Monday, May 9, 2011

PAD2O Frontenac Hiking Trip #1

From May 2 to May 4, the 1st of our Grade 10 groups headed out on the trails in Frontenac Provincial Park. The weather has not really been kind to us in the last few weeks and it was very obvious as we hit the trails. There were some very muddy sections and some parts were completely flooded out. This may have been a sign of things to come and we maybe should have seen it as a warning.

The weather on the first day was fine. We had a few drizzles, but the sun also made an attempt to come out. Enough at least to have the bugs pay a visit, especially when we got attacked by hundreds as we crossed one of the running streams. All in all, it took us about 2 hours to make it to our 1st campsite on Little Salmon Lake. Quite a beautiful little spot, with just enough wind to keep the bugs to a minimum. The group was excited to set camp, find firewood and start making their meals. The challenge was finding good quality firewood, as it was all quite wet. This was obvious as many tried to get their fires going with lots of birch bark and poor firewood, which resulted in a quick big fire that died out just as rapidly. The students quickly learned that it is all about the quality of your firewood.

Once the fires were going the meals started to come out, as well as, the marshmallows. We had a nice evening, as the rains held off and we could sit around the campfire enjoying the songs of the loons and the hoots of the owls. Later the packs with food were hung in the trees and everyone settled in for the night. The next morning showed a lot of promise, as the sun came out and it was cool enough to keep the bugs hidden. Truth is that we didn't really see anymore bugs for the rest of the trip, as the temperatures got quite cool, but then we also didn't see the sun anymore either. As we finished breakfast and were packing up, it began to rain. This is how it stayed as we started the longest hike of the trip.

The hike from campsite #6 to campsite #4 is quite beautiful, with narrow trails that wind through the forest and spectacular lookouts. Even though it did rain for the entire day, the group did take time to enjoy these sights. We also through up a tarp at lunch and made hot soups, heated pita and nutella wraps to stay warm. There were also many versions of jumping jacks and a few hills that were ran to keep warm. When we got to the campsite, the wind was coming from the North and hitting the campsite dead on, there really was nowhere to hide and with everyone being quite wet, it was really cold. All the layers came out and we made a hard push to get some real good firewood. With the tarps set up to block the wind and protect against the rain, everyone quickly prepared their hot meals to get warmed up and comfortable. Needless to say, most groups headed to their warm sleeping bags quite early.

The last day was a hour and half hike to the parking lot. The group covered this quite well. It must have been the motivation of getting on a warm bus that would be followed by a warm shower. This not before we saw a fairly fresh wolf kill of a beaver. Some people did say that they heard wolves howl during the night, which is not surprising as we saw a lot of signs of wolves throughout the trails. The hike took us around Big Salmon Lake. At the parking lot we welcomed the next CW group that was coming in and some of the students even tried to convince the next group that maybe they should get back on the bus. Luckily they didn't.

27 comments:

Erin said...

Hiking at Frontenac, we experienced good times, bad times, times when we were awed and speechless, and times filled with busyness and mental to-do lists. However different these times might seem, they share one thing in common: we loved every second of them.
I was really excited at the beginning as to how it would turn out. Sure, I was worried that there would be too many bugs, worried about the weather, worried that I would be too exhausted to do anything other than hike, set up the tent, eat, and sleep, but I was determined to have fun and make it work. It turns out, most of my worries were for naught anyways. Sure, there were TONS of bugs at first, but I'd brought a net. Sure it got FREEZING cold and wet on the second day, but everyone pulled through. And the hike wasn't so much exhausting as it was exhilarating. Thinking back, I can honestly say that the worst parts of the trip for me were waiting to get started at the park office and the bus ride back. This is because while we were waiting to get started, all of my worries were rushing through my head, and the bus ride back just didn't even compare to the fun we'd had on the trip, and we got bored, especially since we were so used to always having something to do during the past two and a half days.
One of the things that seemed to take up so much of our time (besides hiking) was cooking. Cooking in the bush was a bit of a difficult task for some of us. Sure, it didn't SEEM daunting at first, but between the cold, the wet, the bugs, and the uneven ground, setting up a stove was... challenging. So that left us with making a fire. Normally, I wouldn't have a problem with that. Normally. But when all of the wood you have is either wet, gigantic logs, or both, that doesn't exactly constitute as normal. We tried making a fire anyways, and learned a VERY important lesson: don't use bad wood. It was as we learned this that a very ironic thing happened: we'd FINALLY found a flat spot out of the rain upon which we could light our stove. Sigh. We went with it and roasted marshmallows and thawed nutella on the fire while we used the stove for things like rice, meat, sauce, and anything else that would need a steady and reliable source of heat.
When we'd finished that arduous task of cooking and eating, we had time to sightsee before we retired for the day. We saw loons, finches, chickadees, surprisingly bold chipmunks, wolf scat, and HUGE clouds of bugs. In the evenings and early mornings we'd heard lots of wildlife too: owls, wolfs, loons, and what sounded like moose calling to each other. We thought that they were moose calls because we couldn't think of anything else that sounded like it: it sounded like the creepiest and most high-pitched horror movie scream I'd ever heard, and it chilled me to the bone. We had heard that particular sound early in the morning on both days. They had actually woken me up, which was... a UNIQUE experience, to say the least.
Speaking of unique experiences, during the hiking part of the second day, we visited a tall point that looked out onto Big Salmon Lake and the surrounding areas. It looked like the tallest point in the area and it was beautiful. It made the freezing cold and wet day we'd had so far seem to melt away and be replaced by the sight in front of us. The only words I can use to describe it would be that it made me feel very very small. I will remember the sight of looking out over the edge and the feeling of being so free for the rest of my life. It was things like this that brought my overall feeling about the trip from great, amusing, and fabulous to spectacular, breathtaking, dazzling, magnificent, striking, and wondrous. I would ALWAYS go back and do that again - I wouldn't change a thing.

