Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Frontenac Hiking Trip

The grade 10 Outdoor Ed class headed to Frontenac Provincial Park for their backpacking trip. We spent 3 days hiking through this gorgeous park, with its beautiful lakes, lots of signs of its rich history, really nice campsites and the tranquility of the fall season.

The weather welcomed us with open arms. The sun was out, the sky blue and the temperatures had us taking off layers right from the start. It was the perfect way to start of this trip. The colours on the trees were also still in great shape, with lots of yellows, oranges and reds still visible. We started at the end of the road and made our way to campsite #6 on Little Salmon Lake. This was a very light day, which took us an hour and a half. Probably a good thing as some people's packs were quite heavy and for most, it was the first time doing a backpacking trip.

The campsite was amazing, as we were at the end of the lake with a wonderful view in front of us. The tents were set up, we looked for wood for the fires and spent some time relaxing. A couple of people dared to go for a swim, some were stumped by a few brain teasers provided by Stephanie, while others spent some extra energy in a game of capture the bottle. The weather was beautiful until about supper time and just as the groups were finishing their meals, it started to rain a little. This did not deter the entire group from starting a game of manhunt, with people hiding along logs, some in trees and many little stumbles as people tried to stay away from their captors. With the noise of a light rain, we went to sleep to prepare for the next day, a long one.

The rain stopped just as we got up, which was really nice as we wanted to take the opportunity to lighten the load for the day with a big breakfast. This was our longest day and any weight that we could shed before we began was a bonus. The hike from campsite #6 to #4 was expected to take 4 hours plus our stops. We started off strong with most of the group going the wrong way down the hill, then a couple of backpack repairs, but once we got going, we made really good time. We passed old homestead ruins and abandoned trucks from the logging days around the turn of the century. Then at the end of Big Salmon Lake, the terrain became more hilly as we made our way to an amazing lookout. This gave a great view of the entire Park, with all its wonderful fall colours. Right around the corner was also campsite #5, our lunch spot.

We took a nice break for lunch to ensure everyone had a good rest and had a chance to eat. There were grilled cheese sandwiches, beans and hot dogs, spider dogs, soups and chocolate, lots of chocolate. After lunch, we headed out for our last campsite, which was about an hour down the trail. This is also when the rain slowly began to fall again. The lead pack managed to scare away a young buck, which ran straight for the students at the back of the pack. It is always nice to see wildlife on a school trip, as the wildlife can generally hear us coming from a mile away. We made it into camp just before the heavy rains arrived. We managed to get the tents up, tarps up and to collect some firewood before we spent the rest of the evening huddled under the tarps trying to stay warm by the fire. A good time for a game of 'lick the stick'.

The heavy rains continued for the rest of the night, really testing the quality of the tents. Needless to say that some people were happy to get up and have breakfast by a fire in the morning. This along with the thoughts of having a shower later in the day gave enough motivations to pack everything up and head down the trail for the last two and a half hours of our trip. The rains never let up on this final day, but neither did the spirit of the group. All in all, a great trip.

21 comments:

The.Vezinator said...

This year the grade ten outdoor education class went on a three day hiking trip through Frontenac Park. It was my first time doing a hiking trip, and I was very excited to make my way through the park and just get into the wilderness and get active!
We were very fortunate that our first day was beautiful and sunny, but not to warm. For the first day we only hiked for about 6 km, for the first three Matt M lead the way. After a while Jessie and I felt like trying to navigate us the rest of the way to our campsite. We analyzed the map and determined there was only one path before the one we were supposed to take. So Jessie and I lead the way, when we came across the path that we were supposed to take we followed it to our first campsite. Walking along the pathway everyone but two people followed us, and it turns out Jessie and I took the portaging path instead of the walking path. The two people who did not follow us were M. Brouwer and Steph, they obviously knew we went the wrong way and they went down the right pat, but we all ended up at the right spot!
We got to our first campsite and we started putting up our tent, the girl’s tent. There were five of us working together to put up the tent that we surprisingly put up very quickly! We got all of our stuff organized inside the tent and took out our food to be sure we were quick with dinner so we could prepare it and put it all away before dark. We then got all of the firewood made the fire and started cooking our hamburgers, and then we realized we forgot to buy buns. We then put all the food in one bag and hung the food.
When in got dark around 7:30 everyone decided to get a massive game of man hunt going on, but I wasn’t a fan so I sat around the fire warm and safe, while others ran around in the bushes falling some getting injured. When they were done we all just crowded around the fire and talked just getting to know everyone better and sharing laughs.
The next morning, Thursday, went very smoothly even though it was drizzling outside. We retrieved the food, took down the tent and ate all in the span of an hour, which I found was rather impressive. We were on the trails hiking by 10:30, on our longest hike, which was around 11km long. Maybe 30 minutes into the hike my pack needed to be tightened around the waist, so I pulled on one side while Trevor pulled the other and then maybe the worst thing possible happened, my clip broke. The clip breaking was probably the worst part of my trip; it left all of the weight on my shoulders for 10 km.
We hike for 8 km when we came to this cliff with an amazing view, and we were able to see all of big salmon lake. We walked down the hiking trail to campsite number 5 for a pit stop for lunch. The girls and I made the best grilled-cheeses that I have ever had; we made them on the little stoves and put our heart and souls into them. We got back on the trail and it was only a short 3km left to our last campsite.
Our last campsite was outstanding, it was so beautiful and I just felt so privileged to be standing there with my father and some of my best friends. We set up for the evening and settled down for the night, we ate dinner and then all sat around the fire together. We all got together around M. Brouwers fire and he introduced us to the game lick the stick, which I was already aware of and I must say I did very well. People eventually started to quit the game so less and less were playing this amazing game.
The game slowly ended and of course Ariana and I were the first to go to sleep and we slept through the night. The morning came quickly, and so did the taking down of the tent and the breakfast. Mother Nature was not in our favor, giving us the cold and rain, and was not what we wanted after having no sleep. The third day hike was miserably and wet but a different experience, and a lot of lessons were learned.

