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  1. #1
    Senior Member Alpine Dad's Avatar
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    Frontenac Provincial Park - June 15 to JUne 17, 2014

    This past weekend my daughter and I spent four days/three nights hiking and camping in Frontenac Provincial Park. I decided we could do the Big Salmon Lake Trail which is about 19 km with an additional 4.5 km to Big Clear Lake. Camping sites are all done in clusters of three to four sites.

    On Saturday we left the trail head around 12:30 pm and 3 ½ hours later we arrived at Cluster 4 on Big Salmon Lake. The trail was very wet with many sections completely covered in water. The “dry” sections were muddy or slippery wet rock. We set up our hammocks, hung our bear bag, and had a pleasant night. While there were mosquitos on the trail, there were no bugs at our campsite. This continued for our entire trip. All the campsites were pretty much mosquito free. We never had to put on our bug jackets and pants for protection. We did use bug spray on the trail. This was unexpected for this time of year. For dinner we ate Mountain House Teriyaki Chicken, and Mountain House Chilli Mac. For dessert we split an Alpine Aire Foods Chocolate Mudslide Pie. All was excellent. We were both in our hammocks by 9 pm, enjoying our eReaders while listening to nature.

    The next day, Sunday, we were hiking by 9 am and arrived at Cluster 13 on Big Clear Lake around 3:30 pm. It was a long day and I quickly set up our hammocks while my daughter went looking for frogs, water snakes, turtles, and other wildlife. We both cooled off with a swim in the lake and had our homemade dinner of Peanut Thai Noodles with lots of additional Sriracha Sauce. For dessert we split a Back Packer’s Pantry Crème Brûlée. Dinner was great. We had an exhausting day, and after our campfire we were both in bed by 8:30 pm to read and listen to the wildlife. The lightening bugs decided to put on a big show which made my daughter very happy.
    The third day, Monday, we were hiking by 8:30 am and arrived at Cluster 6 on Little Salmon Lake around 1:30 pm. We set up our hammocks in a light rain, which eventually became a huge rain and thunderstorm which lasted until after 4:30 pm. We retired to our separate hammocks to sit out the rain. I made sure to set up our hammocks on the smaller trees on our site, and as the site was at the bottom of a hill, on Little Salmon Lake, there were many trees behind our hammocks that were much bigger and taller. This made me feel a little better when the giant thunderstorm hit. I yelled assurances to my daughter over the storm that all would be good. Everything was. After the storm was over we collected some very wet wood, built a fire, and enjoyed rehydrated homemade chilli with lots of additional Sriracha Sauce. For dessert we split a Natural High Cherry Blast. All our desserts were no cook just add water, stir, and let sit for ten-minutes. We again had an early night and were in our hammocks by 8:45 pm.

    Our last morning, Tuesday, we were both up shortly after 7 am. We had a leisurely breakfast of oatmeal and I slowly packed everything up by 9:30 am while my daughter searched for frogs, snakes, and other interesting bugs. We lounged around, swam, and then hit the trail around 11 am. Two-hours later we were back at the trailhead, with another short jaunt to the parking lot and our car.

    It was an excellent trip and I hope I have started a Father’s Day Tradition. My daughter had a great time. We saw two deer, many loons, ducks, Canada Geese, chipmunks, squirrels, painted turtles, snakes, and many beautiful butterflies or moths. Next year I will try to get my older son to come along (he had to finish his Bronze Cross course on the Sunday and could not join us).

    Thanks for reading.
    Last edited by Alpine Dad; 06-18-2014 at 09:04.

  2. #2
    Senior Member mbiraman's Avatar
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    Memories for a lifetime. Thanks for sharing.
    " The mind creates the abyss, the heart crosses it."

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  3. #3
    Senior Member ggreaves's Avatar
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    I was in Frontenac on Friday night for a quick overnighter at cluster 11. It's always nice to see other fellow hammockers using the park. Great trip report and pictures.
    A lotta ins... lotta outs... lotta what-have-you's

  4. #4
    Senior Member Bubba's Avatar
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    Thanks for sharing! Awesome to have those experiences with your daughter. I'm looking forward to doing so with my toddlers one day.
    Don't let life get in the way of living.

  5. #5
    Senior Member Alpine Dad's Avatar
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    Thanks for all the kind comments. It really was special spending one on one time over four days with my daughter. My daughter continues to add little tidbits of information and camping comments during our family dinners this week. Brings a smile to my face.

    Ggreaves, this was my first time at Frontenac and I was impressed. The trails must have been even wetter for your hike in Friday. I was not sure if I would enjoy "cluster" camping but it was not an issue. Three of the four sites on Saturday night were filled but everyone was quiet and respectful of others. We had lots of privacy. We did not see anyone else at any of the clusters the rest of our trip. I am sure this would not be the case in July or August, but weekday camping in June seems to be quiet.

    I am now looking forward to my next trip. My wife and I are doing the small loop of the Western Uplands Trail in Algonquin Park over four days/three nights the third week of July. This will not be a challenging hike but good downtime without our children. I think I will bring my dog on this trip. I bought my dog a backpack and have started walking her with it. She is handling it well. I am more concerned with getting the dog to sleep below my hammock. I may need to do a couple practice sessions in the backyard before the real outing.

    Cheers

  6. #6
    Senior Member Bubba's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alpine Dad View Post
    ... My wife and I are doing the small loop of the Western Uplands Trail in Algonquin Park over four days/three nights the third week of July. This will not be a challenging hike but good downtime without our children. I think I will bring my dog on this trip. I bought my dog a backpack and have started walking her with it. She is handling it well. I am more concerned with getting the dog to sleep below my hammock. I may need to do a couple practice sessions in the backyard before the real outing.

    Cheers
    I did the whole loop as well as the small loop of the Western Uplands back in the late 90's. I went back a couple of years ago and was amazed at how many more people were out on the trail compared to all those years ago.

    I did the Highlands backpacking trail last year and the first part of it was more scenic than the first part of the Western Uplands. The stretch from Harness lake to Provoking lake on the Highlands trail is not too exciting but overall a good 3 night trail.
    Last edited by Bubba; 06-20-2014 at 12:33.
    Don't let life get in the way of living.

  7. #7
    Senior Member Alpine Dad's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bubba View Post
    I did the Highlands backpacking trail last year and the first part of it was more scenic than the first part of the Western Uplands. The stretch from Harness lake to Provoking lake on the Highlands trail is not too exciting but overall a good 3 night trail.
    Thanks for the suggestion. I am always looking for nice loop trails that can be easily completed in three to four days. I am still hoping to do the Killarney La Cloche trail but I would need my wife or older son to accompany me if I take my daughter. My daughter simply cannot carry enough (safely and comfortably). I need a third person to carry some of my daughter's gear and split the food bag. As it is, for this past trip, there is no way we could have carried more than the four days of food we had on us.

    Cheers

  8. #8
    Chard's Avatar
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    Very nice trip report and pictures. I'm really looking forward to taking my 10 year old daughter on the trail this summer as well!
    Survival is about getting out alive, Bushcraft is about going in to live - Chard (aka Forest-Hobo)

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