ryan123 said...

m

ryan123 said...

The hiking trip at Frontenac was really fun. There were alot of positive things about the trip and very few negative. It was really interesting for me being out side for 3 days straight. I have never been camping before so this was a new experience for me.
I was really excited when I got on the bus and was anxious to get to Frontenac. I was kind of nervous about the hike because the weather wasn't looking too good.
when we got to Frontenac, it was raining. It wasn't pouring but being outside in the rain for a few hours will get you pretty wet no matter how hard it's coming down.
The first day was my favorite. Not because we didn't have to walk as far as the other day but because the first campsite was the nicest. The wind wasn't blowing very hard and it wasn't too cold. The bad thing about no wind though is that the bugs were out. After my group and I set up the tent, we started to cut up wood. After a while we got fed up with the bugs and started to think of ways we could keep the bugs from getting in our face when we were trying to accomplish something. As none of us had brought a bug net, we decided to make our own and stuck t shirts over our head. After that the bugs were okay. Our fire pit was pretty wet so we made a fire with the group next to us. The first night I slept really well. I was reasonably tired from the few hours of hiking we had done the first day and my sleeping bag was really warm and comfortable.
The only real problem with the trip was the weather. It was cold raining and windy everyday, but we made it through. The second day of hiking was twice as long as the first day, but it was really fun and everyone enjoyed the hike. The second campsite was pretty windy and cold. Instead of each group making a fire, one fire was made for all the groups to sit around. Cooking took a while because so Many people were around the fire waiting to cook their own meals. It was worth it though, I was really hungry after that days hike and was anxious to cook. On our way back to the bus the next day we were a little behind schedule so we had to move fast. Fortunately we reached our destination just in time to see the second group get off and we got to talk to the other group about how great our trip was. In the end If i had brought enough dry clothes for another few days I would have loved to stay. I had never experienced anything quite like the trip at Frontenac and I look forward to next years grade 11 canoe trip. Hopefully it will be equally as fun.

MeganF said...

The first trip may not have been what we hoped for after hearing last semesters exciting stories, but it wasn’t a regrettable trip to me. Reflecting back, I learned from my groups mistakes when the weather tested our ability to have a memorable trip.

During our first bit of hiking for 2 hours the weather was fine and the distance was easy to cover because my pack was adjusted well for me.When we got to the first site I was excited to be on the beautiful little salmon lake and get set up so we could start cooking. That afternoon some friends and I took advantage of the sun and went on a little hike by ourselves with the mistake of not letting a supervisor know which direction we went. We found a beautiful lookout and took pictures near the cliff. That moment was the highlight of my trip so I was glad we explored. That night I enjoyed bonding around a fire with friends. Come morning, we had another good meal but we had a slight change of plans because a student had sprained his ankle on a rock and we had to find another way to get him to big salmon lake without having to hike a long distance. The problem was solved when we got into contact with some park employees who canoed the student to our next destination. We almost left traces at campsite number 1 and wasted a bit of time picking up trash that had been ignored.
Another couple hours of hiking got us soaking wet and under a tarp at lunch. The rain wasn’t stopping so we decided to eat lunch there. This meal was the only one my group didn’t cook well, because we didn’t cook it. We were so cold that we just wanted food fast and we didn’t want to take our hands out of our pockets to cook. It would’ve obviously helped if we got a warm lunch into our systems and that was our biggest mistake. We did some jumping jacks and tried to find other ways to keep the blood flowing. Our last night was tough, it was obvious that the people who were collecting wood and keeping busy around camp were more comfortable and warm than the ones who were watching and shivering unimpressed with Mother Nature. I realized mid way through the afternoon that I needed to do more work to make up for not collecting wood, so I started cutting firewood for a good hour or two which made a big change in my attitude once I felt warmer. On our last day I was starting to get tired and uncomfortable. The hike was interesting when we ran into a dead beaver, which explained the noises we heard late the previous night.