The.Vezinator said...

In conclusion the Frontenac Park trip was long, wet, cold but I had way too much fun for those to have an effect. Yes our meals could have been better, I could have gotten more sleep, but all in this entire trip was a learning experience that taught me some important life lessons.

The web page told me that i had to many characters so i had to make another post.

EmilyS said...

Our grade 10 outdoor ed class went on our first camping trip of the semester; a three day hiking trip in Frontenac Park. I had done hiking trips before which hadn't gone so well like the one in July where I hiked 15 km in plus 40 degree weather with a humid-ex of 45! I told myself I would never hike again unless I had to. Going into this with such a negative attitude defiantly made me think that the whole thing was going to be miserable, but it wasn't. I actually had a lot of fun and want to continue hiking on my own just not when its 40 degrees out!

On our first day we hopped on the bus nice and early in the morning so we could have a full day of hiking. The weather was beautiful, sunny but with a cool air temperature. For the first part of our hike Matt M led the way then handed it off to Shannon and Jessie who took us down the portaging trail instead of the hiking trail. Good thing they both led to the same spot! We only had hiked 6 km which took us about and hour and a half and gave us lots of time to set up and make dinner. The girls and I quickly set up our tent with no struggle and them split into two groups to find wood for the fire. After finding as much as we thought would be needed we were told that it would only last about half an hour and to go look for more. Finally after gathering enough we started a fire and began to cook our hamburgers on which we forgot the buns and ended up just eating the patty with ketchup! The sun started setting around 7pm and it was dark by 7:30pm which was a perfect time for man hunt. Almost everyone participated in the game until after a couple hours of playing it when everyone got tired and went to bed.
The next morning I woke up to the sound of rain drops hitting our tent and thought that it was going to be a miserable day to hike. Again I was mistaken. We got the food out of the bar bag, took down our tent, and cleaned up our area of the campsite within an hour. After everyone else finished their breakfast and cleaned up everything we started our next hike which was about 11 km. Every now and then we would stop for a break or for people who's pack was broken, when we finally came to a beautiful lookout on a cliff. After that we went to campsite #5 to fix lunch and we made the best grilled cheese sandwiches I have ever eaten, they were so good! After lunch and clean up we got back on the trail to our next campsite which was a short distance away. Once we got there it was much bigger than the previous one but just as beautiful. We got there later than the first day and started cooking when the sun was setting and only collected a little bit of fire wood. After dinner Mr. Brouwer played a game called "lick the stick" with a bunch of people though I did not play since the title sounded a bit strange. After people stopped playing the game everyone sat by the fire until there was no more fire wood left and everyone went to bed.
The next morning came and I think everyone was a bit sad to leave. We packed up our tent and cooked breakfast slowly and started hiking a bit later than planed but got to the bus on time. It was raining and cold but all we were focused on was getting back to the dry warm bus.

This trip made me realize how grateful I am to live in such a beautiful and safe country like Canada and it taught me hiking isn't all that bad, just the weather and if you are prepared and dressed properly, the weather doesn't stop you from having a great time!

Bigfoot said...

Once we got to Frontenac Provincial Park I enjoyed the scenery and great weather, while eating my lunch. After a bit of hiking I got to the point where I was too exhausted to look beyond my own feet. After my muscles got used to the notion of hiking with a heavy pack I started to enjoy it more.
After we arrived at our first campsite, we discovered there wasn't enough spots for everyone to have their own tent spot. Mr. Brauwer told us to double up, a process we repeated without the trip. We then sat around the fire for a bit before setting up our tent. Mr.Brouwer then instructed us to only have two small campfires. He then sent us out to scavenge for fallen wood and birch bark. He proceeded to show us the two different techniques to show us a fire. scavenge
Joey went swimming in a lake I wouldn't stick my toe in. Someone then decided to give Joey some company in the lake for a good two minutes before running to the fire.
For supper, my cooking group had tacos warmed up over the fire.
A member of our group had a great idea of emptying out his pack and carrying all our cooking groups food. We then found a good tree to hang our food in to prevent theft from hungry animals. We then crawled into our tents for bed.
In the morning we crawled out of our tents to see Mr. Brouwer already getting the camp fire going. It is always good to share a campfire with Mr. Brouwer to save time on fire preparation. We started the morning off with burnt pancakes and a lecture for Grant as to why you put butter in the frying pan. We quickly did the dishes and packed up so we could have an early start. We then set off on an easier and much more pleasant hike than the day before. Before lunch we came to a trail that led to a lookout on Big Salmon Lake. Due to sheer exhaustion I almost didn't make the climb. I was extremely glad I did because it was a spectacular view. After some time spent admiring the view we climbed back down and got started on lunch.
My group decided to start a fire to cook our hotdogs, which I thought would be a waste of time because of the drizzle. I was happy to be proved wrong, because we had a delicious lunch of hotdogs over a wood fire. We then set out to get to our next campsite. On the way, a few of us lost site of the person in front of us when we came to a fork in the trail. As we prepared to take a turn, Mr. Brouwer arrived to tell us we were going to go the wrong way. When we arrived at our new campsite we set up our tents and Joey went for another swim. We then spent a few hours gathering firewood. Mr. Brouwer found a tree that wanted to fall down and with a little encouragement did so, which gave us plenty of firewood for the night.
We found out a member of the group was afraid of frogs and we nearly fell over laughing as he was chased around by it, before turning the tables with a large stick.
We had some practice with first aid because a member of our group cut himself while sawing wood. Between the blood and water we had a hard time getting the band-aid to stick.
We played lick the stick around the fire that night. I had great pleasure in taking a big bite of melted marshmallows before I licked the stick.
At night my tent mates insisted I sleep in the middle of the tent(which happened to be on a rise). Much to my relief, I found myself the only one who didn't wake up in a puddle, due to a few leaks in our tent.
We got up to the start of a truly miserable day. It started with a bag of crushed bagels for breakfast. A drizzle lasted through out the day as we hiked to the lodge we were meeting the bus at. By the time we got there we were wet, miserable, and hungry.
In conclusion the trip to Frontenac Park was cold and wet, although I had a great time and meals with my friends.

