Fri, Feb 21 2014 - Algonquin/ Wolf Den winter ski / snowshoe weekend (View Original Event Details)
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A group of 10 of us had a great time exploring Algonquin on the weekend. We left Downsview at 5 on Friday night, travelling in three cars. It was a bit of a leap of faith in terms of weather -- Toronto was above zero and raining! But it was snowing lightly by the time we arrived at the Wolf Den. A huge thanks to our drivers, Gareth, Doug and Dave, for their willingness to drive through tricky conditions - we couldn't have done it without you!
Some just relaxed for the night while Caroline A. led a few others 10 minutes down the highway for a short night hike to Ragged Falls. They couldn't see much but they enjoyed the dark skies and quiet. Except for our group, the Wolf Den was all women -- fully booked with one group of about 11 "Wild Women" and another group of 4. Luckily we had booked all but one of the bedrooms in the basement of the main lodge so didn't have to trek through the snow for those middle of the night bathroom breaks.
Both Saturday and Sunday were overcast, with fresh snow falling -- yahoo! -- and highs of minus 4 or so (not counting wind chill). On Saturday, most of the TOC group drove 10 km east to the West Gate of Algonquin Park, where a heated visitor centre offered park passes, bathrooms, maps and interpretive material. It's also the trailhead for Fen Lake nordic ski trail and, lucky for us, had just been freshly groomed with tracks set.
It offers four loops of 1.25, 5.2, 11.4 and 13.0 km, with both easy and challenging sections. It mainly winds up and down through pretty hardwood forests typical of the west side of Algonquin -- beech, maple, yellow and paper birch -- with occasional patches of evergreens.
Seven of us headed out -- Christine H., Christine B., Caroline, Sam, Mariana, Gareth and Doug. Doug zipped ahead but the rest of us stopped at the shack at Fen Lake to eat lunch. There were a few people ahead of us, but they didn't have much luck getting the wood stove fired up so we got moving again before it ever felt warm inside. No one was tempted by the chilly outhouse, despite its lake view. Then came the toughest part of the trail -- a number of climbs to get to the top of the ridge, where the trail splits, one trail back to the parking lot being .6 km shorter than the other. We went right, the Ridge Trail, descends down a series of hills almost parallel to the contour lines of the ridge's backside and finally back to the lodge.
We were out from about 10:45 to 2:30. We had some folks who were newish to skiing and others recovering from injuries so we did amazingly well on a challenging trail -- but were delighted to see and hear the flapping flags of the visitors centre as a signal that we were nearly done! Fen Lake ski trail map
Linda and Dave arrived later in the day to ski the same trails, while Kathy, who doesn't ski, hiked about 10 km along the highway back to the Wolf Den.
That night, some soaked in the sauna. Then we had a rousing game of "Cards against Humanity" and enjoyed an impromptu concert of guitar playing, singing and drums from some of the women in the Wild Women group and Carly, our host at the Wolf Den that weekend. Great stuff! Most of shared a fantastic potluck, with fresh pickerel, veggie chili, tortiere, veggie quiche, Russian potato salad, and as the piece de resistance, dessert of vegan non-cook brownies from Linda (everyone wanted the recipe) and a huge pan of apple crisp from Kathy with whipped cream, banana and carmel sauces and old cheese to top it off. We shared the leftovers with others at the Wolf Den, which brought tears to their eyes.
On Sunday, most went the short distance down the road to Algonquin Outfitters and skied or snowshoed on the Blue Spruce Inn's trails behind them. These trails are shorter than Fen Lakes, with more challenging hills on some loops so some opted for the whole trail while others avoided the more difficult sections. Blue Spruce Inn ski trails Sam and Mariana tried snowshoeing for the first time, accompanied by Kathy, and slogged through deep snow for three hours from Algonquin Outfitters along the Beetle Lake trail for at least 6 km (there were a few new sections) before returning tired but triumphant to the lodge.
Most people had badges so we collected $10 in donations.
A great trip.
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