The bad luck we got had us jokingly telling the next group to get on the bus ride home with us when we crossed paths. Group 2 came back to school on Monday and we started comparing pictures and stories, it seemed the weather was in their favor which had us wishing we’d stuck to our original plan to go on their trip. I also would’ve liked to navigate the group and help get wood. I loved the sites, the hiking, the food and not camping, but surviving! Give me better conditions and I’d do it again in no time.

Arden.S said...

PART 1


I will start by saying that the happiest moment of my life was seeing that warm, dry, heated bus pull into the Frontenac park parking lot at the end of three very wet, windy, and freezing days. At the time I was not impressed with the way our trip turned out, especially after the awesome stories that we had heard from 1st semester's class. However, now that I have been home, dry and warm for two weeks, it has given me time to really reflect on the trip, and focus on the good, not the bad.

We arrived at the park on Monday morning, and I was beyond exciting. Camping is one of my favourite things to do, and after a cold winter (not one of my favourite things), I was excited to get going. The hike on the first day was just fine, with a short distance and manageable terrain. Everyone was still full of energy and excitement, and that didn't change when we arrived at the first campsite.

Little Salmon lake was beautiful, there were few bugs, and there was yes, sun. (A word which we forgot the definition of after the three days) A couple friends and I decided to enjoy the nice weather, and after pitching our tents, we explored the area a little. We ended up on a big hill that overlooked the lake. The sun was shining, the view was pretty. I would have to say that this was my favourite part of the trip, though we did make the mistake of not telling anyone where we were going...

We managed to make an awesome dinner that night, and we had a nice little campfire going. The stars were out, and everyone was having a good time. I went to bed happy and excited for the next day and what it would bring.

Waking up, the sky was overcast, but we tried to stay optimistic. We ate a great breakfast,and the rain was still holding off. We had to make a few changes to our hiking route because a student hurt his ankle on a rock the night before, and we had to find a way to get him to the second campsite, as he wasn't able to hike. In the end, we had a park guide canoe him and another teacher to the campsite, while the rest of us carried on with the hike. By now, rain was going strong and wasn't slowing down. We pitched a cooking tarp and decided to eat lunch somewhat early. This may have been where our group's biggest mistake came in. Being wet and freezing, nobody was even considering setting up a stove to cook a warm meal. (Which we realized after probably would have been beneficial.) So we ended up eating uncooked Mr. Noodles (my first one!), and they were not too appetizing, but they filled us up. Since we were finished our lunch much earlier than other groups, we decided to do some jumping jacks and aerobics to get the blood flowing, because we were losing fingers and toes (not really, but at the time I thought it could have been a possibility...)

My opinion is that people became a little happier after lunch, as the hike became a little more interesting and we came to the look out. Despite the overcast sky and pouring rain, it was still beautiful and I think everyone enjoyed it. After that, we continued through the last leg of the hike to get to the second campsite.

With tired legs and freezing bodies, everyone was anxious to pitch tents and get dry clothes on. Unfortunantly, the camp site was right on the water and there was lots of wind. However we managed to set up some tarps and a good strong fire that made for adequate wind protection. People who were eager to warm up even more helped in the collection and cutting of firewood. I wasn't so handy with the saw, so I let another group member do that while I stabilized the wood for them.

Arden.S said...

PART 2

After wood was cut, we started on our dinner, and it was good! We had spaghetti and garlic bread. The spaghetti worked out great, was easy to make and tasted good. However we had to get creative when it came to the garlic bread, but we came up with a solution that resulted in some excellent tasting, however terrible looking garlic bread. All in all a great meal that warmed us up.

After dinner there wasn't much to do outside except huddle around the fire, so my group was in the tent by 8. We were still pretty chilly, but we were happy to at least be dry. None of us slept too well that night, partially because of some coyotes (who left a little present for us on the trail...), but also because of good old bad weather. We were happy to wake up in the morning and tough out the last couple kilometers to warmth.

Now I don't know if it was just the motivation of a warm bus, but the hiking on the third day was the easiest. It was fast, easy terrain, and everyone was happy because the rain had finally let up a bit. The weather even warmed up a little, and we beat the bus back and had time to eat a good lunch.

Though as the second group pulled in we told them to stay on the bus, and as happy as I was to get home, now that I look back on the trip, I realize that I had a lot of fun. I have done a couple hiking trips before, and this one was certainly different! Through the rain, wind, a cold, I think I speak for the whole group when I say we had some good times, and that I am truly looking forward to the grade 11 canoe trip next year!

