is basically "a medium difficulty trip to get decent solitude and nice campsites".

With 6 nights 7 days, there are a ton of options that would be good. Here are a few options I'd recommend looking into:

Canoe > Otterslide > Big Trout > Burntroot x2 > White Trout > McIntosh > Canoe

- very popular and the first two days will be swamped with people, especially since it's the long weekend, but once you get to your campsite you'll have enough privacy

- the most popular loops in the park go through variations of these lakes, they're all gorgeous lakes with lots of prime campsites

- a mix of big lake paddling with some different scenery on Otterslide Creek and Grassy Bay, which are both lovely paddles

- mid Algonquin (Big Trout, White Trout, Burntroot) is a personal favourite area of the park


Kiosk > Manitou > Three Mile > Maple x2 > Mouse > White Birch > Kiosk

- It's an extra 2hr further north, but will be much quieter than anything along Hwy 60 (the first option I gave). The longer portages and further drive weed out a lot of people who just want to do an easy trip for the long weekend.

- There's more portaging involved, but the days aren't that long.

- The lakes are great and there's lots of nice campsites along the route, but the campsites aren't as prime as mid-Algonquin (that's a personal opinion though, others may disagree)

- This route is great if your goal is privacy and solitude, while still keeping medium difficulty and staying on maintained routes with nice campsites.


Cedar > Catfish > Hogan > La Muir > Burntroot x2 > Catfish > Cedar

- I can't say much about this route since the only lake I've stayed at is Burntroot, but it's the route I'm eyeing myself for a 7-10 day solo in September and I'm really drawn to it. It has the similar perks as option 2 (more privacy/solitude) at the cost of a longer drive and a few difficult portages. I know Catfish and Burntroot have some prime campsites, and from what I've seen Hogan and La Muir seem to have some decent options as well. This is a good option if you want a difficult first and last day (relatively), with the whole mid-trip to be more relaxing.


Rock > Clydegale x2 > Welcome x2 > Louisa x2 > Rock

- This is a good option if the others seem like too much work and you want something more relaxing. It's a classic 2-4 night loop that you can stretch to be 6 nights by adding some rest days.

- Rock > Clydegale is what I recommend to so many people looking to do a quick 2-3 night there-and-back. You pass some waterfalls on route, and Clydegale only takes 4 reservations, but there are 6 campsites... so even when it's fully booked, you'll likely get a nice campsite (they're all pretty nice in my opinion), and most of them are spread out enough that even if the lake is full, you won't notice the other campers. And since it's basically a dead-end lake (very few people pass through) it's a great place to ride out the Sat/Sun of a long weekend. If this interests you, book it ASAP because it will fill up quickly... assuming there's still something available.

- After Clydegale it's a short travel day but with one long portage, then you'll be at Welcome Lake where you'll most likely get to pick which beach campsite you like best since. Half of the sites are beach sites and the lake will likely be clearing out come Monday.

- Another short travel day with one long portage takes you into Louisa, a very popular lake for fishing, swimming, etc. Plenty of nice campsites to choose from and again you'll likely have your pick since it will be mid-week after a long weekend.

- Your final day all you have to tackle is the 3km portage which is very flat, and your food will be mostly gone as well so you'll have a lighter load. And if you wanted you can hike Booth's Rock Trail on your way back from Rock Lake.


Basically, anything just north of Hwy 60 will be the busiest, but it takes you to some of the most prime spots and classic loops. In the far north your route will likely have more portaging, but you'll also get more privacy. And the last option is a mix of both but on the easier side of the spectrum... popular route, short travel days, but still a few long portages to make you feel like you've done some work.

Last edited by trippythings (6/06/2020 6:48 pm)


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6/06/2020 6:52 pm  #13


Re: Reasonable for Rookie Trip Sept 5-12?

WonderMonkey wrote:

... I know that at Alqonguion you have to reserve almost a "route" meaning you are at a lake on a certain day.  I don't know how many people pay attention to that.  If people don't then I'd like to know.  If they do, I want to be a good tripper and also do so.

You book specific lakes, not campsites, and then campsites are first-come first-serve. So you do have to book your route in advance (the lakes you'll be staying on). Some people will camp off-permit if needed, but you shouldn't plan to do this. Only in an emergency like bad weather, injury, illness, etc. Especially on long weekends where lakes will be fully booked, if you camp off-permit you may be screwing over someone else who actually has a permit on that lake.

You'll always come across people who are uneducated or just don't care about the rules, but the vast majority of people do follow their route and stay on the lakes they're supposed to be at. Occasionally park wardens come around to check permits and will issue a fine if you're off permit.


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6/06/2020 8:35 pm  #14


Re: Reasonable for Rookie Trip Sept 5-12?

trippythings wrote:

Thanks for all of the detailed info re what you're looking for. It seems like the goal, simplified, is basically "a medium difficulty trip to get decent solitude and nice campsites".

Wow!  Thanks for all the details!  I will dive into each of these in the next few days.  None of the options seems to be too much work.  I'll try to find some online videos showing all or part of those routes.

I would like some available rest days in case my knee starts to get wonky but in reality right now it's just pain and the occasional weakness which I can deal with.

Again, thanks!

Last edited by WonderMonkey (6/06/2020 8:35 pm)

     Thread Starter
 

6/06/2020 8:36 pm  #15


Re: Reasonable for Rookie Trip Sept 5-12?

trippythings wrote:

WonderMonkey wrote:

... I know that at Alqonguion you have to reserve almost a "route" meaning you are at a lake on a certain day.  I don't know how many people pay attention to that.  If people don't then I'd like to know.  If they do, I want to be a good tripper and also do so.

You book specific lakes, not campsites, and then campsites are first-come first-serve. So you do have to book your route in advance (the lakes you'll be staying on). Some people will camp off-permit if needed, but you shouldn't plan to do this. Only in an emergency like bad weather, injury, illness, etc. Especially on long weekends where lakes will be fully booked, if you camp off-permit you may be screwing over someone else who actually has a permit on that lake.

You'll always come across people who are uneducated or just don't care about the rules, but the vast majority of people do follow their route and stay on the lakes they're supposed to be at. Occasionally park wardens come around to check permits and will issue a fine if you're off permit.

Good, thanks.  I like to be a good steward of what is provided for us and that means camping on the lakes I said I'd be at, etc.

     Thread Starter
 

6/08/2020 10:21 pm  #16


Re: Reasonable for Rookie Trip Sept 5-12?

WonderMonkey wrote:

...
Good, thanks.  I like to be a good steward of what is provided for us and that means camping on the lakes I said I'd be at, etc.

Stuff happens so if you're in the middle of the park and need to do something different, people will understand.  I've had people plan poorly and end up staying on my site after travelling past dark.  I've had people offer to share their site in bad weather (offered me scotch and bourbon as well) and once an injury had me squat on a site until the swelling went down.  Most lakes have an extra campsite or two for emergencies (though some could barely be described as such) so you won't necessarily be stealing someone else's site though I still wouldn't set up camp until evening just in case.

That said, do your best to stick to your planned route, especially with easy to get to lakes and on long weekends.

 

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