Algonquin Adventures / First solo

**Posted by Methye** 9/18/2016 9:33 pm

I agree with Spicol. Get a scale and weigh everything.

Eventually if you can afford a down sleeping bag, that will drop your sleeping bag weight from 4 pounds to 1 and a half, especially if you get a down quilt with no zippers. But hey, they are not cheap.

And tent plus tarp makes no sense. If canoeing, okay, but for hiking you have to be a bit more ruthless. Just go with the tent.

About Pukaskwa, it was awesome, but man, it was hard. Harder than Killarney for sure. I couldn't afford the boat to start at the far end, so I just went in 3 days and out three days. I could only budget 6 days. If I had had eight days, i could have gone all the way in and all the way out again.

**Posted by MartinG** 10/05/2016 4:48 pm

@womanwalkingaway How did the Silhouette solo go?

**Posted by solosal** 10/10/2016 5:27 pm

do people hijack this website for info and then never return? two women have posted on this site, on this trip planning....and then never returned. hope they are not lost out there somewhere....

**Posted by andrewr0520** 10/12/2016 8:09 am

I'm beginning preparations to hike Killarney next fall. I have a dog that hikes with me, On Jeff's Maps, he notes that between H21 and H22 there is a near vertical climb up a waterfall. Has anybody hiked with their dog thru this section? Is it relatively easy for them to navigate it?

**Posted by Methye** 10/17/2016 4:31 pm

I did the trail 5 years ago. I didn't bring a dog with me, but I think you'd be fine. It's not THAT vertical. I tried to (over)dramatize it with this shot.

Last edited by Methye (10/17/2016 4:35 pm)

**Posted by MartinG** 10/17/2016 4:42 pm

The spot on the map that Jeff emphasizes is unique but one of many spots that are very steep and rocky. We saw a few people who hiked the trail with their dogs. I was baffled at how the dogs would get up/down in some spots. Especially when it was wet. Still, many people do it. One guy told us he had to carry his dog a couple of times.

**Posted by andrewr0520** 10/20/2016 6:57 am

Thanks guys. He's 35 pounds, so yeah, if worst came to worst I'd drop my pack and carry him I suppose. Looking at that, I'd probably remove his own backpack for the steepest portions.

Now, time to really crank up my fitness in preparation!

Here he is at Starling Lake Lookout from a few weeks ago!

Last edited by andrewr0520 (10/20/2016 6:58 am)

**Posted by womanwalkingaway** 6/12/2017 6:19 pm

Hi everyone! What amazing advice I got here (except, and my bad, taking only a 1 litre water bottle in the fall). I skipped Silver Peak - it poured rain and I was suffering. So obviously I have to do it again!

Check out my trip report! https://womanwalkingaway.com/2016/10/03/la-cloche-silhouette/

What an AWESOME trail. I left thinking I was so done but now I want to do it again.

This summer I am planning to solo Western Uplands, and 88k trek. I did the small loop last summer. My sister and I are also roadtripping across Canada - from Ontario, to Van Island, ALL THE WAY to Newfoundland and back to Ontario, with some single night backpacking along the way.

Thank you all so much for the guidance in getting down my pack weight. Since La Cloche, I've been able to invest in a down sleeping back, a lighter stove, and some other weight losses! I did bring my tarp--used it once, never again. I learned SO MUCH. I really appreciate the support and tips.

**Posted by hiker72** 6/12/2017 7:40 pm

Hi WWA,

Good to hear from you again. Sounds like your Killarney hike was great - I read through some of your report and will definitely read it end to end when I have a few more moments. I too love the trail and don't think I could ever get sick of it! All the best in your road trip and planning for the WUT solo hike. Do you plan on going in via Rain Lake, or Highway 60? I've been most fortunate to have traveled all sections of the trail at one time or another and would be happy to answer any questions or provide recommendations, as I'm sure many others on the forum would as well. Below is a link of a solo trip I did on the trail in 2014.

Cheers!

Rich

http://wutpics.blogspot.ca/

First solo - Western Uplands!