Trip Report: -31.1*C (-23.98*F) in the Piney woods of Algonquin Provincial Park

[ripcurlksm]

Wow that place looks gorgeous, thanks for sharing

[nothermark]

Thanks for sharing. Nice pictures. That's beautiful country up there.

[Deep Thought]

We all made excellent time to Algonquin Park's West Gate on Friday February 15th.
We had decided to meet at 11am, and I rolled into the parking lot at 10:59am to find Hankster walking up the parking lot drive to greet me. Between being stuck behind the plows and stopping for gas, the trip had taken me exactly 3 hours and was even longer for Hankster. As I was getting out of my vehicle, Jayson and Ozz rolled up, beating their revised ETA by an hour, and before we knew it, Chenvre was there as well. Cedar was meeting us at the trail-head.
Getting our permits was a breeze and pretty cheap at $35.25 for three nights in the backcountry. The staff make sure to know your intended route and get a general idea of where you will be camping for safety reasons.
We busted down Hwy 60 and then waited while one brave soul plowed his car into the snowdrift, breaking a path for us to follow into the trail-head parking lot.

BREAKING TRAIL

As far as I can tell, we started out around 12:30 and fought our way up, down, off and on, around and through the trail until we came to a decent spot not far from the rail bed running Northwest from Source lake.

Along the trail some of us first timers realized how exhausting it is to fight with your pulk/sled through a narrow and winding forest trail. Rollovers were commonplace and sleds would get hung up on branches and jam against trees. For those of us using simple rope tows, we enjoyed the thrill of outrunning our sleds down the slopes or having them bash us continuously in the back of the heels. The ropes did allow for some extra flexibility around tight hairpin turns or supporting the sled to keep it from tipping whilst going over uneaven logs. In the end, I think I would still make myself a harness with poles for next time.
My Albatross...

I was a slowpoke getting my gear strapped on, mostly because of last minute sorting of the food--I had brought waaaay too much. Ozz and Jayson were gracious enough to wait with me, while Cedar, Chenvre and Hankster attacked the trail with super-human endurance.
From all reports I heard, Cedar broke trail for two hours straight--an unstoppable machine-man that will go down in the history books as an Algonquin legend. Part man, part snow plow.
Even making good time following on a packed trail, it took us forever to catch up with the lead group, somewhere near the southern end of Mizzy lake.
When our amazement turned to guilt, we began to take turns as lead (trailbreaking), giving Cedar a chance to enjoy the scenery. I would say "rest" but that is not in his vocabulary.
The scenery was pristine:

The long trail ahead to catch up with Cedar.

I was a little nervous about proceeding across the lakes and marshes for fear of running water, but there was great protest about continuing to "bushwack" along the hilly trail. We proceeded with caution and only had one "incident" when Chenvre broke through a shallow marshy spot and was trapped when his pulk slid over his snowshoe trapping his foot. I went back to help pull the sled off him and was rewarded by breaking through and falling down myself. No good deed goes unpunished...
Ozz and Jayson, tracked back and took the trail around.
I got this pic of Jayson before he took off into the forest:

Smart fellas.
We left Mizzy Lake and reconnected with the boardwalk...which I quickly discovered by stepping off and promptly postholing into the deep snow.
After the boardwalk, I took inspiration from Cedar and broke trail out to the old rail bed. From there it was smooth sailing.
While we sent a team of explorers off in search of a spot to camp, I took out my peanut butter sandwich lunch and had a rest. I was approached by a grey jay with "puppy dog" eyes (if you can imagine it) so I thought I'd try and offer him some...for a price. I pulled out my trusty Canon PowerShot SD750 (a tank), set it to macro, and held out a piece of my sandwich. I figured, "if Otter can do it, so can I!"


And I did.

Camp was incredible
We spent a lot of time around the fire jabbering and just as much time collecting and processing wood. The great part about backcountry camping is scrounging up the deadfall/blowdowns.
We filled our sleds up with wood, and then I packed mine full of clean snow for Jayson's awesome kettle--which deserves an honourable mention, along with his grill and tripod.

Those Irwin Marathon coarse-cut hand saws that some campers had ripped through the soft wood like butter and put my wee old buck saw to shame.

I had never considered camping with a hand saw, but I think I'm sold--especially when using a pulk.

THE GEAR

I loved my setup, although the snow walls took a little digging.