Anonymous said...

This October the grade ten outdoor ed class took off into Frontenac provincial park for an amazing adventure full of blood, sweat and I don't believe tears. I know I was part of the blood and sweat category.

On our first day it was beautiful, with blue skies above. I lead the way into the woods as I and most of the other people in the group, (except for Mr.Brouwer), got adjusted to the weight on our backs but it did not mean much since we did not hike for very long, only about 6km. After awhile Jessie and Shannon took over directing, which I was previously doing. We hiked on and after a few bumps in the path we arrived at a very scenic spot on the banks of one of Frontenacts many lakes. I very quickly got my group which was comprised of myself, Matt. C. and Aaron, (who immediately hit the junk food that he had brought), to set up our tent. We then went in search of firewood to start a fire so that we could start making our supper which was a great taco feast for Matt. C. and I since Aaron decided he would have some malteasers. After this we cleaned our cutlery, pots and pans so they would be ready for the next day. After getting our sleeping bags ready for bed and our packs ready for the long hike ahead of us the next day, we started an exciting but dangerous game of manhunt. At first Jon, Sean and myself took off together to evade our pursuers. After we all were caught we did a couple more rounds. One round Grant and myself were chasing Aaron down an extremely steep hill I tripped and did a front flip, luckily landing back on my feet. Being in shock and awe I survived. Soon after Grant, Sean and I ran along the very rocky shoreline in pitch black. We then had to escape since Trevor and Gavin had found us. Grant and I then ran up a tree but Sean wasn't so lucky, he was captured. Grant and I then stayed until I thought I was spotted so I dove in my tent with Aaron and Matt.C. who vouched that I was not there when Tyler came up to the tent. After all this, I put out the fire and went to bed. The next day I awoke to the great assurance that I would have a great breakfast ahead of me since we had bacon which is always nice in the morning. After breakfast we cleaned up and strapped on our packs to head out to our next campsite., I lead the way most of the time handing it off now and then. We then reached a bog where, as I was talking to Steph about how if we were all a little quieter we would see some wildlife she then pointed out a white tailed deer that had just materialized from the brush then it went skipping through the long grass but when it stopped again Matt. C. came and yelled at the deer which made it run away. We then hiked to our lunch spot where we enjoyed a very scenic view of Big Salmon Lake. I had a quick sandwich and we hiked up the hill. Then we arrived at our next camp where we quickly set up camp. Grant and I then set out to find firewood and we encouraged a dead tree to come down after a few dives. We carried the large pieces of birch back to camp to use for the fire because it has very flammable bark. We stayed up late into the night talking and just relaxing before the very wet and miserable night ahead. Matt.C. was the one who woke me because apparently, he was awake all night lying in a puddle which had formed in our tent and many of the other groups tents. We had a short breakfast of leftovers and then went back to the main office. After walking through the forest we then had to walk a while on a gravel road while. Steph, Mr.Brouwer and I were talking about cars when we finally arrived at the office and sat by a very relaxing and warm fire. After this short but well deserved break we were on the bus heading home.



All and all I learned a lot about hiking through the woods for an extended period and I also had a fun and but exhausting adventure through the wilderness that gave many people a very good workout and many great stories to tell there friends and families, I know I did.

Pink Floyd FTW said...

