Canoe Algonquin Park, Canada’s Wilderness

It is a badge of honor for anyone living in Ontario, Canada to canoe Algonquin Park.  High Schools students can’t wait for their year end trip, cub scouts troops venture out to explore its tributaries and dad’s around the province take their sons and daughters out for a week of bonding on one of the many routes within the 2000 km of optional waterways.

Our Canoe's Greet us at the Dock

Algonquin Park is a dream for the beginner or an avid canoe tripper.

Dave and I took our first canoe adventure together with our friends Ken and Marcia. Ken was planning a trip on the Yukon River and asked us to come along.  It was a training trip and trial run for the mighty Yukon and what a great way to prepare.

We paddled for ten glorious days in the Canadian Wilderness starting at Lake Opeongo.  Ken planned the routes, booked out campsites and set up our canoe rentals with Opeongo Outfitters. Our canoes were dropped off at a dock on the lake and we were off to explore our provinces wild north.

It was our first time attempting a multi-day paddle and there was a lot of research involved.  Packing was the main issue, especially food. Our friend Rich was an avid paddler and contributor to Canoe Routes Magazine.  We took advantage of his vast knowledge and took notes when he told us what we would need.

Mom and Baby Moose in Algonquin

Our first purchase was a bear barrel.  Algonquin park is filled with wildlife and we needed to protect our food not only from the dangers of being visited by a black bear, but to keep it safe from pesky raccoons that just love to open boxes and take off with tasty treats. Each night we would secure our food inside and hang it from a high tree branch.

Fuel for cooking was also a necessity. We could make fires in the park, but a good camping stove is essential and we bought am MSR multifuel stove. It was excellent. It boils water quickly and cooks food to perfection. We were able to control the level of the flame and could actually simmer our food. It wasn’t needed on this trip, but we decided to go for a stove that burns all types of fuel. You never know when you will be camping somewhere and all they have is kerosene available.

Deb Playing around after a long day

After a long day of paddling and portaging, food is the highlight of any trip, and we ate like kings.  After ample research of the best food to bring, we made sure to have an endless supply of delicious treats.  Every night was a feast eating rice, beans, lentils and pasta. We went to an Indian market and bought several packets of excellent curries, bhindi, korma, and masala’s.  Their packaging is perfect for cooking.  All you have to do is boil the packets and pour them over your rice for instant healthy, hearty and tasty meals.

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There was a wide variety of food and drink. We had coffee and tea in the mornings and hot chocolate at night.  Cheese strings and chocolates, sandwiches and trail mix were on hand during the day.  Even breakfast varied ranging from eggs to pancakes to powdered milk with granola.

It seems that for every adventure that we go on, we focus more on our stomachs than anything else.

The canoeing is very relaxed in Algonquin Park.  The water is calm and if you pick the right route, you won’t see other people for days.  We spotted otters, moose and herons, and one evening we even had a visit from a bear.  A mistake I made by throwing our rotting pepperettes into the fire before going to bed.

After we had all turned in for the night, I had to go to the loo and as I was walking to the outhouse I thought I heard someone by the fire.  When I shouted out who was there, no one answered but a grunt. I ran back to the tent to get Dave and Ken and we all spent a good half hour banging our paddles and yelling and screaming to scare it off.  Eventually we heard a splash and assumed that it had swam away.

I then proceeded to lay awake all night long infuriated with Dave for sleeping so soundly after such a scare from that hungry bear.

Ken chose a tough route and we tackled the longest portage in the entire park. The final portage of our 10 days of paddling was the portage overland from Opeongo Lake to Dickson Lake. We carried our canoes, tents, packs and the rest of our food for 5.3 Km from lake to lake.  We all ended up walking 7,5 km that day using the Portage and a half technique.

All four of us set out together carrying a load to the half way mark.  Two people continue on as the others drop their packs and turn around to go back for the remaining gear.  Once the two of us that have continued on reach the other lake, we go back for the gear left in the middle of the trail and pick up the remaining packs meeting up with the others that have now gone back for the gear and are continuing on.  It is complicated but works very well at cutting km’s off of the walk.

It was late in the summer and the nights were cold.  We even awoke one morning to a slight blanket of snow.  Our trusty  North Face Roadrunner 2 tent kept us warm though.  It’s low profile and tough exterior kept the heat in and we slept in our tuques,(Canadian for winter hat) wool socks and long johns with our sleeping bags pulled up over our noses.

I highly recommend a trip to Algonquin Park if you are looking for a leisurely canoe trip.  There is very little white water, the views are incredible.  You can hike through the pine forest, swim in the pristine lakes, sunbathe on a beach or climb to the high look out and view a panoramic display of a park that is larger in area than Banff National Park in area and greener than anywhere you will see on earth.

So buy a map and plan your route. Book your camp sites, rent your canoe and go out and explore Canada’s  Wild North.

