Due to the recent success of my blog I am going to expand into a Website. The website will house route suggestions, featured Algonquin websites, links to local outfitters and of course this blog. There will also be in the future a spot to input your route suggestions so that new canoers can plan more effectively. I will post the link when I have the site up and running!
~Enjoy your trip.
I’ve noticed lately that the interior of Algonquin Park has become the “in” place for the city slickers. While I have nothing wrong with people exploring and enjoying the park, I do have a problem with people destroying the parks natural beauty. What I mean is that I’m sick of people throwing their garbage on the portages, people bringing cans and bottles into the interior and leaving them there for others to clean up, people driving everywhere within a campsite when you can bike or walk. The threat on Algonquin is all too real and we need to protect it. We as the campers are as much responsible as the park staff and conservation officers. There are simple things that we all can do to keep the park beautiful.
- Keep your campsite clean and make sure it’s clean before you leave.
- Only bring stuff that is completely bio-degradable and good for the environment.
- Foil does not burn…..bring it out with you in some places it’s recyclable
- Freeze dried foods might not taste the best but there is less waste with them and its quick to prepare.
- Stay on the marked portage. Don’t go off course to get around someone. We’ll all get there in our own time.
- Can’s and bottles are not allowed in the interior so DON’T BRING THEM! There are tetra packs available now for wines. Pour your wine/beer into a plastic container.
- If you bring food like steak or another kind of meat please make sure that your grill and cooking area is clean. The bears do not need people food…it really isn’t good for them.
- Speaking of wildlife…..leave it alone. If you see an abandoned beaver lodge, dam or even turtles on a log leave them be. You can ruin an animals natural habitat.
- Use your common sense. If you think it might hurt something then don’t do it. DON’T CUT DOWN TREES FOR FIREWOOD. USE WOOD ON THE FOREST FLOOR THAT IS DEAD!!!!
As you go on your way today remember that Algonquin Park has almost been destroyed before by wildfires and logging…..let’s not let it be destroyed by us! I love that park and I want my children to love it too!
~Enjoy your Trip!
Last week we hit a mild spell up here which instead of snow caused a lot of rain to fall. The snow has disappeared. The indoor activities are still available @ Algonquin but skiing will have to wait. You can also still camp at Mew Lake. I’ll keep you posted!
Enjoy your trip!
There may be 3 feet of snow outside but that doesn’t mean Algonquin Park shuts down. There are many activities to be done. All of the museums are still open under limited hours as are the stores along Highway 60. There are 2 cross country ski trails as well. The Minnesing and Leaf Lake. As well you can camp in Mew Lake in a Yurt!
Algonquin also has 2 Dogsled trails…one on Hwy 60 and one in South River. Teachers can also take advantage of Group Education Programs. For more info on Winter in Algonquin check out their website @ http://algonquinpark.on.ca
Enjoy your trip!
Most of you have probably been wondering if I’ve fallen off the planet. I haven’t I’ve just been busy! November is here and that means Christmas is just around the corner. We haven’t had any snow yet except for the odd flurry! Hopefully we will have a white Christmas.
Algonquin is great to visit at this time of the year even though it’s slightly colder. Alot of canoer’s go out at this time of the year and you can rent a Yurt @ Mew Lake Campground if you just want to stay in the campsite. Check out AlgonquinPark.com for more information
Enjoy your trip!
Enjoy your trip!
Labour day weekend is coming up quickly which means that summer is almost over. Its sad to think that another camping season is soon drawing to an end. Sure there are the die hards out there that will camp until it snows but for the average person the camping season is over. Looking back this season it’s been very inconsistent weather wise. In July we had a lot of rain. So far in August its been nice however lately we’ve been getting a mix bag. The park has definately been busy though. There were a good 3 weeks where the park was full.
If you are looking for a quiet time of the year to canoe and camp then this is it. The campsites are quiet and empty. There will be a slim few on the portages. You can’t beat the colors either.
