This article is classified "Real"
Remarkable as it may seem, some people actually enjoy camping and canoeing for several days at a time. This article is not the right place to discuss the intricacies of camping, and this author is certainly not the right person to discuss them. Everything you should know about camping-in-general -- from choosing tents and sleeping bags and food, to how to pack and carry a backpack, to what items you should take with you (like a first aid kit), to stringing up your backpacks at night so that the large and exceedingly noisy raccoons can't raid them, to developing an attitude which enjoys hardship, pain and deprivation -- is true about camping in Algonquin Park. I will instead focus on the unique joys and hardships posed by this particular location. Most of the time, it is not at all difficult to see why a majority of Canada's population chooses to live in southern Ontario. During certain times of the year, however, other locations in Canada hold certain attractions. If your idea of "fun" is sleeping on uneven rocky surfaces, spending hours cooking pre-packaged food, walking long distances over winding paths carrying heavy burdens, and occasionally getting yourself and all of your belongings uncontrollably tossed into deep water; then you might consider canoeing and camping in Algonquin Park (about 240 km north of Toronto), where the air is fresh, the lakes are clear, evergreens cover the hills, and you are surrounded by the sounds of nature. The most important sound of nature is of course the incessant whine of mosquitoes. You would think that in a large, northern national park which has many lakes and streams, that the mosquitoes would be as large as birds and capable of flying off with your dinner, or indeed your family pet. But this is only true of some of them; most of them are exactly the right size to fly into your ear and buzz around in there for hours. All of them are quite capable of biting you through clothing, including, apparently, denim. And this brings us to our first item. The Most Important Item You Can Carry While Camping In Algonquin: repellant. Large amounts of mosquito repellant. Take two or three brands with you. If the first brand you use isn't effective after ten minutes or so, Don't Wait! Immediately switch to another brand, and keep switching until you find one which works. If you fail to do this, the many dozens of bites you receive in the first few hours will drive you mad for days thereafter. Don't skimp on the repellant; buy the expensive brands if you think they might work better. Mosquitoes are the only bothersome insect late in the summer, but in June and early July there may well be other biting insects to worry about, such as blackflies. Another sound of nature you will likely encounter at Algonquin is the bellowing of the majestic moose. You are most likely to encounter this bellowing throughout the night after a long day of paddling and portaging when all you want to do is get some sleep, except that the moose standing a few hundred meters from your camp has other plans for the night and is trying to attract other moose in order to make its plans come true. You might wish to take a camera with you to Algonquin, because it is quite possible -- although not necessarily wise -- that you will get the chance to paddle your canoe to within just a few meters of a moose. The sound of nature which compensates for the mosquitoes and the moose is, of course, the call(s) of the loon. The first time you hear these birds, you will understand their name; you might also get a glimmering of why Canadians chose the loon for their national bird and stamped its likeness on their $1 coins. The call of the loon in the early morning when you have just awakened, or in the evening after sunset, is one of the most astonishingly beautiful things you will ever hear, and never gets tiresome. You can rent canoes, life preservers, and paddles right at the park; the only thing you need to bring with you is your camping equipment. Actually, there is a store which sells camping equipment at the park, but the prices are pretty much what you would expect at a government-owned-and-operated store located right at the entry point. Algonquin Park is huge. There are many dozens of lakes, most of which have a few widely separated campsites on them. If you really want to "get away from people" for a while, then you should plan on a minimum of 5 days (two days moving out from the point of entry, two days to get back). Naturally, the longer you plan to stay "out," the farther into the park you can get, the fewer and fewer people you will meet, and the heavier and heavier your backpack will be when you start. You might be tempted to canoe/portage "as fast as possible" for the first half of your trip, to see how far "out" you can get and to take in as much scenery as possible -- which forces you to move fast on your return trip as well -- but you should definitely consider setting aside at least one day to take it very easy, moving very slowly or indeed not at all. Although the scenery is beautiful, it is quite frankly -- aside from a small waterfall here or a strange island with all burnt-out trees there -- pretty much the same in one part of the park as another, so just take it easy and enjoy the scenery where you are. It is a good idea to contact the Park authorities several weeks in advance to ask them about camping conditions. It is an even better idea to ask them to send you a detailed map of Algonquin, and to laminate that map before you arrive. And this brings us to a very important topic. WATERPROOFING: you will need to waterproof everything in your backpack. Garbage bags work for clothing. Bring plenty of rope to act as clothesline, just in case. Certain vital necessities which cannot stand water, such as toilet paper, should be double-bagged. Since it is absolutely impossible to avoid getting your feet wet, you should bring TWO pairs of shoes. (Squishing around the campsite all evening in soggy shoes is second only to mosquito bites as a source of mental instability in campers.) Since most of the portages are short, hiking boots are probably not needed; and it should be pointed out that hiking boots, once wet, simply do not dry out during the lifetime of a normal vacation. FOOD and WATER: bring a portable stove; campfires are not allowed from time to time when there hasn't been enough rain. The water in most of the lakes is perfectly drinkable once it has been boiled. Paddling is hard work, so bring large canteens which you can fill each morning with boiled water. A useful trick is to bring gallon milk jugs with screw-on caps: fill with boiled water, seal, and put it the lake for rapid cooling; tie empty jugs to backpacks for buoyancy. Tie the backpacks onto the canoe while paddling. I would hope this one was pretty obvious. SUNGLASSES are very useful, and very easy to lose. CAMPSITES are generally well separated from each other. They consist of nothing more than some open space in which to pitch one or two tents (usually with some pine needles for padding), a bare patch of ground to build a fire or set your stove, and an open-box latrine a few dozen meters away. You are responsible for keeping the campsites perfectly clean, which means carrying all of your garbage out with you. Use only biodegradable soap. Some campsites are better than others. It's a good idea to pick a site and set up camp early, a few hours before sunset. This allows you to pitch tents, cook dinner, go for a leisurely swim, and, most importantly, memorize the path to the latrine, before dark. CANOEING: bring along an extra paddle. It'll be might difficult trying to get back to the entry point one paddle short. Since canoeing involves a lot of sitting, cushion-type floatation devices provide a vital service which vest-types cannot. Lakes are by far the most common feature of Algonquin, but there are also rivers, streams, a few marshes, and even a waterfall or two. (Canoeing over a waterfall is not recommended.) On the rivers, expect to encounter beaver dams. The first few will be amusing, but after that you will start thinking thoughts about stylish fur caps. PORTAGES: a typical day of canoeing in Algonquin will include half a dozen portages. Their length is typically a few hundred meters. A few portages are longer than 1 kilometer, and they should be positively avoided! I can categorically state that you will not be having fun during long portages. Mosquitoes seem to know to congregate at landing sites for portages. You might consider renting a shoulder harness to help carry the canoe. And the extra money it costs to rent the lighter Kevlar canoes is definitely worth it!