In outdoor ed this year we went on a hiking trip for 3 days in the beautiful frontenac national park. Since I never get out much this was mostly new to me.
At the start of our frst day we arrived at the visitors center where we awaited instruction from the one of the park officals who talked about the rules of the park.
Just down the road from the visitors center was the start of a exausting first day but not as exausting as the days to come. It was really nice outside and not to cold so it was perfect fall weather. We hiked about 6km to the first campsite where we would stay, for the first 3km matt.m and I led the way we had to stop and let other catch up and take a small break.and the other 3km was led by Shannon and Jessie. Finaly we got to out camp site, it was a beautiful area with a nice view of the lake where each group found a spot to place their tent, Our group set up on the far side so it was more away from everybody but not Mr. Brouwer because he had decided to set up his tent next to ours. our group was Arron,matt.m and myself. Matt.m and Arron and I were the first to have out tent up I only helped but the rain cover over it cuz while Arron and Matt.m were setting up I was enjoying a smoke while watching the beautiful view of the lake. After gathering firwood for supper, we had out first meal for the night, TACOS! Arron didn't eat anything because he had already packed a healthy meal of malteasers. Just as the sun was setting we hung up out food in the tree so no bears could walk in and eat our food, after all of that we decided to play a big game of manhunt, but I was to tired and I went to rest in my tent while talking to matt because he was hiding in the tent. I later fell asleep. In the morning, it there was a very light rain but that didnt stop us for doing what we had to do. We Took down out tent and our food bag from the tree and got out breakfast ready. After a small talk with the class and the teacher we headed off on out second day of hiking where we hiked about 10km. After 8km of hiking we come to a massive cliff where i stood up high and enjoyed the view and we soon hiked down to campsite #5 where we had a nice lunch and hanged out for a bit. Later on after some more hiking we arrived at our last campsite and set up our tent and and things. after getting some fire wood, we had dinner where me and nick kept cracking jokes the whole trip and we were in 2 groups for each fire that night, i was with sean and david and some of the girls, while the rest of the group played a game of "lick the stick"? haha it sounded really funny when i heard of it. but i enjoyed talking with my friends among the fire that i was taking care of. Then I got tired and I went off to prepare for bed. Thursday night was extremely cold and there was water all in out tent and i was soaked and frozen. Finaly after a long cold night i woke up to some nice sun and We Started to pack up so we can get a fast and good start to our day, and we made some breakfast, some leftover bacon, yum. After breakfast we hiked a wet and tough way home to the shelter where we sat if front of the nice warm fire and ate lunch and then took the nice relaxing bus ride home.


In my opinon i think that the trip was very educational and i think alot of bonding went on and it was overall a great experience.

gavin said...

My class took a bus into Frontenac Park and began our 3 day hike through the woods. It was a nice rout because we saw so many lakes, rivers and what made it even better was the fact that it was fall and the trees were changing colors making for nice scenery. Our hike to the first camp site was uneventful but challenging because not only did I have the tent, pots and pans but I was carrying 10 pounds of potatoes. I made sure the next day that the equipment was evenly distributed in my group. We set up our tent and began to gather fire wood. As I was cutting it *someone said “here ill break it” jumped on the log without time for me to react, the log slipped of the rock and slammed into my shin! That was one of many small, funny injuries’s that occurred during the camp. Later that night, SOMEONE decided to leave out the side door of the tent, in witch I had told everyone NOT to use. It broke and was tacked up using duck tape and medical tap the hiking trip was very fun and also very wet. The second day was similar, a few broken straps but nothing major. The day was filled with great views and “interesting” conversation as we hiked through the woods .Firewood was scarce at the campsite we arrived at, so Mr.Brouwer showed us to work with what we had. A few trees later and we had plenty of firewood. That night was great, we had a very good game of chubby bunny, then were taught how to play “lick the stick”, and Mr.Brouwer plays “dirty” in the sense that he rolled it in dirt! Overall it was a great trip filled with good times, and I am looking forward to our next trip. Also to go on and continue with the outdoor Ed program at CW.

*MADOWER* said...

This fall, my Outdoor Ed. class took a three day hiking trip to Frontenac Provincial Park. I was so excited, and couldn’t wait to experience a couple days in nature, along with my peers. I knew that this trip would bring back plenty of memories and stories, and I couldn’t have been more right!



The trip started off with a nice hike that was about 6km long. This was my first time doing a hiking trip, and couldn’t wait for the experience. Wednesday was a warm day, and I remember taking off layers on our stops, toward the first campsite. When we got to the campsite, the girls managed to lead the group the “wrong way” by using the portage trail, but we got there none the less! While setting up the tent, we were immediately captivated with the beautiful colors, and the view of the lake. I saw Joey go for a swim, and discussed amongst the girls that we should have packed our bathing suits! We dipped our hands into the water to check the temperature…maybe not.



It was time to organize camp, and my tent decided we would split the work; two would cook dinner, and three would hang the rest of the food. We found a perfect spot to hang the pack of food, and I had to throw the rope over the branch to attach the pack to. Three ridiculous tries later, we finally got the job done. When we got back dinner was served. Too bad our hamburgers didn’t come with buns, a shopping mistake we had made! Later that night, it was time for the whole group to play a game and burn off some energy. Manhunt was a blast, and on one of the rounds, the girls and I had fun laying in one spot the whole game, undetected. After everyone had finished, and we finally had found Tyler hiding in a tree, it was off to bed. Our tent shared fun and interesting stories, and we reminded each other that Steph’s tent was right next to ours…that created some silence!



We woke up to find out it was raining a little. Good thing we put a plastic bag over our pack of food. After enjoying a delicious, dishes-free breakfast, we packed up camp and hit the road. Thursday was our “BIG” day; a 10km hike was waiting for us. I found my self really enjoying the breaks when it was coming to the end, but I was one of the lucky ones, my pack hadn’t fallen apart! My favourite part of this hike was our “pit stop”. Mr. Brouwer took us to a beautiful look out, and I found the view was outstanding. Then we hiked down to campsite number 5 and cooked lunch. We tried to eat as much as we could, to lighten our bags, and that included passing around the pickles until the whole jar was finished!



We then hiked to our next campsite and started to set up camp. Even though our gear was a little damp, things went smoothly. When the group was looking for fire wood, Jesse and I hiked probably a kilometre to only comeback with and armful of descent sticks, but not exactly fuel for the night. When the boys collected some trees with Mr. Brouwer, we were set.