Enjoy your trip!
For those who are going into the interior here are some more route suggestions that are Loop trips.
1. Start at Rain Lake and canoe through to Daisy Lake. Stay on Daisy the first night. Then follow the Petewawa River to Little Misty and Misty Lake. Camp on Misty Lake. Then camp on Jubilee the last night. Out in the afternoon at Rain Lake.
2. Rock Lake to Pen. Camp on Pen. Pen, Welcome and camp on Harry. Canoe through to Louisa and stay there on the last night. Come out at Rock in the afternoon.
4. Canoe Lake to Burnt Island Lake camp there. Then canoe through the otterslides into Big Trout. Camp either on Big Trout or White Trout Lake. Then canoe through to McIntosh and stay there. From McIntosh head into Tom Thompson and camp there. Finally head out of Canoe in the afternoon.
Enjoy your trip!
Thomas John Thomson (August 5, 1877 – July 8, 1917) was an influential Canadian artist of the early 20th century. He was closely associated with the painters who later became the Group of Seven, but died under mysterious circumstances before it formed
Tom Thomson was born near Claremont , Ontario and grew up in Leith, near Owen Sound. Some biographers report that in 1899 he tried unsuccessfully to volunteer to fight in the Second Boer War, and instead went to a business college in Chatham and later in Seattle, Washington. In 1904 he returned to Canada, and in 1907 joined an artistic design firm in Toronto where many of the future members of the Group of Seven also worked. With his colleagues he often travelled around Canada, especially to the wilderness of Ontario, which was a major source of inspiration for Thomson. His first exhibition was in 1913.
Beginning in 1914 he acted as a fire fighter and guide in Algonquin Park in Ontario. During the next three years he produced many of his most famous works, including The Jack Pine and The West Wind.
Thomson disappeared during a canoeing trip on Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park in on July 8, 1917, and his body was discovered in the lake eight days later. The official cause of death was accidental drowning but there are still questions about how he actually died. It has been speculated that he was murdered by a German-American neighbor, Martin Blecher, Jr., or that he fell on a fire grate during a drunken brawl with J. Shannon Fraser, owner of Canoe Lake’s Mowat Lodge, over an old loan to Fraser for the purchase of canoes. Thomson alleged needed the money for a new suit to marry Winnifred Trainor, whose parents had a cottage at Canoe Lake. Rumors circulated following his drowning that she was pregnant with Thomson’s child. Winnifred Trainor made a trip to Philadephia with her mother the following winter and returned around Easter. She never spoke about her relationship with Thomson. A nephew, Terrance Trainor MacGregor, an upper New York resident who inherited her estate, which included at least 13 small Thomson paintings and letters, said the letters confirm their engagement. MacGregor has refused to produce the letters for scholarly investigation. Others believe that Thomson, who produced at least 63 landscape paintings that last spring, many of which he gave away or discarded, suffered severe depression and drowned himself. He was buried at Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park on July 17, 1917. Under the direction of his older brother, George Thomson, the body was exhumed two days later and re-interred in the family plot beside the Leith Presbyterian Church on July 21.
None of these theories are conclusive, and the wide range of speculation serves mostly to perpetuate Thomson’s romantic legend. [1]
Courtesy of Wikipedia.com
If you are a group looking for a place to camp or canoe as a group then Algonquin is a great place to do that. There is a campground specifically designated for groups called Whitefish Lake. The sites are set up in a way that a group can occupy any number of the spots and still be beside each other. Whitefish Lake is a great place to do canoe trips as well. Whitefish connects to Rock Lake where there are a number of portages and lakes that you can access.
If you as a group would like to go on a interior canoe trip then there are a number of spots that you can go. If your group is not very experienced then maybe Canoe Lake to Burnt Island would be a good trek. If you have an experienced group then maybe doing a trip up Opeongo would be an idea. The world is yours to choose from!
Enjoy your trip.
