A great reason to venture outside in the Canadian winter...
My nephew, Cliff, with an 8 inch speckled trout.
If someone says to me, 'Hey, Daniel, let's go fishing!" It is a good bet that my reply will go something like "when, where, what for! Let's go!" That is essentially what one of my brothers, Nathan, needed to say to convince me to come winter camping near Algonquin Park in early February. I would be joining Nate and 2 of his pals, Brian and Steve. Nathan's son, Cliff, would be coming out for the day, and returning home with other friends coming out on an all-terrain vehicle. Nate even said that if my nephew, Cliff, and I catch supper he wouldn't mind creating a quinzee- a snow cave- to sleep in. How could I resist an offer like that? I was joining a 2 night trip with 3 rather experienced winter campers. What could possibly go wrong?
The morning after a crazy 12 inch snowfall in Kitchener, during which most of
the stores that I needed to upgrade my gear, like boots, closed early before I
got there, I was picked up by Brian and his dog, Simon, and we were in South
River before we knew it.
the stores that I needed to upgrade my gear, like boots, closed early before I
got there, I was picked up by Brian and his dog, Simon, and we were in South
River before we knew it.
 Cliff and his father, Nathan. 4 adults, 3 dogs, and one kid hit the trail in the early afternoon. I walked in and everyone else skijored in. Sort of. Skijoring is cross country skiing while being towed by one to three dogs. While the three dogs with us kind of helped their owners, who weren't impressed, the guys still made much better time than my nephew and I. It didn't matter, though, because we were having a good time. |  Steve and Brian waving as I go by on an ATV... Brian and his brother Steve are good friends of Nathan. Brian's dog is a handsome 120lb mountain dog, and Steve's dog, Libby, is a beautiful 100lb retriever. Nathan's dog is a tough-as-leather 60lb cattle dog, Willie. The idea is that the dogs pull their masters, who ski in pulling gear sleds behind them, a method known as skijoring. Me? I used shanx' pony-my own 2 feet-to pull in 2 sleds of gear, including a small one for my fishing gear. I started off holding Willie's leash, and found that he helped a great deal, but likely only because he wanted to catch up with his owner! |
Why walk when one can ride?
The day was a wonderful, sunny winter day, not far below zero. Halfway into the campsite, Cliff decided to ditch the skis and walk. As I tied the skis onto my 2 sled train (one of camping gear, the smaller one full of fishing gear), the roar of an all terrain vehicle signalled the arrival of my taxi out to the campsite. I enjoy walking, but I'm not about to turn down a ride if one appears in the middle of the wilderness! An ATV on tracks was pulling a dogsled with a guy on the runners. Instead of the usual wooden sled, this thing was metal, built for running through dense bush. One of my brother's pals, Darrin, was on the runners, while his father, Bruce, was driving the bike. We tied my two sleds of gear behind the sled, I climbed into the passenger seat of the bike, and off we went. My nephew, being no dummy, had parked himself on the trail not far ahead, waiting for a lift-I guess he knew that Darrin was coming out that day. Cliff rode on the sled and off we went, one bike and three sleds with 4 people.
Our campsite.
Darrin, Bruce, and my nephew and I arrived at the campsite, tucked among the evergreens on the north shore. The plan was to build a quinzee, a snow shelter, which would hover around zero degrees Celcius inside even on the coldest nights. Brian and Steve had tents, and hundred pound woolly dogs. Nate had volunteered to build it if Cliff and I went fishing for supper. Building a quinzee is a time-consuming and back-breaking job, so of course I said that I would go fishing!
There ought to be a lot more snow than this.
There are a couple of requirements for quinzee construction. First and foremost, there must be snow. Plenty of it. The second is time. A few hours are required, so arriving at the site in early to mid-afternoon is a wise idea. Packing some dry clothing at the top of your gear is wise so that you can change into it once construction is done. Therein lies the key to winter camping: remaining dry.
Nate and Brian are on the other side of a firewall.