Jacob said...

Rain, I usually don’t mind. But if it is raining pretty much nonstop, and it’s not a full-out downpour or a drizzle, it gets on my nerves. Because that was basically the scenario for the hiking trip on May 2nd to May 4th. It was a great trip, don’t get me wrong, but the rain managed to get nearly everything cold and wet.
Other than the rain, I thought that it was a great trip. The food was (usually) good, the hiking was great, and I learned a couple things. There were some ups and downs, but many more ups . . . unless we were hiking. There was a lot of downhill.
The hiking was one of my favourite parts of the trip. There was always something interesting to see while we were hiking, be it the turds from various animals or the occasional red-winged black bird. Hiking with the full packs was also much easier than I had expected, so hiking along the trails was great. Camping, and what happened around the campsite, was also great.
Around the campsite was where most of the ups, downs, and things I learned occurred. On day one at the campsite, there was a great dinner, a fire, and it didn’t rain. It just happened that people decided to stay around our campsite until midnight. Day two, I saw some loons at the campsites, had some good meals, and got to sleep at a reasonable hour this time. But it rained again, and I learned to never, ever, sleep against the side of the tent where the rain and wind are coming from. It can get pretty cold. So while the cold kept me up during the night for a bit, it was the coyotes howling that really made the trip for me. It made the trip just indescribable. And not only did we hear the coyotes, we saw them as well. Well, more of what they had just eaten. While my group was having steak for supper, they were having beaver for breakfast.
So even though this trip might deter people from camping ever again, I would definitely do it again. The only changes I would make for a future trip would be to think about the menu even more than my group did, pack for all seasons, and hope for some better weather. Other than that, I would do the whole trip all over again. Even though at some points during the trip, I may have thought that it was the worst thing I’d ever done, I can say now that it wasn’t. And now that I’m thinking about it, it kind of reminds me of those “Go RVing” ads, where there is a fire, happy people, and what looks like good food. And it was. Just substitute the sun for rain, and throw in a couple bugs. Do that, and you have one heck of a camping trip, identical to ours. Just walk to where you want to go, instead of driving.

Cpuff said...

PART 1 of Hiking Reflection

Describing my own individual time hiking and camping at Frontenac Provincial Park Hiking Trip is no easy task. Knowing myself as one who hasn’t had little to no past experiences at hiking or camping I knew it would be a difficult task, to say the least. As a result of this inexperience I found myself at various highs and lows during the trip. Nevertheless, there were sights and moments where I felt that I could watch and live this moment numerous times, however there were moments where I essentially was begging to leave the park. There are many thing that I did learn, enjoy, disliked, and would possible changed and these will all be discussed in my hiking personal reflection.

Nature is a place where one can learn many valuable life lessons, from our hiking trip I feel that I did learn some valuable lessons every day. The first day was a shortened day, and the day where I felt everyone was the most excited and the most positive throughout the trip. There are probably are many reasons for everyone being so happy, but for myself I was excited because I was getting the opportunity to do something very new. The lesson that I essentially learned more than anything else that day was that positive energy can carry you a long way, as we hit the campsite pretty quickly. However, just as quickly as we were positive I learned not to let things get the best of you, and for me the things that got the best me were the black flies. To describe them in one word would be impossible as they kept on pestering me throughout the campsite, and throughout my meal. That’s is why on the second day I made a goal to not let the bugs ruin my day, fortunately or unfortunately (whichever way you look at it) the weather played the role that day, as it was amazingly cold and wet. I tried to lighten the mood of those that were cold by saying at least there weren’t any flies out, most were too cold to laugh. The previous lesson essentially rolls into my second lesson which became evidently aware to me about an hour or so into our first hike. Bring proper equipment! As my hiking group and I were mobbed by what seemed like thousands of insects bent on disturbing the groups peace, by attacking us. If I had a bug net or mask, it probably would’ve been easier to cope with the mob.

Cpuff said...

PART 2 of Hiking Reflection

For myself at least the most enjoyable part of the trip was definitely the hiking, and the spectacular views that made you stop and stare. I found the hiking was the most enjoyable part at least on the second day because it gave me something to do, without keeping me in one spot crunched up and cold. Not only for that reason, as I found hiking was a vigorously fun activity that gave me a pretty decent workout with carrying my heavy pack, and at times sharing moments with friends that will always be very good or fun memories. Too bring up a particular memory that I found funny after thinking about the situation, occurred on the second day. Myself and Daniel were leading the group with the map, we got a little side track, with Ryan and ended up a bit behind everyone. After about 10 to 15 minutes of not seeing anyone, I began to get a bit panicky. So I blew my whistle, and Mr. Brouwer came running to us after about 5 minutes of my blowing of the emergency whistle. This is the part that I found memorable, Mr. Brouwer said to myself and the others “why did you blow the whistle, it’s for emergency purposes only?”, with myself replying “sir we were lost!”, and finally Mr. Brouwer replied “how can you be lost you have the map!” Which after reflecting back on it, I knew that in that particular moment would be something I would carry with me when I thought of this hiking trip, as genuinely funny after realizing we were not really at risk of getting lost at all, at least I thought so.

