Fri, Oct 13 2006 - Algonquin Provincial Park (View Original Event Details)
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We arrived at APP around 10:30pm on Friday night, found a site at Mew Lake, and got a fire going right away in order to enjoy the first of many camping rituals the Smore. Mmmm. El Reys big tent slept all five of us quite comfortably. It was a cold night - the temperature went down to zero. Libby found out the hard way that her sleeping bag/blankets combo wasnt quite up to the job of keeping her warm.
Saturday we awoke to find out picnic table covered in about 2 cm of slush. El Rey set to work on a fire while the rest of us set up Christophs funky 70s orange tarp over the picnic table. For breakfast, we did not mess about filtered coffee, crisp bacon, omelette, and pancakes with maple syrup.
By afternoon, the temperature had risen somewhat so we drove over to Canoe Lake to get a rental canoe from the outfitter. Christoph brought along his cement canoe. (Good times were had loading that baby onto the minivan.) The outfitters parking lot had just been invaded by tourists and it was quite a sight watching them load into thirty-odd canoes for their one-hour paddle. El Rey spotted a friendly (and, from what I understand, quite pretty) face among the tourists, and so we gave them safe passage.
Christoph, Libby and Jenn took the cement canoe, while El Rey and Melissa took the rental canoe, which had metal seats. Theres nothing like setting your bottom onto a nice cold aluminium canoe seat to remind you that you are alive. Except for maybe the HAIL that starting landing us about 5 minutes into our paddle.
We paddled up Canoe Lake, past closed-up cottages and summer camps, then turned a corner into a little inlet (named Whiskey Jack something or other). There we spotted three otters playing along the shore. They seemed to enjoy having an audience, and we enjoyed being one. Otters are extremely cute! Libbys camera battery died on Saturday morning so she couldnt get many pics, but we do not lie we really did see those otters, and they really were cute.
We found a nice spot on the shore for lunch that appeared to be an abandoned summer camp. Spooky. We explored a nearby wetland and saw a blue heron catch a fish. By that time both the temperature and the sun were dropping, so we made our start back to the put-in. A loon followed us part of the way. En route, El Reys baseball cap blew off his head and fell into the lake. With some spastic paddling in all directions, we managed to retrieve it. Libby did well for her first time in a canoe no tipping!
Back at the outfitters, Libby scored a $10 used sleeping bag which reportedly made all the difference to her comfort on Saturday night. We warmed ourselves up with coffee and hot chocolate at the outfitters restaurant and mourned the end of the paddling season.
Saturdays evening meal was a feast: souvakli, pasta, fresh vegetables, more Smores and hot chocolate, which turned out to be a meal replacement drink- no wonder we were so bloated. Amazingly, Christoph suggested we roast some hot dogs to complete the meal! But alas, none of us could fit in any more food.
We must have grown accustomed to the temperature because we did not mind the cold as much on the second night. We were all a bunch of sleepyheads on Sunday morning, but that did not stop us from repeating our Saturday breakfast. First-time camper Libby has been left with the impression that camping is all about eating. After breakfast we packed up our gear and got in a short hike on the Whiskey Rapids trail before heading back to Toronto. We lucked out weather-wise; the rain did not start until we were on the road. The two vehicles unintentionally parted ways near Huntsville. Christophe, Libby and Melissa saw a moose along Highway 11 hooray!
And then, like a sharp stick poked into the eye, we arrived in Toronto.
Have some photos from this event that you'd like to share in our photo album? Please forward them to Erik Sonstenes at photos@torontooutdoorclub.com. Please note that we prefer to receive the photos in approximately 640x480 or 750x500 pixels - do NOT send original high-res photos. If you have a LOT of photos, please submit up to twenty of your favorites (only) for a day event, or up to forty of your favourites for a multi-day event. Thank you.