TRIP-LOG#88 - MEW LAKE - HIGHWAY#60 JANUARY 11-13, ALGONQUIN PARK

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1 TRIP-LOG#88 - MEW LAKE - HIGHWAY#60 JANUARY 11-13, ALGONQUIN PARK January 11 - Day 1 - Arrival at Mew Lake I had an opportunity to take a young Australian lad, who had never seen snow to Algonquin Park. I was asked to take the young fellow ("Lochlan" is his name) on a winter camping trip. I initially declined the offer citing my concern as it is not the kind of trip for inexperienced people and it is a lot of hard work. Lochlan didn't even have his own pair of snowshoes. Instead, I offered a more memorable experience; Two nights in the comfort of a yurt complete with an outdoor fire-pit, while during the daytime the chance to hike some trails. A much easier itinerary then the extraneous physical exercise of interior winter camping. I tied the trip in with a meeting in Barrie, north of Toronto. Leaving the meeting during the lunch break we headed up to the West Gate to pick-up our permit and the key to our yurt at Mew Lake Campground. We arrived at our yurt shortly after 4pm and while unloading the vehicle, I spied a pine marten across the road, as it bounded across a vacant campsite. I scrambled to get my camera and tippy-toed my way to where I last saw the marten and for the next 10 minutes waited. The marten did not return and so I continued to unload the vehicle. Once we got established in our yurt, we went for a walk around the campground, most of the yurts were occupied, but all we saw was one couple walking around as well. It was very quiet, winter in The Park is a bonus sometimes. Lochlan was quite thrilled by all the snow and enjoyed the fire I had got going with Lochlan's help. Surprisingly, the wood provided for the campground was not the usual wet and frozen birch, but was in fact maple that was damp, but when it got going, it burned well and smelt even better, a nice change. Mark's Algonquin Park Sampler Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved! 1

2 We had a dinner of store bought subs and a few beers to unwind and enjoy the campfire. It was Lochlan's first experience drinking beer in a cold climate and he was astonished to realize that as he drank his beer it got colder instead of getting warmer like beer usually does. Another bonus of drive-in camping in the wintertime! January 12 - Day 2 - day-trip to Bat Lake, Lookout Trails I got up shortly after 7am to partly sunny skies. It was a real juggle to make coffee and eggs with bacon and pita bread for lochlan and I with my single burner stove, but I did it and by 9:50 am we were all cleaned up and headed over to the first trail of the day: The Bat Lake Trail. I had chosen this trail for three reasons: the icefall, the exercise and the solitude. I wanted lochlan to see his first Icefall and I knew where to get one. Sure we'd seen a few whiz by as we drove along highway#60, but here his experience would be more personal. Unlike a few of the other trails on highway#60, Bat Lake trail had elevation changes with some climbing, great for warming the blood. The length of the trail (5.6km loop) ensured that few would choose such a length, thus preserving the solitude that I wanted Lochlan to experience. By 10:45am we reached the icefall, having ascended a ravine we enjoyed the brief rest that the icefall offered, it was a great view something that Lochlan enjoyed and queried me about the different colours of the ice. I told him that it was the minerals in the water that gave the ice its colours. About an hour and a half later we were at the North end of the loop where the trail went though hemlock stand on fairly level ground. We had been on the trail for nearly 2.5 hours and I asked Lochlan if he was getting hungry. "Yes" was his answer and I told Lochlan that we would eat in about half and hour, stopping for lunch at a spot I usually have lunch at. About ten minutes later we reached the spot I had in mind. A clear spot in the forest with a lookout high above the valley below. In the distance could be seen Sasajewun Mark's Algonquin Park Sampler Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved! 2

3 Lake where the wildlife research station is located. The was a park bench located at the lookout and this is where I dropped my day-pack. I told Lochlan I was going to get wood for a fire so that we could cook over it. Lochlan helped gather wood and kindling too as it made the task twice as fast. We got a fire going and pretty soon it died. The kindling was too wet and too thick. Lochlan went out to gather smaller drier kindling, while I sought out some birch paper. It took awhile to find a few dead birch trees, but i found them and one in particular that yielded big sheets of bark. I hurried back and explained to Lochlan the properties of birch bark. I had to go off trail which wasn't too bad. The snow was only two feet deep, and in my boots I did okay. I figured with the lack of snow at the campground that the trails would be welltrodden enough to support booted feet and we were lucky, no snowshoes were needed. Still two feet of snow is tough to trudge in, fortunately I didn't have to go more than 20m off into the bush and within 15 minutes our wood caught beautifully and we set about the task of roasting some dogs over the fire while I poured us a few refreshments. The winds had picked up considerably while we had lunch and we saw snow-squalls off to the East from the lookout, we were protected from the winds and were able to enjoy our lunch. We spent nearly an hour at the lookout; Gathering firewood, getting the fire going, cooking and enjoying the food then the clean-up and extinguishing the fire (With lots of snow). The rest of the trek back to the parking lot consisted of a rapid downhill descent as the forest closed in on us and became quite thick. Eventually the trail levelled off and with in fifteen minutes we had completed the trail. It takes about 3 hours to complete the trail, we did it in four as we took our time breaking for lunch. Bat Lake Trail is one of my favourite trails. It is a forest trail, taking you through many stands of cedar, hemlock, white pine and even some hardwood. There are some gurgling streams underfoot at the first part of the trail and near the end a marsh and Bat Lake itself, an acidified lake that is studied by scientists on a regular basis. If you enjoy a good long hike in the forest with some elevation changes Mark's Algonquin Park Sampler Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved! 3