I was cold the first night, but after Jayson helped me adjust my underquilt, I was just fine Saturday night! I learned to never be too shy to ask for a little help and advice. The Hammock Forums people are great and are always there to help.

I slept under a MEC Guides Tarp (with snow walls) in a Blackbird with a Hammock Gear -18*C Incubator under me and an OLD 0*C (more like 10*C) down sleeping bag ("Marco Polo" brand, never heard of it), supplemented by a 0*C Big Agnes Horse Thief. I used an old silk sleeping bag liner and I wore my Merino wool baselayer (head to foot), balaclava, buff and toque. I slept with my down booties on to keep my toes toasty and so I could quickly deal with those 4am call of natures and jump back into the hammock.
The mixture of silk, wool and nylon made for an interesting light show with all the static electricity!!
The first night I lit a beeswax tea candle (courtesy of some St. Jacob Mennonites) in my lantern to take the edge off, but the second night I saved it for after my late night pee, to counteract the bitterly cold early mornings. Those beeswax tea lights burn for a LONG time!
Like Bubba, I felt condensation was a big issue (moreso for an extended trip) and I need more practice sleeping with the frost bib.


THE DEPARTURE

I was sad to go on Sunday (the 17th)...so reluctant was I to go that I almost risked hiking back in the dark!

I left a little after 5pm and strolled back to the car by 6:30pm...but not without taking some pictures and leaving a message for the brave souls I left behind at camp.

I powered along the now hard packed trail, singing selections from Johnny Cash and Gordon Lightfoot, chugging water and chowing on trail mix and Sour Patch Kids.
The drive home was a breeze.
See you at the next hang!

DT

[Cranky Bear]

Great report, WOW what a low glad everyone still has all fingers and toes.....

[Carbonmated]

That place is awesome, thanks for sharing!

[BrianWillan]

Great report guys and that was an impressive low temperature that weekend.

They are just PVC pipe from Canadian Tire. I drilled holes near the ends and used amsteel loops on the pulk end and soft shackles for connecting them to the pulk. I used amsteel loops and carabiners to connect to my pack. Last year I fed webbing through the pipe but this year I just tried drilling holes. The pulk is the small Pelican sled from Canadian Tire. I may get the bigger one for next year.

That style of sled isn't the greatest for pulling, especially breaking trail, so the bigger one wouldn't be any better. I suggest you consider getting a blank of puck board and make yourself a tobaggan. This will allow you to not wear a backpack while hiking in and help with the level of floatation you get from your snowshoes. Properly sized blanks can be picked up from here. A 16"x96" piece is $35.88. The material is flexible so it can be rolled up for storage and transportation in small vehicles.

Cheers

Brian

[mbiraman]

Great report guys and that was an impressive low temperature that weekend.



That style of sled isn't the greatest for pulling, especially breaking trail, so the bigger one wouldn't be any better. I suggest you consider getting a blank of puck board and make yourself a tobaggan. This will allow you to not wear a backpack while hiking in and help with the level of floatation you get from your snowshoes. Properly sized blanks can be picked up from here. A 16"x96" piece is $35.88. The material is flexible so it can be rolled up for storage and transportation in small vehicles.

Cheers

Brian

+1 about the Pelican. I have one and it sucks for breaking trail.

bill

[Sidewinder]

Awesome hang. Maybe I missed it, can you guys talk about your hammock insulation and what you used that worked in those temperatures?

S

[Chard]

Nice report Deep Thought.

Cedar, Cedar, Cedar. It's amazing how these guys can power through the snow. Jayson was a monster last year. Something to be said for being in great shape. I was exhausted and had to rest at the top of every hill, the bottom of very hill and on the middle of eacj slope!!!

[Jayson]

Awesome hang. Maybe I missed it, can you guys talk about your hammock insulation and what you used that worked in those temperatures?

S

I used a 0* Pheonix with ccf for my feet the first night. Chenvre graciously left me his DIY full length 0* for the second night so that Lofty's son could use my pheonix. The last night I switched hammocks and used my new Ridgerunner bridge, I hung a 20* Tewa at the foot end and my Pheonix at the head end over the Tewa. Top was -10*c synth mummy bag inside of a -10 down barrel bag. Clothes were polypro baselayer covered by a vapor barrier suit which was covered by 200wt fleece midlayer. Head and face covered by a simple knit balaclava. Feet covered with wool work socks and spare boot liners. I slept toasty warm!