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Hello all
For the hikers on here I’ve got my trips booked this summer. Doing the rain lake loop around the WUT with islet and brown lakes in may and then the highland in July with stops in provoking east and head lakes.
Was tough to get my bookings this year as you all know I’m sure.
Funny thing I noticed is that Faya lake on the highland trail is booked 100% from opening day in may right through until 23Aug.
Now, I have stayed on Faya in the distant past on 2 occasions. It’s not great. It’s not terrible by any stretch, but it’s shocking to me how in demand it is.
For those that have stayed there recently have they added a hot tub or an unadvertised beer delivery service?
I mean I get it’s the only site on the lake but every day it’s booked? People are so anxious to stay on this site they are taking time from work to go there on a Wednesday?
For the highland trail in general every site is booked for every Saturday all summer, which I would expect but I’m surprised that Faya is booked every....single....day, Monday to Sunday.
Anyway, I hope everyone is having luck getting their trips booked.
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I'm looking to hike in from Rain lake also later in the fall. After the debacle of trying to book anything on the Ontario parks website I might just "wing it" and head up on a couple of weekdays after checking the forecast and calling to see about availability.
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Yeah, it's truly nuts how booked up everything is. I decided to switch it up a bit this year and go back to the Killarney loop instead. Miraculously, I was able to (mostly) book my preferred sites. I booked in January for 3 weeknights in early June (prime bug season!) and it was already about 90% booked. I did the Rain Lake loop last fall and was surprised how booked up it was then - I didn't think it could get worse but boy was I wrong! Clara Lake (one of my faves) used to be a pretty safe bet to secure based on its distance from the trailheads, but not anymore. And of course no more Loft Lake with the trail closure. Here's hoping things ease up again after this pandemic is over.
Excuse my ranting - I hope you enjoy your hikes and that you get a measure of solitude - definitely less sites/people in the north end either way.
Cheers
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We’re booked in Killarney too for August in 5 nights. My wife and I hiked la cloche in 2001 and now we’re taking our kids to do it. Still my absolute favourite hike, hopefully 20 years later it’s just as good.
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Jdbonney wrote:
We’re booked in Killarney too for August in 5 nights. My wife and I hiked la cloche in 2001 and now we’re taking our kids to do it. Still my absolute favourite hike, hopefully 20 years later it’s just as good.
That sounds awesome! I/we got into serious backpacking when I pushed 40, so only about 10 years now. My wife and I first did Killarney in 2013 also over 5 nights. We've been back a couple of times, including a full hike of the loop counter-clockwise in 2016. I am also curious how it will be this time with the increased traffic but either way I am looking forward to the breathtaking views again.
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Not surprised Faya is so booked. It’s a party site - close to the trailhead and isolated. Last time through there it was a mess with garbage, food and tarps thrown about and left rather than carried out. I suspect we will find all the sites close to the trailheads (Maple Leaf, Provoking, etc.) completely trashed. There are a lot of users these days interested in nothing other than partying.
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We’re booked in Killarney too for August in 5 nights. My wife and I hiked la cloche in 2001 and now we’re taking our kids to do it. Still my absolute favourite hike, hopefully 20 years later it’s just as good.
That sounds awesome! I/we got into serious backpacking when I pushed 40, so only about 10 years now. My wife and I first did Killarney in 2013 also over 5 nights. We've been back a couple of times, including a full hike of the loop counter-clockwise in 2016. I am also curious how it will be this time with the increased traffic but either way I am looking forward to the breathtaking views again.
We managed to get an almost perfect route around la cloche. Had to change our days a few times as I kept waking up early every day for 2 weeks until I finally got a reservation. Ended up with a five night clockwise route including topaz lake the first night and little Lake Superior the last night. Absolutely pumped. My kids are really excited, we started pulling gear out of storage and ordering new stuff the day we got the booking. I suspect will be the highlight of our summer.
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Not surprised Faya is so booked. It’s a party site - close to the trailhead and isolated. Last time through there it was a mess with garbage, food and tarps thrown about and left rather than carried out. I suspect we will find all the sites close to the trailheads (Maple Leaf, Provoking, etc.) completely trashed. There are a lot of users these days interested in nothing other than partying.
Sad, Faya is a lovely little lake but there will be a lot of upset people showing up to this and other dirty campsites this summer I think.
Family and I Stayed at guskewau last summer and on arrival the site was great. Set everything up and was pleased how everything seemed. Went to use the thunder box and it was awful. People had stuffed tarps, pizza boxes, tin cans, etc into it. I carry latex gloves for first aid when we go so I pulled those out and lifted the whole box up and filled 2 kitchen sized garbage bags. Luckily a work crew from Ontario parks had left some gear just off the trail near where the campsite side trail started where guskewau creek exits. I carried it over and left it all there with a note and then stopped the next day at the gate to let them know. That was a wonderful way to end an otherwise awesome trip.
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This has been a competitive year in terms of booking any backcountry sites! I did manage to get a few nights in Frontenac in early July. I had my heart set on doing the entire trail in Killarney with no luck to book. I will patiently wait until next year, or keep checking the site for cancellations. I did book Eastern Pines in Algonquin. I haven't done that loop since 2016 so I am interested in how things have changed since the fire. Last year I encountered so many folks on the trail that weren't prepared; I helped them out the best that I could with the supplies I had. I am a solo hiker so I plan for myself and not much more. Happy trails to those of you who have bookings!
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Could it be closed for the year to rejuvenate?
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No. It’s just booked up.
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... I did book Eastern Pines in Algonquin. I haven't done that loop since 2016 so I am interested in how things have changed since the fire. ...
I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself on the Eastern Pines Trail. However, the fire didn't touch the trail. The fire was along the north shore of High Falls Lake. Neither did it touch the High Falls Cheater Trail.
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I guess I haven't really twigged to how busy things have gotten.
I suppose this is a moot question given the ongoing park closure(s) -- I'm typing over the May 1st weekend, and there have been cautious snow forecasts in the Toronto area during the past week. Does anyone have any reports on residual snow or ice, and bugs???
Just curious what it's like up there right now.
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