4 to get the blood going, then this trail is for you. I would rate this trail as intermediate in physical activity. It was nearly 2:20pm when we finished the trail and asked if Lochlan was interested in doing one more, albeit a much shorter one as it was mid-afternoon. Lochlan was into the idea and so I took him to Lookout trail. The Lookout trail is a short 1.9km loop. The trail is a fairly long steep climb before dropping into a short descent and then a shallow climb right before reaching the summit of the trail. Once at the summit, there is an expansive view of the Algonquin Highlands. A view that I have seen many times myself, particularly in the fall, it can be quite beautiful. In winter, the view has its own unique beauty and it is cold, the winds were picking up and at the lookout we were exposed and didn't stay long. Next the trail traverses a red pine stand as it continues to skirt the huge outcropping that the summit sits on. Once we left the summit, the trail descend again rapidly, as it is just as steep going down as it is going up. If you've got 40 minutes to kill then this trail can be easily done in that time at a leisurely pace. Surprisingly, the trail wasn't as compacted as the Bat Lake Trail and in walking boots was a little tricker as snow depth proved a little problematic at times, though not impossible. Just before 3:30pm we were done the trail. Too early to go back, but too late to start another trail. I decided we would drive to the Spruce Bog Trail and look for Grey Jays in the parking lot there. After searching for nearly ten minutes, no birds showed up. The temperature was starting to drop as the sun was making its way to the horizon and the winds were picking up again, time to head back. By 4:45pm we were back at our yurt with a fire going and about an hour later I cooked us some chicken and rice over the fire, again with some frosty beer, to wash it down. It was very windy that night and we didn't stay out too long. We had been outside all day and I was starting to feel a little chilled and the wind wasn't helping. We stayed up for a few hours more inside the warmth of the yurt before retiring for the night. Mark's Algonquin Park Sampler Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved! 4

5 At some point in the middle of the night, the door was flung open by a strong gust of wind and I had to get-up (Mistake) to close the door. Now that I was up, I had to go relieve myself and I chattered my teeth as I ran outside in my underwear and booties to find a place to do my business in the windy snowy landscape, it was 2:30am. I hurried back and quickly fell asleep. January 13 - Day 3 - A cold morning My Thermometer recorded a temperature of -17 C that morning and I beckoned Lochlan to come outside and give the morning temps a try. Yup, it was cold, very cold to him! I told Lochlan that this was nothing. -30 C is cold, that's when the cold takes your breath away. Fortunately, Lochlan wouldn't have to experience those temps. We packed up after a breakfast of coffee and headed out, stopping by the West gate to drop off the key. THe day was beautiful, bright sunny blue skies and not a drop of wind. I told lochlan we should get him back to the city, he had a busy schedule with him leaving for Australia in 6 days. not much time left but enough for one more trail and a treat. Lochlan didn't have snowshoes, but I had mine and so as we drove out of The Park, my next hiking trail quickly came into view; Ragged Falls. The falls and part of the river system (Oxtongue River) is its own provincial park, not part of Algonquin Park, which in my mind could be. As predicted the road to the parking lot was no ploughed and one had to park at a small ploughed section at theta highway and walk in unto the trailhead. The roadway unto the parking lot was a mass of trampled down snow, but the shoulders were prefect, I dug out the snowshoes and assisted Lochlan in putting them on, gave him two ski poles and watched him go. Pretty soon Lochlan had the hang of it. Snowshoeing isn't hard, it's just weird the first time you try and in deep snow it is a saviour. I told Lochlan to go walk into the bush where there was deep snow and give it a try. Sure enough he was able to find deep fluffy snow and soon realized the snowshoe's ability to float him on top of the snow pack. Mark's Algonquin Park Sampler Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved! 5

6 Lochlan snowshoed the rest of the way to the trail head and beyond to where the trail split to the river and the falls above. Here, Lochlan left the snowshoes behind as we ascended to the falls. The falls were a real treat, a true winter wonderland of ice, snow, frothing water and ice-caked trees. We hung around for about 15 minutes, taking several pictures and exploring different areas in which to view the turbulent water from. After a time we left, that was it, the trip was over. Lochlan was impressed and told me he had enjoyed his time in The Park. I told him he hadn't seen the best of it yet, come back again in the summer some time and I'd take him into the interior on a canoe trip. The best part of The Park! Winter is great, but summer is awesome! THE END Mark's Algonquin Park Sampler Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved! 6