That night was too wet for manhunt, but that didn’t stop us from having a good time. We started a game of “chubby bunny” and Steph proved she was the champion. Later, when most of the group went to play a game of “lick the stick” I stayed back with Air and Jesse, and we had a good time getting to know some of our classmates that we hadn’t talked to much before. It was great getting to know them, and we shared some more funny and “interesting” stories around the dying campfire. When we finally went to bed, the girls tent had a shorter conversation, considering the time, but we still exchanged some good laughs. Poor Jessie discovered that her sleeping bag was SOAKED, and I couldn’t let her freeze, so we shared a sleeping bag, and were super warm!



The next morning, Air and I rescued the food pack, and brought it back to camp. Then I helped Jessie cook breakfast, and next we packed up for our final hike. I was surprised that the trip had gone by so fast.

*MADOWER* said...

While we hiked back to the entrance of the park, I helped navigate. There were sighs of relief when we got to the warm chalet, but I couldn’t help be a little sad that it was over. This hiking trip was my first, and I can’t wait to go for another in the future. During the trip I learned many things, and I also go to know many people that I hadn’t talked to before. Overall it was a fantastic experience, and I will never forget the memories and the stories I brought back.

Treasure said...

Our grade ten outdoor ed. class had the privilege this year to go on a three day hiking trip through Frontenac Park. We had the pleasure to go through this park at my favourite time of year. There were still beautiful reds and yellows on the trees as well as the crisp crackling sounds of the leaves as you walked on them

As we arrived to our departure point, the weather was perfect. The sun was out, bright blue sky and the awaiting trail. As we finished up our lunch we got our packs on, a quick group picture and on we went to our first destination, campsite #6 on little salmon lake.

The first day was very short. As we arrived at camp many of us saw the serene view little salmon lake had to offer. We set up our tents then went on the hunt for fire wood. After our camp chores were finished, a couple of us decided to play a game of capture the bottle which was a great way to pass the time. We had a decent supper then the entire group took part in a great game of man hunt in the drizzling rain to end off the night.

We awoke to the rain stopping as we got out of our tents. That helped with the fire making and take down of the camp. We all had our breakfast and took down camp and continued on what would be our longest day. We were making good time with a couple of back pack breaks here and there. We made our way to an astonishing lookout. We could practically see the entire park. Just down the hill was the campsite #5 where we were going to eat lunch. Might I say hot dogs and beans might not look appetizing but boy are they delicious! We continue on our way and made it to camp, set up tarps and tents just before the rain started coming down. We spent the night around a fire playing chubby bunny and a rousing game of ‘lick the stick’

We all got up the next morning cold and wet do to some tent failures. Needless to say we all wanted to pack up and go, so we had a quick breakfast of bagel pieces and was ready to go. We were all tired and cold but the thought of a dry warm home kept us going o the visitor’s center. We can all look back on this trip and see what a great learning experience it was and what good times we had and shared.

Jspice said...

Our class trip to Frontenac Park was one of the best trips that I've ever been on. I have so many amazing and funny memories and experiences from the trip, I'm sure I'll never forget them.
On the first day, we were greeted with beautiful weather. Our first hike of the trip was a really nice introduction to hiking for me. It wasn't very long, and throughout the hike I was tearing off layers of clothing because it was so amazingly hot. For the last part of the hike that day, Shannon and I were at the front of the pack navigating. We did pretty well for the most part, until we accidentally took a portaging route. Thankfully, it still took us right to our campsite.
When we arrived, I immediately thought how great it would be to go swimming. I realized later that it was a good thing that I didn't bring my bathing suit, because oh how quickly did it get cold. Before dinner that evening, the girls and some of the boys decided on a game of Capture the Bottle; boys vs girls. After a while of playing, we decided to end the game. Although of course the boys won't admit to it, the girls definitely won.
After the game, we decided it was probably time to start dinner. Our dinner on the first night was supposed to be good, but turned out to be quite pathetic when we noticed we had no buns for our hamburgers. To make our dinner seem that much more pathetic; the boys at our cooking fire were cooking themselves a delicious looking pork tenderloine.
Once we had finished eating and cleaning up, we all got into playing a huge game of manhunt. For the first round, Ariana, Emily, Caitlin, and I found an amazing hiding spot where we could lie down and nobody could find us. Winning that round, Ariana and I were it for the next. At first, it went a little slow for us; we even stopped to take pictures. A few rounds later, Caitlin and I were hiding together. We found a place under a tree to lie down, and both of us thought that this place was so calming and beautiful; neither of us wanted to get up. When the game finished, we retreated to the fire for a little bit before we went to bed. Our first sleep of the trip was so nice. It was exceptionally warm, and after a long day I fell asleep pretty quickly.
The next morning, although everything was wet from the rain, I thought that my group did fairly decent when it came to packing up. The morning portion of the hike that day went pretty well. It was definitely a little slippery; and after being led down the wrong path a few times, some people got a little frustrated. Then just before lunch, Mr. Brouwer brought us to a beautiful look out over the lake. It was amazing. I took so many pictures of the lookout, but when I look at them now, they don't even come close to showing how beautiful the spot really was. Just down the hill from the lookout was our lunch spot. This meal was my absolute favourite meal of the whole trip. It was also, the best grilled cheese that I've ever had, YUM!
The hike after lunch went by really quickly; before I knew it we our second and last campsite. The campsite was beautiful, although there were poison ivy warnings. As soon as we had our tent set up, we started looking for firewood. This of course proved to be difficult, because everything was completely soaked. As Caitlin and I were looking, I went off a little and found this beautiful little spot, with a drooping tree over this little pool of lily pads. At this moment I was alone, and I can truly say it was one of the most peaceful moments of my life.

Jspice said...