Coming from those magnificent highs of the trip I have to state the lows of the trip, which were some were mainly my fault and my groups fault. Sleeping and our food menus. Sleeping at least for myself was extremely uncomfortable, as our tent could fit 3 people sleeping vertically, and one person sleeping horizontally, that person unfortunately was myself. It was uncomfortable to say the least, but I sort of adapted to it, and tried not to complain a lot to my group. My groups food menu had very little variety as it was planned poorly. We ate the same things for breakfast over again, and since that was the food to start the day I started my day incredibly slowly. Since our stove didn’t contain any fuel, we were left cooking of the fire for both nights. I also feel that I brought objects along that weren’t necessary like too much clothing, toilet paper, clothes etc. Which really made my pack more heavy than it needed to be.

The question arises itself would I do it again? That question to me is a fascinating one, and to be completely honest I don’t know. And I cannot give a definitive answer. Although I did enjoy my trip, despite some flaws which were to be expected, I feel that I am a person that enjoys the comforts of “city living” tenfold, and taking that away from me during the trip was something I had to cope with. I don’t know if I’d be able to take that leap out of my life again. I’m aware it sounds like I am being irrational and bit over dramatic. But, to me, someone who found not washing his hair for three days an unbelievable feat, to say I was out of my element would be an understatement, although I think I hid it very well from others. I think if the time arises again later on this year or next or many years down the road, I can at least recall on this trip and determine if I want the opportunity to experience hiking, and camping again, too plan ahead, too make new stories, and have better food. Nevertheless that is a thought, and in this personal reflection of my hiking trip in Frontenac Park, I had moments, lessons, and memories that will come to my mind when ever someone brings the words camping or hiking up.

Andes said...

Overall, I think I learned a lot at the expense of many mistakes, mistakes I will never repeat because it makes camping quite miserable.

Our first day was slightly rainy, a little tiring on the legs, but it was just something to get used to. For most of the trip, I'm not sure if I had my pack on correctly, as closer to the end of the hike each day my shoulders were sore from the weight. More on that later.

When we got into camp, our group was one of the last to get there so we didn't have much choice in locations, but it was a good campsite. Not much wind, good fire wood nearby, and not a bad view to boot. Before this trip, was wasn't very good at making fires. I'm not sure if this was because of the times I did make fires we had good tinder and fire starter, but not much fuel to keep it going. Our first fire was a big struggle, for both my group and the other group we had there. We made some food with the trangia (probably the BEST stove for camping)and ate while we tried to get the fire going.

Eventually we did get it going, and it was a huge mental boost. From then on, everything went fine, we had some trouble keeping the fire going strong, but we kept it alive. Towards the end of the night, our fire was on of the only ones still going and a lot of people decided to come over and have fun. I don't have a problem with this, but it can be difficult to get to sleep sometimes.

As for the actual sleeping part, I slept very well, and woke up very refreshed, probably because I didn't know what time it was. The next time I go camping I'm bringing my own watch so I know what time it is. I got out of the tent and walked over to the fire. The coals were still hot and glowing and there was still quite a bit of fire wood left over from yesterday, so I decided to bring the fire back to life. I got some kindling and starter and tried many times, but after about half and hour or so, I finally got it going again. I used a cross between log cabin and teepee methods to start it. I had a short log cabin around the base and then had the teepee in the middle with easy access to the starter. After about an hour or so of keeping it going and a couple others have woken up, we find out what time it is. It is ALMOST five in the morning. Turns out I only slept three hours, but a good three hours.

Day 2 was quite an...experience. This day felt like three very long days. The morning was alright, a little late getting ready and a bit unorganized, but ready.

The rain was a real...experience as well. It was cold, it was annoying, and it was making me very irritable. I was just so cold by the time we stopped for lunch, I just wanted to get something hot to eat. we set up our trangia and make a kind of, well, I'm not sure exactly what is was but it was good. It was like a quesadilla and wrap, with nutella and trail mix fried to a burnt brown. And it was a gigantic boost in morale. Unfortunately, i left my pack in the rain, forgetting about the hole I ripped in the bottom for hanging the food. But I didn't realize what that meant until we got to camp.
The rest of the hike on day 2 I tried to stay hydrated and just focus on my breathing (if you can control your breathing you can keep your core body temperature around where it should be, kind of like a thermos) and the next step, to keep my mind off of how cold I was. It turned out the slow breathing and hiking actually made me start to sweat, even though I was still cold. Meanwhile, I'm trying to keep my fingers cold so the cold blood doesn't come back and ruin the heat I've made for myself.