It was mid-afternoon when we arrived, so there was plenty of time to build one. However, there was not enough snow. So Nathan and I, and the dog, a remarkably tough but short-coated Australian cattle dog, Willy, had to resort to using the zipped-up tent fly for shelter, with a floor of snow. Have you ever tried to sleep in a flimsy tent when the temperature is twenty below? I have, and I can tell you this: it is not fun! I have been colder in my life, but only once. (Ironicly enough, in an Algonquin Park May snowstorm.) At about 4 AM I finally fell asleep. I was cold, but I was completely dry. A friend wondered why I didn't cut pine boughs to use as a mattress. Good question. I have used boughs as a wind shelter, but it never occurred to me to use them this time! I must also admit that while I did have at least one space blanket with me, an incredibly useful and cheap insulator, I was not going to get out of my cold but dry sleeping gear to go get it from my gear out on the lake! I was cold as anything, but I guess I wasn't THAT cold! I figured that I was going to bail on the expedition in the morn.
A warm, sunny, day, just what I needed...
Quitting would have required all sorts of things to happen, and quite possibly be blacklisted for future adventures unless I went home on my own. In other words, quitting this trip would have been an irrational, knee-jerk, whiney reaction.
Instead, this is what I woke up too. 10 minutes worth of sunning myself, and I realized the folly of quitting. I don't complain much when I am on an adventure, so I must have been pretty cold that night! An azure sky, a northern lake surrounded by hills covered with evergreens, great company, a warm February sun, and zero slush: that is the recipe for a great day.
Instead, this is what I woke up too. 10 minutes worth of sunning myself, and I realized the folly of quitting. I don't complain much when I am on an adventure, so I must have been pretty cold that night! An azure sky, a northern lake surrounded by hills covered with evergreens, great company, a warm February sun, and zero slush: that is the recipe for a great day.
What a day!
Sunday was a brilliant day. It was one of those days in the middle of the long Canadian winter that cheers you up, when just standing in the sun can warm you up-and remind you of the summer that is months away! Once I had some hot coffee and breakfast into me, I was ready to spend the day fishing for speckled trout. That is a good use of a day as far as I am concerned, although trout don't seem to like me as much as the bass and northern pike do!
Some of my fishing rigs.
Nathan and the other 2 fellas just lazed about on the lake in front of camp. Two of the three dogs did as well, but Nate's cattle dog has a hard time relaxing. I think that is the working nature of cattle dogs.
They went for a walk around the lake; I went fishing. They hung out at camp; I went fishing. They probably even had a snooze-I went fishing.
They went for a walk around the lake; I went fishing. They hung out at camp; I went fishing. They probably even had a snooze-I went fishing.
Willie, an Australian cattle dog, one of the toughest dogs around...
| 
Roughhousing.
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'Hey, Willie, what are ya doing just lying there?'...
|
A typical Canadian winter scene.
I watched the world go by through the viewfinder of my new Canon Powershot SX 50 HS superzoom camera, happily experimenting with all of the controls. I was too lazy from the sun to drill more than a few holes with my manual ice auger. The blades were brand new, and the ice only about a foot thick, but lack of sleep plus warmth and I just about fell asleep while I was fishing!
After supper we sat for a few hours around a rip-roaring fire. The guys had built a big fire pit, complete with a wall for a backrest. It was so big it had to have a slot carved out to allow the smoke to escape the pit. Sunday night remained as warm as the day: about zero, 17 or 18 degrees warmer than the previous night. I slept for many hours without once chattering my teeth!
I went to sleep with several layers on, and the insoles of my winter boots. I slept in a fleece overbag within a mummy-style sleeping bag within another sleeping bag. On the first night, this setup did not work, but on the second night this system worked beautifully.
After supper we sat for a few hours around a rip-roaring fire. The guys had built a big fire pit, complete with a wall for a backrest. It was so big it had to have a slot carved out to allow the smoke to escape the pit. Sunday night remained as warm as the day: about zero, 17 or 18 degrees warmer than the previous night. I slept for many hours without once chattering my teeth!
I went to sleep with several layers on, and the insoles of my winter boots. I slept in a fleece overbag within a mummy-style sleeping bag within another sleeping bag. On the first night, this setup did not work, but on the second night this system worked beautifully.
