Donations: $104

Thanks to: everyone who helped out in the kitchen over the weekend, and to Alison, Janice, Lisa and Ralph, for driving - you guys are the backbone of the TOC out-of-town event mechanism!

Finally! Some decent cross-country skiing conditions! An uneventful drive up the 400 (with at least two cars stopping in Barrie to participate in the Barrielicious event) saw everyone arrive at the Wolf Den without incident. We were fortunate on Friday evening to have just the 12 of us, and one other couple in the lodge, so plenty of room to spread out and relax.

On Saturday, after a bacon and egg breakfast, most of the group headed over to Fen Lake, at the West Gate Visitor Centre. Conditions were excellent - just below freezing, no wind, sunny early in the day, with a light cloud cover moving in mid-afternoon. The group spread out on the trail, and eventually met up for a late morning snack at the warming hut. Ken got the stove going - apparently with just one match - and although no-one was particularly cold, we did dry out a bit in the warmth. One gentleman (not with our group) unfortunately left his wool touque on the stove-top for a few minutes too long, and we politely abandoned the hut when the smell of scorching wool became too much... On a side note, we managed to create our own "Sisterhood of the Travelling Gloves" story: As we were getting our skis on after the break, Sylvia came out with a pair of gloves and sun-glasses that were not her own and assumed that Pia, who had already left, had Sylvia's. So she took off down the trail after Pia. Janice then got her gear together and realized she didn't have her gloves or sun-glasses. When asked what they looked like - maroon wool - we realized that Sylvia had gone off with Janice's gear! Fortunately, a couple who had just arrived at the hut had a spare pair of gloves, and very kindly offered Janice their use to get her back to the Visitor Centre in comfort. Meanwhile, Alison eventually met up with Sylvia and Pia at the next trail intersection. Having located her own gloves (don't ask) Sylvia transferred the errant gloves to Alison's possession, and thus they travelled back to the Visitor Centre. The moral of this story? Keep your gloves on or under your hands at all times! And no, Sylvia never did find her sun-glasses...

After a late lunch in the Visitor Centre, the group landed back at the Wolf Den in late afternoon, and after showers and saunas, collapsed in the rec room. A second large group had arrived while we were out, so we stayed well clear of the kitchen until they had got their own evening meal organized. A lasagna and caesar salad dinner, followed by slices of stollen (german christmas cake) and Janice's scrumptious Skor Dip kept everyone happy in the food department. By 9:30, most people were ready to crash - oh for the days of drinking and carousing until well past midnight ;-)

On Sunday, after pancakes and sausage patties - very pale shades of Kukagami for those who every had the privilege of partaking in one of Viki's delightful breakfasts - we packed up and then headed out to Arrowhead Provincial Park. Again, the snow and weather were completely on our side - just under freezing, very little wind, and good snow, just a bit slower than the previous day. The group split up, with some doing the Arrowhead Lake and Beaver Meadow route, some staying on the Arrowhead Lake alone, some doing Arrowhead Lake and then Pumby and Pumby North, but everyone got in the amount of skiing he or she wanted. The early group walked down the trail to Stubb's Falls and back, and were fortunate enough to watch a pair of beavers in the river between the ski and road bridges, beside the main parking lot - clearly spring is just around the corner if they are active already! Ralph, David and Peter-Paul extended their stay to the last possible minute, choosing to go around the long figure-of-eight loop trail again, while the girls called it quits mid-afternoon and headed back to Toronto. All in all another successful TOC event - a great weekend, in good company.