Andes said...

Part 2:
When we got into camp, our group was again one of the last to pick campsites, so we got one of the two with a lot of wind. We tried for a long time to get the fire going, and turning away from the pile of burnt wood and such, I found myself thinking "We can't even get a fire going." This is when it clued in to me that fire really is a huge part of someone's mood camping or in the wild. I've watched a lot of "Survivorman" and Bear Grylls shows and they almost always talk about how important fire is to your morale, I felt this for the first time that day.

Exhausted and cold, I climbed in the tent and my sleeping back to try to warm up. For a while it worked, but my clothes were wet so I decided to change them. However, the water had leaked from the ground at lunch onto and into, all my clothes, so I had no dry clothes. Now my sleeping bag was wet. I opened it up and hoped it would dry off by night time.

For supper, we had a nice steak, which some will say was "Really good!" But we ate in the cold, away from the fire. But it was freeze your fingers off in an hour or so or get tons of ash and smoke in your eyes, and I like to see so I stayed in the cold.

About now it is night time, and I'm getting tired. So I decide to go to my sleeping bag and try to warm up and get a good night's sleep. Needless to say, my sleeping bag didn't dry out, neither did my clothes which I use for a pillow as a pillow would take up a lot of space.

To stay warm during the camp on day 2, I wore as many layers as I could. I always had my hood up, I had shorts, drywear pants, sweat pants, pyjamas. I had 2 shirts, a sweater and my drywear top. Yes, I wore all these to bed. Not at first, but I couldn't keep warm so I put all the layers back on and I slowly started to warm up.

Overall, it was an OK night. I woke up every once so often. Somehow, I had almost managed to completely turn around in my tent. I'm not sure if it was because I was cold or just uncomfortable, but I had almost managed to turn around.

In the morning the wind had died down, enough to make a decent sized fire and make some good breakfast. I had again woken up early, as I usually do, but I woke up at around six this morning.

After a warm breakfast with oatmeal I didn't really like but it was warm so I ate it anyway, we packed up and headed on our way back to where the bus would drop off the second group and pick us up and take us home.

It was a nice hike back, it was warm and not rainy. There was this strange yellowy light coming out of the clouds, it was weird after yesterday, but I welcomed it.

Waiting for the second group to be dropped off, we finished off our food and had a nice time mixing and matching with other groups. We finished the last of our chocolate on the bus home.

Everyone was talking about how they are going to have a hot shower for an hour or so when they get home, and I was thinking the same thing. That is, until I got home. I didn't really want a hot shower for hours. I had a short 15 minute shower (that was hot, but not long) and went back to unpacking my back and putting my clothes in the laundry.

All in all, this was a great trip. It was miserable, but at times quite irritating. I learned so much on this trip, and I hope that I will never repeat these mistakes, especially on longer trips. Things like packing more and better clothes, as well as never pass up an opportunity to hang and dry out clothes, sleeping bags, and such. But I think the most important thing I learned was no matter what comes your way, if you can get a fire going, you're a happy camper.

Will said...

We left on Monday from the school full of excitement. We knew the trip wasn't going to have the greatest weather but we stayed optimistic. My group was made up of Ryan, Luvai and Chris. None of them have gone camping before so I knew it would be difficult for them to get used to having none of the regular day accessories, like ipods, heat and a bed. We got there just after lunch and I led us to the first campsite with the map in hand. The walk there was really easy I found, I thought it was going to be a lot harder then what it was. There was light rain going on throughout most of the day. Mosquito’s starting biting us every time we got to a low point on the hike or near a river. We got to our campsite with no rain which was comforting.

We started choosing out our spots for our tent, and started getting fire wood. This campsite which was #6 was absolutely beautiful. It was at the end of the Little Salmon Lake so we had a perfect view over the whole lake. It was really big, open and spacious. The only thing that was ruining our amazing campsite was the bugs. There were a lot and were every where but you soon got used to them. My group and I brought our fire wood to another group’s campfire because our site was full of mud. We had a difficult time finding dry wood but Mr. Brouwer showed me how to pick out good ones and I learned that you should look up the tree and see if there are any green or healthy leaves on it. If it didn’t it was a good tree to cut down because it’s dying and it’ll be more or less dry.

