Albian and I had planned to winter camp for the first time back in April, but due to my accident we had to postpone the trip. After my Germany trip, we decided to do a short backpacking trip to Algonquin.
Albian researched and found the Highland Backpacking Trail, one of the three main hiking trails of Algonquin Provincial Park. Due to our inexperience and lack of time, we decided to do the short loop (19 kilometers) over two days.
We started our hike at 11:00 am on Saturday, November 25 with about 50 pounds of gear on our backs. We were lucky that it was around 4 degrees Celsius (warm for November) and there was very little snow on the ground. Nonetheless, the trail was moderately difficult and slippery at spots. I didn’t really mind the challenge because I was enjoying being in nature basically alone, in the deep silence of a winter forest.
Animals are generally very hard to spot during the winter but we got lucky that in one of the lakes that feeds Provoking Lake, a young, fat beaver was playing around. We spent a few minutes admiring its shenanigans.
After a couple of hours of hiking, the trail splits: to the left is the East side of the lake, to the right, the West side and the longer loop. We headed East towards our camp site, still a few hours away. Shortly before 4:00 pm, we arrived at our camp site. We set up our tent and immediately started cooking. We had had only a few handfuls of trail mix since 7:00 am.
As it was getting dark, Albian decided that he had to make a fire. I thought he had no chance, as it had been damp all day and there was not a single piece of dry wood. After what it felt like an eternity, with a little help from fire starter gel, he succeeded.
I really enjoyed the ‘balmy’ weather, but as it was promised by the weather man, it started to get cold. I went into the tent before it got too cold and wrapped myself up inside my sleeping bag. Overnight, the phones read temperatures of -8 degrees Celsius.
I had trouble keeping my feet warm throughout the night, but other than that I had a decent rest. I was happy my sleeping set up worked out. It rained ice followed by snow, but by the time we got up, it was a cold, sunny, winter wonderland.
We had breakfast, packed our stuff and started hiking back on the trail by 10:00 am. The snow had its pros: the scenery was much more beautiful and the trail far less slippery. However it had a big con: it hid creeks and wet spots, making the trail precarious.
We had a faster pace this time, perhaps because it was sunny or perhaps because it was bitter cold and we had a strong desire to make back to the car. However, to me, the hike on Sunday was more enjoyable.
Shortly after 2:00 pm, we arrived at our destination. We hiked a total of 19 kilometers in about 9 hours. We were very lucky that the entire weekend was windless and warmer than expected. It was a great introduction to the world of winter camping. I look forward to doing more challenging overnight winter hikes.