When we arrived back at the campsite, Tyler and Ariana were cutting wood. After only about a minute of cutting, Tyler sliced his hand open. From that point on, Gavin was in charge of cutting our wood. Dinner on this night was hot dogs. We couldn't find our ketchup, so Caitlin went into the boys' tent and got it back. What she also found was the boys' beef jerky. So she brought it to our tent, and her and Shannon each took a piece to eat in front of Gavin and Trevor. It was hilarious!
After dinner, it was time for a round of chubby bunny. Everyone was looking ridiculous, but I think Tyler won the ridiculous award. He gave us all such a great laugh, more than once during the trip. He was so funny!
That evening, after a few small campfire games, everyone split between the two fires (or retreated to their tents). I was at one of the campfires, along with Grant, Caitlin, Sean, Colton, David, and Matt M. The tarp above us had holes and wasn't really keeping us dry, and the wind off the lake wasn't exactly helping to keep us warm. We were all huddled closely around the fire, while Matt tried to keep the fire alive. I had never really talked to some of those people before, but around the campfire that night we had some amazing conversations and shared some great stories. We sat at the fire for so long trying to keep each other warm. Although it was absolutely freezing, it was amazing, and it was my absolute favourite part of the entire trip.
When we finally decided to turn in, I got to my sleeping bag only to realize it was completely soaked all the way through. It probably would have been impossible to sleep in; but thankfully for me Caitlin was such a sweetheart, and she let me sleep in her sleeping bag with her.
The final morning, we all woke up tired but ready to get moving. Packing the tent didn't take too long, and cooking breakfast (chocolate chip waffles, mmmmm) was pretty simple. Our final hike was pretty wet. By the time we hit a road, Caitlin and I were feeling kind of sick. By the time we got to the bus, we were both mostly feeling better.
This trip was very exciting for me. I had never been hiking before, and for my first time I had a very good experience. It was one of the best camping trips that I've ever been on. It was so much fun, and I'd do it again any day!

ginger_kid said...

This past October our grade ten Outdoor Ed class went on a three day hiking trip in Frontenac Provincial Park. I was really excited for this trip as I had never been on a hiking trip before.

The first day we left the school early in the morning in a bus which took us into the park. We only had to hike six km to get to our first campsite, it was a good warm up. The weather was nice, it was sunny, but the air was cool.

Matt M lead, using the map, from the beginning to about halfway where he handed off the map Shannon and Jessie. They did fine job up until they took a wrong turn onto a portage trail, but we still ended up at the right campsite.

Once we arrived we broke out the tent and put it up. After we had put up our tent we collected firewood while there was still light. We then proceeded to play a game of capture the bottle. A couple of us also went for a swim in the lake!

Later on that night we got out our beef tenderloin, courtesy of Gavin, which had been marinaded in "Dave's" hot sauce. We cooked it over the fire, divided it amongst our group, and then we dipped our portions in the "Dave's" hot sauce Gavin brought and ate them.

After dinner I washed our dishes, and when all the groups were done cleaning up we started a massive game of manhunt. I think the best moment of the game was when Tyler hid in a tree that was right next to a campfire. No one could find him. When people were regrouping at the campfire, the few who weren't playing and knew where he was were saying funny things about him, like "Tyler smells bad," and the like. He could respond to their remarks unless he wished to be found, which made them that much more funny.

After a while we all went to bed to get some rest for the long day ahead of us. After taking my shoes and socks off, agonizingly I realized I had two very nasty blisters, one on each foot, in the same spot. I had not chosen very good footwear for the trip. Our group was getting comfortable in our tent when Tyler had to go get something that was outside. Gavin had given us strict instruction not to use the side door.

Tyler, being Tyler, used this door. We probably spent an hour trying to fix this door, until we finally just decided to duct tape it. unfortunately we didn't have much duct tape, so we had to use medical tape, which just isn't the same. Oh, I forgot to mention that at this point it was raining. Tyler seems to have a natural ability to make any experience just a little more interesting. He may do some silly things, but he's great to have around and I'm glad we had him in our Outdoor Ed class.

The next day we had to do some clean up as we had failed to clean everything up the night before. After we had finally cleaned everything up we got going, it was a late start, especially since this day's hike was supposed to be four hours long. We were off to a good start, however, and we were making good time.

Near the end of Big Salmon Lake we got to a lookout, everyone stopped to enjoy the view. Around the corner from the lookout was our lunch spot. Our group had beans and hotdogs. After lunch we got back on the trail for another hour or so before arriving at our next campsite. Along the the way it started to drizzle. I was at the front, I might have been leading, and some of us saw a buck, which one of us, who I won't name, managed to scare away.

When we got to camp we had just enough time to setup our tents and the tarps, and to collect some firewood before it began to pour. Unfortunately the heavy rain continued through the night, but I always say it isn't camping if it doesn't rain. At one of the campfires some people were playing a game of "lick the stick". Needless to say, I'm glad I wasn't at that fire. That night our group went to bed early, our group had some very interesting conversations that night. There was no shortage of laughter in our tent, nor a shortage of water for that matter.

ginger_kid said...

The next morning we all got up and ate breakfast next to a warm fire. I had not slept well that night, my sleeping back was soaked at the end where my feet were. The cold wet end of my sleeping bag forced me to sleep with most of my torso outside of my sleeping bag. I could hardly get the whole length of my body into it in the first place, so I was very uncomfortable and did not get much sleep that night. I was overjoyed to eat next to a warm fire.

After eating we all packed up and began the last two and a half hours of our trip. The rain kept pouring all day, but we all had the thought of a hot shower in mind, so we kept on 'til the finish.