My group and I had hot dogs that we cooked on the fire and KD because my stove had no more gasoline in it. It wasn’t that appetizing but at the time we were really hungry and didn’t care what we ate, just as long as it fills us up. Mr. Brouwer tought us how to put our food bags up a tree so that no animals like raccoons, wolves or bears can get at it. I had a great sleep that night and woke up early that morning. Neal who was part of another group sprained his ankle so we had to stay at the campsite for another extra 2 hours because we had to figure out what we were going to do. I had pancakes, soup and hot chocolate. I tried using my water filter that I brought but it was taking too long. I tried the water tablets and it was so easy and simple that I just used them for the rest of the trip.

We decided to keep going on the trip and Neal would get a lift on a canoe to our next campsite which was #4. It was really ugly, it was raining the whole way there and was cold but we managed to get through it with high spirits. For lunch we stopped in the middle of the trail, put a tarp up and had chicken soup to warm us up. Some of us stayed warm by doing jumping jacks and running up and down the trail. We had a difficult and long trail to hike but it had some spectacular look outs to keep us motivated to keep on going. We got to our last campsite shivering, so we up two tarps to break the wind and stop the rain over our picnic tables and our fire place.

We brought lots and lots of wood because we’ll need a fire going all night and for the morning. Most people went into there tents early. My group and I made rice, English muffins and grilled chicken. The echicken raised all of our spirits because it was so tasty. We had an amazing sleep that night which was much needed and got up early in the morning. We were about 45 minutes late to leave the campsite but we eventually got out. We found a dead beaver which was killed by a wolf on the trail which really made some of us nervous. It didn’t rain once during this last hike going back home and the bugs didn’t even come up so it was perfect. We got back to the road to meet up the bus and hand off any of the bags/tents to the second group coming in for the second trip.

Overall, this trip was really fun and enjoyable. It was also difficult and challenging at some parts of it which made it so much better. I can’t wait for next year for the grade 11 trip and hopefully my classmates will get a little more experience with the outdoors before we go!

luvs said...

As we jammed our packs into the end seats of the bus, everyone quickly sat down with high spirits awaiting our three day trip to Frontenac Park. During this hiking trip I learned many things as this was my first camping trip going outdoors. I was excited to try this new experience and by the end of this trip I wasn’t disappointed. Although the weather wasn’t the best the trip turned out to still be the best trip throughout my whole school career.
The first day we got lucky and our bus took us farther than the expected drop point and we escaped about three kilometers of hiking. The first hike was the most difficult in my opinion and can’t imagine what it would have been like with those extra three kilometers. Once we got to camp the first thing we did was unpack our tent. The tent was carried in my bag so replacing it meant I had to remove everything dislodged from around the tent that now rested at the bottom of the bag and then put the tent back in. This taught me a lesson of packing only what you need and nothing extra because the extra things can become a real burden. This first day was the one where we received the most amount of sun. It was nice outside except for one downside, the bugs. The little flies were the most annoying things any one could experience and would not disperse even in the presence of a smoke filled fire. This was important to me because it taught me that you should pack everything on the list, everything. While I was reading the list I thought to myself that I wouldn’t need a bug net and here I was being attacked by a swarm of annoyance. While collecting firewood for the first time around me and a campmate collected an abundance of wood but were disappointed to find out that it could not be used because it was wet. We were then taught by Mr. Brouwer on how to collect proper wood and the trick was that if it made a good snapping noise when cut it was good to use. The first day we brought all our wood to a different campsite because the fire pit at ours was surrounded by water and mud. Our dinner for this night was KD and sausages roasted over the fire. Although no oil was used in the making of the KD It turned out good anyways. After we finished dinner and washed our dishes it was time to hang our food. It took a couple tries before we could get the rope over the tree we selected but after a couple more tries we got it over and running down to a good height. It was easier to throw the rope like a baseball rather than swinging it in a circle and trying to lob it over. The first night’s sleep was the hardest and I learned a valuable lesson which is bring as much clothes on into the tent at night because you can always take them off if it gets warm. I did not sleep very much this night so the next morning was a little tough.
For breakfast this morning we had tortilla raps filled with peanut butter and honey. I was never really fond of honey but after trying this I loved it. When we walked out for the first time there was a light drizzle going about and it didn’t seem like it was going to end. The rain doesn’t bother me so it seemed like a pretty good day; I was relieved to see no bugs in sight anywhere. We began hiking and I felt more used to the pack being on my back so it wasn’t that bad. When we were a little at halfway it was pouring rain and we were cold and wet. We made a decision to stop and eat lunch. I didn’t think this was a good one because I wanted to keep going as hiking kept me warm and I didn’t want to get out of the “zone” of hiking. But the decision was made and I helped set up lunch. We couldn’t decide what to eat because we thought the task of setting up the stove and cooking soup was too daunting but Mr. Brouwer encouraged us saying that it would really be rewarding. We set up the stove and made our

luvs said...