The start of a long, cold, sleepless night...
A typical Monday morning-grey and dreary. But I was on a peaceful lake so I was great.
On Monday we quickly packed up. Weather was coming in. The temperature was steady around the freezing mark, but wet snow and fog and sleet are uncomfortable elements to deal with. However, a universal truth of backcountry camping holds true regardless of the season: better to have bad weather on the last day of the trip, when you are leaving, than earlier! It is a great motivator to get to the vehicles and be warm and safely dry. Brian and Steve took off at a good pace, their friendly giant dogs pulling the sleds beside them.
Simon, Libby, and Willie had a great trip.
This was the ongoing debate of the trip: are these particular dogs actually helping or hindering? When we started the trip I had Willie on the leash and 2 sleds of gear behind me. Half the size of the other 2 animals, he was quite helpful to me. I'm pretty sure, though, that he was hauling me and the sleds only as a result of his desire to catch up with his masters, my 9 year old nephew, Cliff, and his dad! When Nathan had him on the leash, I think he was more nuisance than help! Simon, Brian's 120lb dog, was quite happy to walk beside Brian, rather than pull him forward. That makes sense, because that
breed is a carting dog. As for Libby, Steve's golden retriever, well, she is a retriever. Friendliest dogs around, but debatable working dogs!
breed is a carting dog. As for Libby, Steve's golden retriever, well, she is a retriever. Friendliest dogs around, but debatable working dogs!
A good day to head home...
With hot coffee and breakfast into us, off we went. Nathan was on skis, like the other two, but he decided to not get very far ahead of me. That is the third lesson of backcountry tripping, especially in the camping off-season, from September to mid-May: always use the buddy system. Many things can go wrong in the summer, but the weather generally is in your favour. In the 8 month Canadian off-season, the same problem can become a major issue because of many things but hypothermia being the biggest. In the winter, going through the ice is always a possibility as well. Having said that, I have been ice-fishing for nearly twenty years, and I have not gone through. I've come close once, thanks to my own stupidity, and I have seen a friend go through in waist-deep water (he was fine). But ice is a very strong (fickle, yes, but strong) substance, and 8 inches of ice on backcountry water is pretty unifom and very safe.
Ahhh....peace and quiet
Anyways, the weather co-operated on the way out to some degree-hey, it didn't rain!- and I enjoyed walking through the evergreen brush and the peaceful crossing of the lakes. At one point, Nate sat on his big gear sled to go down a hill, and somehow Willie didn't get tangled up on the way down. By the time I reached the last lake, Brian and Steve were at the road and on their way to the vehicles. Nathan had come back from the road so that he could "watch me go through the ice" by the stream at the road shore of the lake. Thanks, Nathan, that is what brothers are for, aren't they! The fact of the matter is that he was actually only half-joking.
So, what are my four lessons of backcountry tripping? 1) Tell someone where you are going and for how long. Even if you are just going hiking or shooting photographs for an afternoon. I myself need to be more vigilant in doing this. 2) Stay dry. Nathan and I packed a change of clothing at the top of our gear so that we could wear dry clothes after hiking in and building a quinzee. Since we wore layers and did not have to dig out a shelter we remained dry. 3) Use the buddy system, just like the lifeguards taught you in swimming lessons. When 3 people are skijoring and one is walking, there will be some distance, obviously. For me that is not an issue-it is fun to walk across a lake that no one else is on. But I definitely appreciated Nathan remaining at least within shouting distance if not visible. Finally, lesson 4: Have the proper gear with you! Had I bought a winter-proof sleeping bag, I would have had a more pleasant trip-but I would not have had such an interesting experience. One more thing-try and schedule bad weather for only the last day of the trip!
Spring is on it's way-one last mid-April snowstorm is coming-so go watch the birds returning and the deer grazing: get out there, eh!
Uncle Travelling Dan
Spring is on it's way-one last mid-April snowstorm is coming-so go watch the birds returning and the deer grazing: get out there, eh!
Uncle Travelling Dan
Another fun adventure in the books...
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