Algonquin Adventures / LITTLE RACCOON LAKE

**Posted by Shayne74** 5/06/2024 9:14 am

Looking at this lake for a possible late season trip. The PCI report for site 2 says the thunderbox was rotten as of 2014 when report was published. Can anyone confirm if this has been replaced? Guessing yes. Looks like a nice campsite. TIA

**Posted by trippythings** 5/06/2024 9:26 am

I can't comment about the thunder box specifically; when I visited the campsite I didn't explore enough to find it. I hated the campsite though, it was very unappealing. With only 1 permit issued for the lake, I can't think of any reason to take #2 over #1. Neither of the sites are spectacular, but #1 is the better site in every way, in my opinion.

**Posted by Shayne74** 5/06/2024 9:45 am

trippythings wrote:
I can't comment about the thunder box specifically; when I visited the campsite I didn't explore enough to find it. I hated the campsite though, it was very unappealing. With only 1 permit issued for the lake, I can't think of any reason to take #2 over #1. Neither of the sites are spectacular, but #1 is the better site in every way, in my opinion.

Hmm. From the photos in the PCI it looks like not a bad site at all. What was it that didn't appeal to you so much? I haven't seen # 1 to compare.

**Posted by trippythings** 5/06/2024 10:08 am

It has a poor rocky landing (will depend on water levels), there's nowhere at the shore to reliably store canoes, a very steep rocky incline up to the site, the site itself is tiny and had zero seating by the very small fire pit when I visited. You can get your tent pitched but otherwise there wasn't a single thing that I enjoyed about the site personally. I have pictures for both campsites on my website but I'm guessing you saw that already if you browsed the PCI

**Posted by IanTendy** 5/06/2024 10:39 am

I'm heading right through there in 2 weeks, I'll see if the weather allows me to take a quick look for you. See what's to be seen, etc.

**Posted by Shayne74** 5/06/2024 1:04 pm

trippythings wrote:
It has a poor rocky landing (will depend on water levels), there's nowhere at the shore to reliably store canoes, a very steep rocky incline up to the site, the site itself is tiny and had zero seating by the very small fire pit when I visited. You can get your tent pitched but otherwise there wasn't a single thing that I enjoyed about the site personally. I have pictures for both campsites on my website but I'm guessing you saw that already if you browsed the PCI

Yeah. That doesn't sound so good. Thanks!

Thanks Ian!

Last edited by Shayne74 (5/06/2024 1:08 pm)

**Posted by MartinG** 5/06/2024 1:40 pm

I remember site 2 was a nice little site. But it has been years. I clicked on Site 1 using the link in PCI database and it lead to a paywall.

Am I doing something wrong or do you have to pay to see campsite reviews? If that's the case, all these links should be removed from the PCI database. that goes entirely against the spirit of the PCI Project.

**Posted by swedish pimple** 5/06/2024 3:05 pm

martin thanks for your comments,, i agree 100 %
  i asked about 2 remote campsites on the weekend and i got a e- mail reply back stating that i had to be a paid member as well,, the campsites where submitted by a third party ??
   not a good experience for a old guy like me looking for help, lord knows , i have fed people in algonquin, i have carried strangers packs and canoes while waiting for a water taxi ride ,, we all have to look after each other , but i guess that does not pay da bills

**Posted by trippythings** 5/06/2024 3:11 pm

I spoke with Barry and shared my reasoning behind the change well in advance of switching to a membership model. Barry was supportive and decided to keep the links. If he changes his mind at any time, he is welcome to remove them. If you’re interested about the reasons why I made the change, you can read this blog post I wrote about it: https://algonquinbeyond.com/blog/why-i-started-charging-for-algonquin-beyond-memberships/ There is a LOT of work that goes into documenting the campsites, editing/writing the reports, and getting it all set up on the web side of things. On top of the thousands of hours of work that I've poured into Algonquin & Beyond, it also costs me literally thousands of dollars to operate the website. It’s not financially feasible to continue to incur these costs indefinitely. Thankfully, the overall support since the change has been overwhelmingly positive so far. If you truly believe the resource should remain free and other people should bear the financial burden and not get compensated for their work, I’d be interested to hear your reasons why?

**Posted by trippythings** 5/06/2024 3:19 pm

Also for the comment about certain campsites being submitted by third-parties:

Everyone that submitted a campsite report to my website before the membership change, was offered a lifetime membership for free. I also offered to remove their submissions if they weren't supportive of the change. This communication was sent well in advance of the change taking place because I believed it was the transparent and right thing to do. Only one single person requested to have their submission removed.

And for everyone that submits a campsite report after the membership change, they get paid for their contribution (there is a page on my website that outlines this in more detail, but in summary, each report = $10 with bonuses for every 5th and 10th report). These people are spending their own time to take photos and write written descriptions of the campsites, they deserve to be compensated for their work, time, and effort.

**Posted by MartinG** 5/06/2024 4:36 pm

Thanks for the explanation! I'm probably not the right person to speak on this since I don't use the PCI database and I don't contribute to it.

The PCI was developed as a community initiative. I don't think links to Cody's paid campsite reviews should be listed beside links to Barry, Chris or Drew's free campsite reviews. Back when this thing was launched, no one was suggesting that Barry, Chris, Drew or Cody should be compensated for their efforts.

**Posted by BarryB** 5/06/2024 6:00 pm

I made the measured decision to keep the PCI links that originated with "Algonquin & Beyond", by adding the distinguishing "PM" designation and explaining this with .. "NOTE: As of Feb. 21 of 2024, "paid membership" is required to access reports on AlgonquinBeyond.com. AlgonquinAdventures.com will still link to those reports, and will indicate the required membership by a "PM" at the end of each such link." .. in the PCI's sub-list frame.

Changes tend to be a shock, but the internet is always evolving. My decision was to adapt to this change as best I can.

**Posted by MartinG** 5/06/2024 6:10 pm

Good deal! Barry you should consider charging Cody for the inbound links. Maybe he can pay to advertise on AA. After all he is surfing on the back of AA and it's contributors.

**Posted by rgcmce** 5/06/2024 7:32 pm

MartinG wrote:
Good deal! Barry you should consider charging Cody for the inbound links. Maybe he can pay to advertise on AA. After all he is surfing on the back of AA and it's contributors.

Agree.

**Posted by Shayne74** 5/06/2024 8:39 pm

Why do my all my recent posts end up being somewhat controversial. Lol! I think I'll just go camping...

**Posted by MartinG** 5/07/2024 4:48 am

Good point Shayne. Life is too short for these sorts of squabbles. Good luck Cody. Happy camping!