Algonquin Adventures / Western Upland Trail 2nd Loop October 4-8 2016

**Posted by Methye** 10/30/2016 9:06 pm

Took a nice solo hike on the 2nd loop of the WUT the week that ended with the Thanksgiving weekend. As i was leaving the crowds were coming in. The weather was spectacular that week, and the foliage was at peak.
Here is a trip report in photos:
https://neelands.smugmug.com/Hiking-trips/2016-Oct-48-2nd-Loop-WUT-Algon

**Posted by Algonquintripper** 10/30/2016 11:24 pm

Great pics! Especially liked the one of Susan Lake and that of Little Hardy. My first ever night at Algonquin was at Little Hardy.

**Posted by hiker72** 10/31/2016 5:08 am

Thanks for sharing these awesome pics and reminding me yet again why I enjoy Algonquin so much! I love the 2nd loop of the WUT and have great memories of Susan and Clara Lakes in particular. I didn't realize there was a new site on Clara - something I'll definitely need to check out.

My wife and I did the 2nd loop starting on the opening day in the spring of 2015 and had unseasonably warm and mostly sunny weather throughout. Our first night was at Susan Lake and we had dinner at the lookout where we watched an amazing sunset. The next morning we were treated to a perfectly still lake where we took the following shot - the picture is actually upside down and you are looking at the reflection in the water...

Last edited by hiker72 (10/31/2016 5:13 am)

**Posted by Algonquintripper** 10/31/2016 9:45 am

hiker72 wrote:
The next morning we were treated to a perfectly still lake where we took the following shot - the picture is actually upside down and you are looking at the reflection in the water...

That's amazing! I actually had to copy the pic and rotate it to see it.

**Posted by BarryB** 10/31/2016 10:11 am

Your Pacer Poles' hand 'grips' really intrigued me. As the explanation describes on their website, they aren't actually 'gripped'. The little animation on their website shows how the hand is at 45 degrees to the top of the pole when it 'pushes off' .. "don’t grip the handle, push against it".

This could all be standard pole-hiking technique, but I'm not a hiker-camper and have never used poles. Are standard poles used with their top-butt being pushed by the hand's palm? I'm thinking the Pacer Poles must be easier on the palms and more secure in the hand?

http://www.pacerpole.com/pacerpole-user-guide

**Posted by Algonquintripper** 10/31/2016 12:03 pm

BarryB wrote:
Are standard poles used with their top-butt being pushed by the hand's palm?

Regular trekking poles are not angled like that. with regular poles the proper way (IMHO) is to put your hand through the strap so it runs across the back of your wrist, parallel and forward of where your watch would be. The strap will then go around and across your palms to the pole handle. You actually put your weight on and push against the straps, not the poles directly. Usually, my fingers and thumb are doing nothing more than guiding the pole - all the push is on the straps.

Also, Right pole goes forward with the left leg, left pole with the right leg. Poles are very helpful in maintaining balance and taking weight and stress off the knees.

**Posted by Methye** 10/31/2016 11:13 pm

re: Pacer Poles There are no straps. The whole heel of your hand pushes off against a kind of shelf that it sits on. It's very ergonomically built. So there are left and right poles. They are like part of your hand.
Disadvantage: they don't work very well as tent or tarp pole supports because the top is not a flat knob like a ski pole or a usual trekking pole. And the top is off centre, having come off the axis of the pole. They work in a pinch, though.
If you want to try them sometime, let me know. I'm happy to lend them. I only do about two hikes a year.

re: Susan Lake Wow! Hiker72, that's an amazing photo!

Last edited by Methye (10/31/2016 11:16 pm)

**Posted by Blobsquatch** 11/01/2016 6:58 am

Hi Methye, thank you for sharing! Brilliant photos. I wonder if you'd advise me on how you like your bivy sack? I've thought about getting one to help reduce pack weight.

Hiker72 - that photo is simply incredible.

You guys are killing me, though. I had put all my ambition to do more backpacking away after my last trip, but seeing your photos and reading your logs is bringing it all back And to top it off, my wife got me a Helinox Chair One for my birthday. Looks like I'll be heading back to the trail in 2017.

Tracy

Last edited by Blobsquatch (11/01/2016 7:00 am)

**Posted by Methye** 11/01/2016 10:38 pm

@ Blobsquatch
I like my bivy. It's light and packs small, is roomy, and there's little to no condensation going on. Advantage over just a tarp: the best and easiest place to set up a tarp is where there are trees, but unfortunately that spot is not always very flat. So the tarp area is for sitting and cooking etc, and the bivy for sleeping. cool...

But...if the weight of your bivy plus tarp equals the weight of a small tent, then you are much better off with the tent.

The bivy is like a small inconvenient tent. If it's pouring in the early morn, you've got to stay in the bivy until it stops, and if it doesn't, hope you have a tarp set up nearby to scramble under for cooking and hanging out.

If I were doing it over again, I'd probably buy a very lightweight freestanding 1-2 person tent like the MEC Spark UL 1+ (currently unavailable; maybe coming back, 1.16 kg) or on AliExpress, the Naturehike Cloud Up 2 (around 1.3 kg) or for big bucks a Big Agnes Flycreek-type tent(under a kg). Eureka Midori looks good, too, but it's getting to the heavy side of things (4 pounds, or 1.8kg).

Also if you are worried about weight, don't bring the Helinox chair. sit on a piece of closed cell foam pad. Save the chair one for canoe tripping, where you spend more time in camp anyway. :-)

Cheers, Ralph

Last edited by Methye (11/01/2016 10:46 pm)