Ken and Marcia

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Surviving Scary Moments Traveling the World

We have experienced a lot of crazy situations when traveling.  Many of those close calls could have gone bad,but we were lucky to always make it back in one piece.

Here is part 1 of our list of tense situations while traveling abroad:

5.Bear in the Camp at Algonquin Park. Right in our own back yard, Ontario.  We were on a 10 day canoe trip in Algonquin park and had definitely managed to get off the beaten path.  In a well secluded campsite with not another soul around, 4 of us were nearing the end of our trip.  We had some pepperettes that were going bad, so we decided to throw them in the fire before we went to bed.  This was not a smart idea.  After we had all turned in, I went out to use the Loo and heard someone by the fire pit.  I called out thinking it was Marcia or Ken, but no one answered.  That’s when I knew something was wrong.  I ran back to the tent and yelled that there was something out there.  With all of our commotion and noise it moved and it was now confirmed that it was something big.  We all yelled, and slapped our paddles, but we could still hear it.  Branches were breaking and we heard it grunting, but could not see it anywhere.  We all stood together and kept yelling for a very long time. A while later we heard a big splash in the water and assumed that it had jumped in and swam away. It never came back, but I was sleepless all night and frustrated with Dave for napping like a baby.

4.Train to Machu Picchu. Our entire time in Peru, local people kept warning us about how dangerous the country is. They warned us to watch our belongings and whenever we were alone on a street or bus, they would always tell us to watch out for dangerous people.  We actually had a man chase us down the street blowing a whistle all the way to our motel in Pisco .  We were so paranoid by now, that we thought he was going to attack us, that is until we got to the front door and the owner explained that he was security and making sure that we were safe.  So, you can’t blame us for over reacting on the train to Machu Picchu.  We were sitting in our seats enjoying the scenery when Dave suddenly tells me to hide the camera and stuff our valuables under the seat.  Up in the front compartment, he saw a couple of guys putting on masks and he was sure it was a stick up.  It turns out that they were the entertainment performing a traditional dance just for us.

3. Coasting down a mountain in the back of a pick up in Cambodia -We had hired a truck to take us to see the hill station of Kampot and had a wonderful day checking out the abandoned casino, the water fall and the scenery.  The sun was about to go down, so we had to go.  Of course, as usual, our truck broke down part way down.  It was now dark and we were in the middle of the jungle.  It is also Cambodia, so you know you can’t stumble along in the dark for fear of stepping off the path and onto a land mine.  We stupidly didn’t bring flashlights with us because we were on a day trip with a guide and no idea that we would be leaving so late in the day.  The driver really wasn’t telling us anything that was going on, so we decided to walk.  At least there were 5 of us, so we felt sort of safe from the animals.  We were walking for about an hour when we heard a honk behind us.  Alright, they had fixed it! No such luck…They were simply coasting down the winding road with vertical drops. No power steering or power brakes, barely any control, but we didn’t have a choice.  We couldn’t stay out all night in the jungle.  We hopped in the back of the box and held on for dear life.  We made it in one piece, called a cab and had a lot of beer at our guest house.

2. Aborted take off in Tanzania. All signs were telling us not to go to Zanzibar.  We made a last minute descision after climbing Kilimanjaro, that we deserved a break and instead of going on safari, we b-lined it for the airport.  We didn’t have any US Cash on us, but hey, they have a bank machine there.  No luck though, the machine was out of order. Oh, and they don’t take credit card either.We ended up having to pool our money with a travel companion and we somehow came up with the right amount. By the time we got our tickets, we almost missed the plane.  We were sitting on the runway feeling pretty proud of ourselves and take off started.  We gained speed and then the plane started fishtailing and shaking.  I was sure we were going to crash, but suddenly we veered to a stop.  I couple of seconds later a violent sand storm came through, shaking the plane once again and blackening the sky, we could barely see anything out the window.  After it had passed the pilot told us that we had to abort because of the storm.  It had passed now, so we were free to go.  I thought that we should have gone back to check the plane and make sure that nothing was plugged up with sand, but we flew off anyway into the sunset.

1. Dune Buggy in Peru.  This was supposed to be an exciting experience in Huachachina.  We had always wanted to ride through giant dunes strapped into a buggy with the threat of rolling.  That is until we were strapped in with no place to go. We were about a half hour into our ride when police came charging up behind us.  A heated discussion ensued to which I could not understand and then the officer turned to us and told us that we are seriously taking our life in our hands going with this man.  It is very dangerous and they were not supposed to be driving here because a tourist was killed last week.  I definitely wanted to get off, but the police left and we continued on our way.  I told the driver that I didn’t want to do this anymore, but he ignored me and off we went.  It was an insane experience.  We climbed giant, almost vertical dunes and then rolled over the edge to a freefall into oblivion.  It was a thrill and we made it through for sure, but the whole I I was sure that I was going to be killed.  When we finally came to the end, I got down on my knees and kissed the sand.

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