Thank you. I read Eastern was on,y a day hike. I am looking to do a 2 night, 3 day walk.

I have done both numerous times and don't think you will notice much of a difference in terms of terrain or difficulty level. Both are a good hikes with lots of rolling hills. I've done both trails in 2 nights/3 days but prefer 3 nights. My preferred routes below would be the same in either circumstance.
 
My preference when hiking the Highlands is to do it clockwise stopping the first night at the west end of Provoking and then tackling the Mosquito Creek section on Day 2. This allows you to take the remaining two days (assuming 3 night) a little more leisurely. Nice lakes and sites. Faya Lake is a solo site and well liked although there have been bear issues reported the last few years and leeches in the water.

Some pics


 



If you choose the WUT, both directions have advantages and disadvantages. Some say there is less uphill and more downhill if you go counter-clockwise but I personally have not noticed much of a difference. If you go this way, EU Lake is a good stop for the first night. Very nice solo site. Then continuing to Maggie Lake for the second night will allow you a rest day on Day 3 when you can day-trip around Maggie. The grade from west of Ramona out to the trailhead is definitely flatter, however, which you may appreciate on your last day.

Some pics

Last edited by Algonquintripper (6/26/2016 11:08 am)

Hi Sammy,

I have also hiked both trails a number of times and totally concur with Dave's information and recommendations. If you do the Highland Trail, do not miss the Lookout by Starling Lake as it is quite spectacular. Make sure you go the very end of the Lookout Trail where you are perched high atop the rocks. If you're good with the challenge aspect, then the Highland Trail should be feasible in the 3 day/2 night timeframe.

I guess the big questions would be how much hiking/outdoor experience you have, what is your physical condition, and how heavy will your pack be? Also, how much solitude are you craving? I made the mistake of going a bit too light and too far for my first solo trip which made things a little less enjoyable, but served as a great learning experience! If you're looking for a larger distance challenge, I suppose you could consider loops 1 and 2 of the WUT, but I'm not sure if it's a great idea for a first trip, especially solo.

Another option is the third loop of the WUT by Rain Lake. It is less busy (relatively speaking!) and you have a shortcut/bailout option from the Otterpaw/Gervais Lake areas vs. doing the whole loop if need be. The out and back section to the top of the loop mostly follows an old rail bed and is easy to traverse, which is kind of nice to start and end a hiking experience. The loop itself has some good challenges and some nice spots along the way. I would avoid the Ishkuday Lake site at all costs! I can offer further recommendations if interested...

The Killarney loop is amazing. We've done it twice - once in 6 days/5 nights and once in 4 days/3nights. We're in pretty good physical condition, but the 4 days was a bit much! Also, you'll need to book this well in advance as sites are in high demand. 

Hope this helps - cheers!

Rich

I'm going to be sacrilegious here and say that the backpacking trails in Algonqian are Boorring. Out of the 3 I think the Eastern Pines trail is the most interesting. Spicol is right is about 20km, so you could make an overnighter out of it. Otherwise, I could see myself one day doing the whole Western Uplands loop because the length makes it one of few well organized longer trails in Ontario.

That said you will find much more interesting hiking, terrain, look outs and points of interest at Killarney, Frontenac, Superior or the Adirondacks.

Algonquin is special. Especially from the water! I just find the backpacking trails very closed in. Especially in the summer. Boring was too harsh! 

Last edited by MartinG (6/27/2016 2:55 pm)

Have only done Highlands once.
We found it to be easier than Western and also found it more "used" (campsites were littered with garbage, etc...) The sites on Western are either less utilized or are used more by people who are familiar with good camping practices like LNT.

scoutergriz wrote:

I also prefer Highland, especially for a first trip, though the sites on Provoking do see a lot of use by daytrippers. If going for an easy weekend trip with newbies I'll book two sites on Provoking. That way if there's an issue, you can backtrack to the split and go up the opposite side, cutting off about 10km, or bail out in a couple of hours.

a good point. The first time I took my kids on the highlands we stayed on west provoking the first night then hiked to east provoking the next. After setting up camp on east provoking around 2-2:30 the rain started...and continued...at about 5 it was not letting up. It was pretty miserable, especially when the water started pooling around the tent. We packed up and hiked to the car and were there before dark.
 

I don't know what to say about pushing yourself to your limits... Doing the big loop of the Western Uplands Trail starting from hwy 60 (about 75 km or 25 km avg/day) would be hardcore and a tough go - if that doesn't push your limits, I don't know what would! Having said that I would really, really discourage this as a first time endeavour. The ups and downs wear you down over time, especially when considering a backpack. Maybe consider doing the first 2 loops of the trail (about 55 km total) and build in the option of doing the Maggie Lake loop if you're still feeling the need to push further?