Fri, Feb 16 2007, Sat, Feb 17 2007, Sun, Feb 18 2007 - X-Ski, Snowshoe and Lodge Weekend at Algonquin Eco-Lodge (View Original Event Details)
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Just a little bit further… or
I (HEART) Vegetarians
I’ve always said that a trip cannot be official unless you have something wrong or really funny happen. The best of course is having something go wrong and be able to laugh at it afterwards. This trip falls under this category.
It shaped up like any other overnight trip. Some people sign up within minutes of the event being posted, while others wait to see what their schedule is going be like closer to the date (I secretly think these people want to sign up right away, but don’t want to look like keeners), and then there are those like David, who decide to tag along last minute. Fortunately for him, there was *just* enough space for one more.
The pre-meeting went swimmingly, except for a longer wait than expected (who knew Casey’s would be busy). These pre-meets serve various purposes. Besides making it easier to take care of the administrative aspect of the trip, it gives all the other members a chance to meet their fellow weekenders as well. It is always a treat to have new members on the trip. This would be Bernadette’s first trip with the TOC, and Lisa Jayne (who couldn’t make it this night) would be essentially attending her first event too (Brewery Tour aside). Michelle brought her friend Karen along, who apparently I made sign up to the club so she could attend the Lodge. The Carpool arrangement fell together flawlessly. Alison, Karen and Michelle would be coming down from Brampton, Brent would pick up David, Teresa and Sue, and I would be bringing Bernadette and Lisa.
Bernadette and Lisa as I mentioned are new members of the club, and are not quite familiar with carpooling with the TOC. I can imagine the slight trepidation a new member may experience while they await for their ride from a person who to them is a relative stranger. I arranged to pick up Bernadette and Lisa at Yorkdale for convenience since it IS right off the highway, but then again, it WAS Friday afternoon, and traffic along the 401 is legendary at this time. Suffice to say the trip was a long one and was capped off by a speeding ticket just outside of Bancroft for yours truly.
By the time we arrived at the parking lot for the Lodge, it was almost 10pm, pitch black and a little cold, and we still had a ‘short’ ski ahead of us. One thing about skiing in the dark is that trying to figure out proper distance you’ve traveled is hard and harder still when you haven’t skied in ages. So we plugged along with our barely there flashlights and headlights, and after what seemed forever, we felt that maybe we traveled to far. And then there were the eyes! Dozens of glowing, glowering eyes staring right at us! It was very intimidating to say the least. Once we realized that the dogs were chained up, we looked for signs of life but found none. Being late and not being able to think straight, I wandered a little further past the dogs, up a hill… and nothing! No signs anywhere, nothing telling us were we where or how much further we had to go. We decided to turn around and head back, perhaps we had taken a wrong turn somewhere and went back to check it out. We ended up back at the parking lot. I was ready to head back, but Bernadette and Lisa wanted to go find a motel to spend the night instead. So we compromised! We found a lovely rustic cabin right there in the parking lot! Complete with loft and change room!! So it wasn’t heated, but at least it was out of the elements, and we had warm sleeping bags right? The girls thought they were gonna die that night, but I’m sure they were reassured when they heard me sound asleep.
We managed to survive the night, and headed back on the trail early in the morning more determined than ever. This time, we could see the signs that we COMPLETELY missed on the trail, and I truly felt like kicking myself when we got to the point we stopped last night, only to see a not so obvious sign saying “Eco-lodge, just around the corner”. So, we were all of 50 metres away from the lodge the night before, but no matter, we were hungry, and luckily, breakfast was just being served!!
Breakfast was soon followed by a day of skiing. Dave and Michelle took to the harder trails, Karen and Teresa decided to do some snow shoeing and Brent, Lisa, Alison and I decided to take it easy along the logging road trail. We made it as far as the lunch box, where appropriately enough, we had our packed lunch from the lodge. We quickly ate as staying still invariably leads to being cold, so we headed back to the lodge. We ran into Karen and Teresa on the way back, and wished them luck up the logging trail.
When we got back to the Lodge, we took a rest, but it was soon interrupted by an even more inviting prospect.. THE HOT TUB! There is nothing like enjoying an outdoor hot tub in the middle of winter! The cool air and hot water mix to make an intoxicating, and very fun time! Karen, David and I even took the plunge! We did our little polar bear dip into the lake (a hole was cut into the ice for this purpose!). We didn’t stay in the freezing water for very long, and I still say that Karen only hovered over the water, but apparently she has photographic evidence of the contrary (Photoshop does wonders nowadays!).
Back at the lodge everyone eventually returned from the snowshoeing and skiing and relaxed till dinner. Time was well wasted through conversation and good books that some had wanted to read for the longest time. A nap wasn’t unheard of either. Dinner was good, but the Vegetarians had a better meal in my opinion, except for Karen, who apparently already had her fill of chickpeas. Even their dessert was better, as they got some fresh kiwi and strawberries! Blast those Vegetarians! Almost makes a guy want to convert (almost).
Perhaps the best part of the trip was our after dinner game of Balderdash! For those that have never played, you are given a real word that sounds completely absurd, antiquated, or just never used in the everyday lexicon. You then do your best to define the word and hope other’s guess your definition! While I can’t quite remember the words that our very creative and diabolical group came up with (and someone decided to use our scraps of paper as kindling) I do remember that we had an incredible time and some of the definitions were pure genius!
Sunday morning came quick, and some of our eager beavers decided to hit the trails, and the rest were perfectly content on lounging around the lodge and cozy up with a fine book. Lunch rolled around quite slowly thankfully, and soon, we had to get ready to return to the real world we had managed to escape for a few peaceful (for some) days of R&R! We returned to our cars on skis, took some final photos, packed up the cars, and headed home. But before we even got back to the main road, Allison decided to take the scenic route up a local ski hill, fortunately, we wised up before going all the way, but unfortunately, I managed to get stuck in the snow in the process, and it took the strength of ten women to get the car back out!
I’d like to thank everyone for making this a memorable trip (it had to be if I can still write about it!) To Bernadette and Lisa Jayne for having faith in me, and for continuing to attend events even after the ordeal they had to ‘suffer’ through. To Brent and Alison for being awesome drivers and bringing the crew up to the lodge! And to Michelle, Karen and Teresa for being great company the entire weekend! Oh.. and David for his great ski tips!
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