The trip was cold, wet, and long, it was especially wet in our group's case, but it was definitely worth the experience. Our meals could have had more variety, I could have had a half decent amount of sleep, but it was a great experience. I really enjoyed the hiking trip and can't wait to do another one.

Ariana said...

Hiking Trip

In October, our grade 10 Outdoor Ed class went on an exciting 3 day hiking trip through Frontenac Provincial Park. As this was my first time on a hiking trip, I was excited to learn new things about the outdoors, and enjoy the company of friends too.

As we set out for the wilderness on the first day, we were happy to see that the weather was in our favour. We hiked for an hour and a half, until we reached our first campsite (campsite #6), on Little Salmon Lake. The campsite was gorgeous, with a lookout right across the lake, and the beautiful colours of fall leaves reflecting off the glimmering water. We spent the afternoon collecting firewood, making supper, and playing games like capture the ‘bottle’, and manhunt. Then after an evening of activities, we headed off to bed, and fell asleep to the sound of the light rain on the tent.

The next morning we woke up to light rain, which soon turned to sunshine. We had our breakfast, packed up our tent and belongings, and were the first group ready to go. We started of towards our next campsite (#4) an 11 km hike. However we ran into a couple issues on the way, the hip strap on Shannon’s backpack broke, and we were unable to fix it, along with a couple other backpack related misfortunes. Right before lunch, we stopped at the lookout over Big Salmon Lake. I was astonished at the natural beauty of the park. The view was unbelievable, even though I was a little nervous at first to be sitting on the edge of a cliff, thirty feet above the water. After we had enjoyed the lookout, we headed off to our lunch spot, campsite #5. Our group made the most amazing grilled cheese with ham. After lunch we headed down the trail, eager to arrive at our next campsite, about an hours hike. Slowly, the rain started to fall, and the air got a bit chilly. I stayed at the back with a few others, as we waited for Colton, who was feeling sick. I enjoyed the beautiful landscape, as one moment it went from flat rock, with an abundance of low bushes, to a wet forest trail. We finally arrived at our campsite, with once again, a beautiful view. This time over Big Salmon lake. We got our tents up and collected firewood just before it started to pour. We had dinner, then broke off into a game of ‘lick the stick’ while others, stayed around our fire and had a great conversation. I was not to keen on a game of ‘lick the stick’, so I stayed around the fire and chatted with the others who were deterred by the title. During our time around the fire, we tried to keep the fire going as it was now very cold, and wet. I really got to know some of the people and it was a great bonding experience. I believe it was nearly midnight when our firewood supplies depleted, and the rain finally sent us into our tents. Once we got in our tent, Jessie discovered that her sleeping bag was soaked.

Ariana said...

So her and Caitlin squeezed into Caitlins massive sleeping bag. At about 5:30 I was awakened by someone shaking my arm, and pleading with me to come help her find the bathroom. Still half asleep, I realized that it was Shannon (who else). We pulled on our soaked rain jackets and put on mismatched boots, then stumbled around in the dark praying we’d find the bathroom. After five minutes of aimlessly wondering, we headed back to our tent, and lets just say Shannon made use of the darkness.
Morning came, and it was even colder than the night before, many of us with soaked clothes, groggily heated our delicious and nutritious crushed waffles over the fire, and packed up our tent. With much struggle, Shannon, Trevor, Gavin and I, managed to fold up the large tarp over the fire, which left us with frozen fingers. We headed out, later than we’d planned but made it back to the bus on time. All exhausted, tired, soggy, and in dire need of a shower, we piled onto the bus and began the bumpy ride home.
This trip was an amazing experience. I learned so much about the outdoors, and became even closer with my classmates, all while having tons of fun. I would like to thank everyone for making it such a positive experience. I can’t wait for next year!

Boushey said...

This year in outdoor ed our class went on a three day hiking trip through Frontenac Park. On the first day we had to be at school by 7:30am to pack up the last of are things in our bags. We left the school at 8:00am, we got to Frontenac park at 9:30 once we got there we sat in the parking lot and ate lunch. After we ate lunch we took a group photo and then we started to walk. On the first day we walked for an hour and a half then we got to camp. When we got to camp we all picked a camp site then once we did that we set up our tents and got fire wood. Ones we did that we made are fire and made some benches with logs. For diner my cooking had taco's, they where very good. Then for the rest of the night we all played man hunt in the dark. Then for the rest of the night dusty, Joey and i played crazy 8's the tent. The next day we woke up at 7:30am, when we woke up it was raining for a little bit so we waited till it stopped so then we made breakfast, for breakfast our cooking group had pancakes but the first batch we made stuck to the pan because someone forgot to put butter on the pan. Once we ate breakfast we washed the dishes and started to pack up our tents and bags. once we started to walk my legs started to hurt really bad so i took a little break and drank some water then started walk some more. when we almost got to our camp site we stopped at this lookout, it was so cool to be so high up and to look over the water. once we where done at the lookout we walked for about five minutes to stop and eat lunch. for lunch we had hot dogs, they were very good then we started to walk to our camp site. when we got to the camp site it started to rain, so we got our tents us as quick as possible, our group was hungry so we ate early. for dinner we had pizza casserole, it was amazing. for the rest of the night it was raining so we put a tarp over the fire and we all sat around the fire and played lick the stick and and Joey and Tyler played chubby bunny, Joey won.
at about 11:00 i went to bed when it was poring rain and the water was dripping thew the tent. when i woke up there was a puddle of water in the tent and everything was wet. that morning we had baggle and jam for breakfast. once we ate we put all are things in our bags and packed up our tents. we started to walk around 9:00 we got to the bus around noon.

the experience was awesome and i learnt allot about the outdoors and how creul they can be.

