Algonquin Provincial Park - Western Uplands Hiking Trail
September 24th-26th, 2010
2nd loop - 55 kms (34 miles)

This was a 3 day/2 night trip my friend Earl and I did in late September up in Algonquin Park here in Ontario, Canada. We covered about 55 km (34 miles) over the 3 days. My base weight was 11 pounds, add to that 4.1 pounds of food and 1.5 pounds of water for a total pack weight of 16.6 pounds. Earls kit is more traditional and he was carrying a total pack weight of around 32 pounds for this trip.

Short story: It was wet.

It rained the two days leading up to our trip and we had rain all 3 days while we were on the trail. The trail was more stream/pond than anything else for a good portion of the hike. Made for some slow travel and tough hiking through some parts of the park. No problems keeping our kit dry though and we were able to dry ourselves out nicely in the evenings under the tarp.

Overall I was happy with the gear I brought on this trip. Food wise I ended up being a bit heavy on the snacks and will lighten up my normal menu still again as I try to dial this in to get closer to actual consumption for this length of hike. I have a few key areas in my kit that I would like to still lighten up and am hoping to break the 10 pound base weight barrier on my next trip.

All in all an awesome trip and we had a great time.


Trail marker we would be following for the next few days.



Pretty typical section of trail.



Wet trail. We generally figured if there was water...it was probably the trail.



Me with a giant beaver dam in the background. Mentioned this thing in my last trip report. Still amazes me when I see it.



I carry a 710ml Gatorade bottle and just fill up as I go. Purification is done with Micropur tablets. Water quality in the park is excellent.



Earl heading down the trail.



No mushrooms where injured during the making of this trip report.



Taking a quick breather. I am using an MLD Exodus pack and you can see my GG LT4 poles off to the side. The poles where definitely required this trip with the slippery conditions.



No lack of water.



Section of trail.



One of many lakes in the park.



Rock.




More rock.



Still more rock.



Nice section of trail.



MLD Trailstar setup for the night.



Another shot of the Trailstar to give you a feeling for the amount of room available. Even though we had a ton of rain, we had little to no wind where we were setup and that allowed for a fairly high pitch.



Mushrooms where everywhere this time of year. Oyster mushrooms perhaps?



View while enjoying breakfast.



Still more rock.







Foot care was definitely key on this trip. We stayed wet from the moment we started walking until we stopped for the evening. Every break was an opportunity to air out the feet and check for problems. I had really good luck with a generic brand of sportslick that is sold in some of the pharmacies here in Ontario as an "anti-chaffing" product. It comes in a small deodorant stick style container. This will definitely remain in my first aid kit moving forward. My feet stayed in good shape the whole trip.



Prime moose area. We did not manage to spot a moose this time around but we certainly shared the trails with a lot of fresh track, both moose and wolf.



Great ending to a great trip.

Sounds like you had a great time even with the rain. Thanks for the write up, and nice pictures by the way.

I did a 6 day canoe trip there last spring, amazing scenery. I cannot wait to go back, looks like you had a blast.

Edited by Aschill on 10/08/2010 14:54:58 MDT.

Sweet....makes me want to get back there.

Nice report!

Any chance you can share the specifics of what lakes you stayed on? No real reason other than me being curious. :)

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the comments. Was definitely a great trip. I love the park this time of year once the crowds are gone.

Steve,

First night was at Clara lake. There are only two sites on that lake...and only 1 of them is worth staying at. That is the picture that you see the tarp setup on. The other site on that lake is really just a bit of a clearing along the trail as it goes by the water.

Second night we spent at Susan Lake. Two sites again on this lake and the second one heading south on the trail is the nicest. Bit of a steep drop to get to water but it's a great spot. A beautiful climb and lookout immediately after the site to wake you up the next morning.

East side of the loop was definitely drier than the first half.

Thanks for the info. I didn't get a chance to head there this year so I'm living through your trip!

It looks like a very pretty trail, and your campsite seemed ideal. You're roght, that Trailstar does have plenty of room underneath. Do you find it easy to put up given the shape and size?

Liked the shroom photo...never saw one like that.
Tom

Tom,

The trailstar is pretty easy to put up. I lay it out with the door facing the direction I want....then I loosely stake out the 4 sides and then put the center pole in. Once the center pole is in I put up the front pole and stake out that guyline and then tighten the first four lines. At that point I am ready to put in the remaining stakes. If there is no wind I do not use the extra 2 guylines along the door opening which means it is a huge opening if set high which is nice for getting in and out of and also for the views. I have not had to button it down and stake it close to the ground yet...but set up high the way it is in the picture it goes up in just a few minutes without any hassle. More than enough room for 2 with gear when set up high. So far the sites I have used the tarp in have been pretty big...so I have not had any issues in terms of size and you can pitch the sides fairly steeply to squeeze it in if needed.

Dave Chenault has a quick video where you can see his Trailstar set up with the sides down to the ground: Here. The tarp shows up about half way through his video.

So far I have been pretty happy with the shelter, but starting to think of other options to lighten up my pack and may look at something in cuben over the winter.

The mushroom on the tree was interesting. Amazing how massive it was...and very soft and spongy..so all new growth.