Andrei Bershadski has posted a trip-log of his May 28 -June 1, 2009 Jubilee Lake, Algonquin Park Trip ...
http://campcanoe.blogspot.com/2009/06/algonquin-trip-spring-2009.html

Andrei has shared his well-illustrated experience as a new backcountry Algonquinite. Despite being subjected to some snowy weather, his enthusiasm to return to Algonquin is obvious!



Barry Bridgeford
http://www.AlgonquinAdventures.com
http://www.ABRweb.ca .. Algonquin Backcountry Recreationalists - Caring for Algonquin's Backcountry

Well I am extremely impressed... the trip looked great but the pork roast looked amazing! What a great idea.

Laurie
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www.outdooradventurecanada.com
www.wildernesscooking.com

I noticed you were fishing, I hope it wasn't for bass because they are not in season yet. And I also noticed you were chopping down a tree, that's is a big no no in the park.

P.S. The roast looked yummy:)

I don't know about the fishing, but I believe the phrase "already downed" means that the tree they were hacking up was already felled. I agree, that pork roast looked delicious; I'd never be able to wait that long for a meal in the Park!

If the tree was already downed I apologize, I didn't read that paragraph and I was going by the pic. But you may want to invest in a good saw for those big logs, it will make life much easier.

Yeah we were trying to fish for brook and lake trout knowing that bass was out of season, however if we did get bass we'd throw it right back as sometimes they go for the same lures. Although this time around we didn't catch anything; I had a close call with a fish once but at the last second it turned away and swam down to the bottom. Not sure what it was, but since my buddy was wearing an orange hunting vest I'm starting to think it was a trout that got spooked right at the last second, I doubt bass are that picky.

Anyways as far as the tree it was a dead tree but still standing, we didn't really chop it down as it was taking too long, we found some that were already fallen that were much less thicker and easier to chop down.

As far as the saw I did bring one however I made the mistake of leaving the huge teeth saw in it instead of the smaller one, only at the time did I realize that big teeth saws are almost impossible to use as they get stuck alot.

The pork did take a couple of hours to roast like that but it was worth it as it turned out to be quite amazing.

Thank you for posting your Trip Report.

I hope that come back to Algonquin Park again, and again.

Each Algonquin Park interior trip or other back country trip I learn a little more. Sometimes I refine skills, sometimes I learn more about tree or animals, most of all I learn more about myself.

Cheers,

Darryl H.

Andrei,

Interesting triplog. If you have visited that area of The Park a month later, you would have found it much busier. That time of the year(late May/Early June), The Park is virtually deserted, 'cause of the blackfly situation). As for the 'raiding' of prepared firewood from neighboring campsite, i find this to be in poor taste. I hope for the sake of your fellow campers and the hard work the rangers, you put some wood back, to replenish the supply that was taken? I guess my point is moot, as no one else was around, however I cannot shake the feeling that such an action is wrong. If you had occupied that campsite, it would seem fine, but not occupying it and removing wood not intended for that specific site, seems wrong to me. This is just my opinion though.

Upsetting a canoe in Late May waters can still be a dangerous affair. You are very lucky that the water was warm enough for you to swim 300m! During Ice-out, from what I have heard, you would be lucky to swim 50m, before dying!
Glad to hear you all had a great time, and were able to stay warm despite the elements against you.



Mark Rubino
Mark's Algonquin Park Sampler - Blog
Mark's Algonquin Park Sampler

http://www.ABRweb.ca .. Algonquin Backcountry Recreationalists - Caring for Algonquin's Backcountry

As I already explained in another thread, the reason we had to get the wood was because our campsite was surrounded by marsh and there wasn't much wood there to find, it also rained heavily for much of the time making most wood completely unusable. We did however replenish wood on both campsites to pay it forward. One thing when we did come to our site is that the previous people left no wood at all, leaving us to our own devices after a full day of hard rainfall. I think in situations like that you gotta make a judgment call on what you are going to do, and I still think we made the right decision. This is the back country and when faced with a situation of possibly no fire for the cold night ahead you do what you gotta do as long as you stay within the rules.

Like I said we left wood on both campsites before we left, and more than enough for people to have a fire for at least one night.

Its great that you did replenish the firewood taken.
Good work!

Cheers

Mike B

Great report, good read. Nice loon pics.

You gotta do what you gotta do. The weather is still dangerous in late May, as you experienced. While you should never be in a position where fire is essential for warmth (Tents, sleeping bags, pads, extra clothes!) I totally understand the need to go out and grab firewood. If you replenished the stock, good on ya.

As for capsizing, it happens. It's taken me years to feel comfortable paddling in the wind, and every now and then I feel a little out of my league. But you reacted well, pulling the boat down to catch water was a very smart move. And if you were able to get to shore whilst towing the boat, cheers.

Every now and then we have a capsizing thread and its amazing how many people dump. I'm glad I'm not the only one. Learning how to react if and when it happens is key.

Great report, good luck with the next trip.

Tenzing

Tenzing

http://tenzingsadventures.blogspot.com/

That was the first time I capsized, I think the biggest problem was that I went into the canoe without weighing down the front. It made controlling it virtually impossible as soon as any gust of wind would pickup. On the way back after I weighed down the front with some wood it made it controllable. I would like to get some lessons from some serious canoers though on how to control a canoe by yourself as I'm still a newbie. I learned a hardcore lesson on that day; I can only imagine what it would be like if I had all my stuff in there and I was on a solo trip; I'd be in some serious trouble. So if I ever take up solo tripping I'd have to stay extra careful as there is no buddies to fall back on.