Tyler Charron said...

HIKING TRIP MENU EVALUATION

1. THE MENU FOR THE HIKING TRIP

Wednesday breakfast: at home had sugar crisps cereal and banana

Wednesday lunch: had canned of high protein tuna, peanut butter and jam sandwich, apple juice box and water.

Wednesday supper: pork tenderloin, potatoes and water.

Thursday breakfast: eggs and toast

Thursday lunch: beans, hot dogs, 4 apples and hot dog buns.

Thursday supper: two quadrilles and left over beef jerky. (Shannon)

Friday breakfast: bagels with jam.

Friday lunch: hummus and pea ta bread.

2. QUESTIONS

a) Not all of the meals had all the food groups but we got as many as we could without it being too heavy to carry, and the meals where very good and tasty especially the pork tenderloin. We didn’t have one specific hot meal but all of the meals where cooked nicely.

b) There were some adjustments with the menu like when we had hot dog buns on the trip even though they were not on the shopping list. We did have hot dogs on the list but it was going to be cut up and put in the beans.

c) We were on time with most of are meals except Thursday’s breakfast.

d) We had enough to eat and then some because we had gotten to many potatoes and had taken up a lot of room.

e) Our group did well at setting up and taking down the tents and clean up, I helped out the group by cleaning the dishes on the day that we had eggs I took one for the team and cleaned the eggs tray which was really dirty, I also carried the tent until the clip on my bag broke than I carried it the next day again.

Tyler Charron said...

the pork tender loin was amazing

thename said...

Hiking trip reflection

In October, 2010, are grade 10 outdoor ed class went on a three day hiking trip in frontenac park. From first hearing about it, i was excited to have this experience. I had camped before but never like this so it was something new to me.

The day before are trip started, Are whole class went to the metro close to school to get food for are trip. We had all devided up into different groups. There was tent groups and food groups. Generally the tent groups were the same as the food groups though except for a couple groups. That day we had to back it all into are bags along with the rest of are things.

The next we, we all woke up very early because we had to be at school by 7:30. We packed are all are last minute things were packed and we were on the bus by 8:00. It took about two hours to get to the park but it didn't seem very long because i was so excited. When we arrived, we got to the front entrance, and waited there for a little while. After a while what looked like a park security gaurd, came out and told us some simple rules we had to follow while on are trip. When we were done there, we took the bus for about another two minutes to the entrance of the trail which we would be starting at.

Just before we set off, we were aloud to have lunch, then we started walking. The bags we were very heavy, and in no time, everyone was getting hot, and everyone was taking off layers. The first days hike was very short, it was probobly around an hour and half, but to me it felt like 20 minutes. Once we arrived at camp, we divided up the camp sites. There were 4 different sites, all right next to eachother. We have to put 2 tents on each platform.

The first thing we did when we ad divided up was set up are tent. This took almost no time and we soon started getting water. We each had a water bottle, that was either metal or thick plastic. And Mr.Brouwer explained to us how we were to purify are water, that we got from the lake, so we wouldn't get sick. What you had to do is take these two little bottles, and put a few drops of each into the lid of one of th liquids. Then you mix it up until the mixtures turns yellow. Then you put the mixtures into your water, shake it and wait 15 minutes, then you water will be clean.

After all this, we started to collect firewood, and alot of it. We were going to have to fires and they needed to lost for awhile, so everyone started to get fire wood and when we were done we had a huge pile it. We had to start thinking about diner. My group was going to have taco's for diner. We had pre cooked the meat so all we had to do was heat it up, and put everyone together, it was very simple and quick. We were almost free now. We had to hang are food and wash all the dished we used. To hang the food, you put all the food into one pack, and you take a rope, tie t into the pack, flip the rope over a tree branch, pull up the bag and tie the end of the rope so the pack would stay there. This prevented and bears or other animals from taking the food.

Now we were free the relax, and eventually everyone went to sleep. In the morning, everyone was busy doing something. We had to get are food made for breakfast, and put all are things away so we could move on, because we had a long day of hiking that day. After everyone was packed and done eating, we set off.

thename said...

The day felt like it went on forever and i was very tired when we stopped half way for lunch. At this point, we had time the refill are water and have a meal. Are group had hot dogs which were nice. After about an hour, we started hiking again. I wasn't feeling good so it took a bit longer for me to keep going but after the very long day, we mad it to are second and final camp site. Like the night before, we set up are tents, got fire wood and prepared are supper. That night we had pizza cassarole which was very good.

Sadly , that night, it started to rain. It had barely rained the night before and it was poring that night. We played games and had fun that night. That nights sleep was horrible. I was freezing cold and it was very hard to stay asleep. Eventually, morning came along and i was very happy cause of that. Alot of peoples thing had gotten rained on and it was a miserable morning cause of that. Most groups just had a quick breakfast. I think most people were eager to get home. So we left early. About an hour of hiking and we were on the main road, but we still had atleast another hour of walking to go.

This was one of the worst times of the trip in my oppinion because i was very tired. But eventually we made it to the entrance once again, we got on are bus, and headed back to school. When we got back, school was almost over. We had to set up are tents so they could dry over the weekend, and we were free the leave.

This was differently a fun experience and i would do it again. I would do a couple things differently though. One would be get a better sleeping bag, another would be plan are menu better. All in all, it was a lot of fun and i would recommend trying it to anyone.