Part 2

soup. Drinking that soup was one of the best moments on the trip because it was well worth it, it warmed us up well and felt so good. It motivated us to continue the hike through the cold and rain. When we got to camp the wind was blowing immensely so the first thing we did was put up a tarp to protect the tents and fire pit. This day because it was so cold and windy we skipped setting up the tent and went right to collecting wood. We travelled to a patch of good firewood about five minutes from our campsite and a small group hauled trees and big logs to the fire pit. If you weren’t doing anything and were standing cold you should go and cut would because it warms you up really good and also helps keep the fire going. We ate dinner and washed our dishes quick because we were all exhausted and wanted a good night’s sleep. This night I brought almost all my clothes into the tent and layered up which ended up in having a good cozy sleep.
The third days hike was the shortest and easiest to the bus. It was good to see fellow classmates getting ready for their trip and listen to them complain about how smelly we were. This trip was an enriching experience and I would definitely do it again with a few changes. I would bring along more warm clothing as I expected the weather to be milder and also more rain gear. I would pack for all types of the weather including bug net for sure. On this trip I saw magnificent view from atop lookouts or just while hiking. I felt it was well worth doing and it deserves another chance but scheduled on a week with good weather which I feel dictates how good a trip will or won’t be. I had a lot of good fun memories with the people on this trip and hopefully more to come in the future outdoor-ed classes.

Daniel Gareau said...

On the way to Frontenac, I was very optimistic that this would be a wonderful experience. Although I was concerned about my group's preparedness, they ended up scrambling everything together in time. Between the fact that they came through, our amazing meal plan, and my freshly shaved head, I knew this was going to be a trip to remember.

The sun was in the sky the first day, it was barely raining and the weather was beautiful in my opinion. I thought, “If the weather would stay like this, it would be a perfect trip”. As we found out, this was a bit presumptuous of me. We didn't have to walk too far the first day, which was nice, because it kind of eased us into the camping mood. During that bit, I was astounded by the beauty of this park, so close to the city! As we were travelling on the gorgeous trails, we were practically assaulted by bugs. Because me and C-Puff were the sweepers for that day, the bugs had been shooed away by everyone else, and were very aggravated, so they were especially distracting for us. Strapping my container of lime tortilla chips on the outside of Keegan's pack was a good and bad thing for me. It was good because he was right in front of me for most of the first hike, so I had a nice snack while walking, but bad because when I got to the site, I had no snack for that night, because we had eaten almost all of them. Even with the bugs, we had a very enjoyable first hike to our campsite.

The first campsite, which was #6, was right on Little Salmon Lake, and offered a beautiful view of the water and the surrounding forest. Everyone got fast to work putting up there tents, and after a little trouble figuring out the fly, Dan and I got ours up. After that, everybody was exploring the beautiful area around our campsite. During that time, Neil twisted his ankle pretty badly, so he couldn't do much. My group made a great stir-fry, and even though Mr Brouwer said his was way better, it was fine for my group and I. After that, Brouwer showed us all how to properly secure our food up a tree, and we all went to do that. My group got the rope ready right away, but we wanted to have some snacks for later, so I tied a small flashlight on so we could see it easier in the dark. After we were done eating, we walked over to where the food bag was, but the flashlight wasn't there anymore! Keegan thought the flashlight was put there accidentally, and took it off earlier, so we had a little trouble finding the bag and rope. After that, we went to the far campsite to spent time near the fire, and then went to bed.

The next morning, we all had a pretty long time time to have breakfast and get packed, because we still weren't sure what was happening with Neil. When we were finally ready to go, I was pretty eager to start hiking. That day, I volunteered to navigate, and C-Puff offered to help me. It started raining pretty soon after we started, but it wasn't too bad when we were actually moving. Even though I got us sidetracked once (I thought it was a bridge on the map, when it was actually a portage route. Honest rookie mistake), and certain circumstances resulted in a frightened C-Puff blowing the whistle because he thought we were lost, the hike actually went pretty good. Lunch wasn't the most pleasant thing, but everybody needed a bit of an energy boost. My group had chicken noodle soup and wraps, which is a very good meal to make in a hurry, because it warms you up, didn't take up much space in the pack and you can put almost any vegetable or meat you want in the wrap. After we started moving again, the coldness was bearable, and we made it to our second site, camp # 4.

Daniel Gareau said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Daniel Gareau said...

When we got to the site, everybody wanted to warm up by the campfire right away, but we had to set up the tarps and gather firewood first. Some people went with Mr Brouwer to get some, and I stayed at camp, cutting the wood. After we had enough, the fire was started, and almost everyone crowded around. We cooked sausages on the fire, and I traded Will's group for some chicken, which was pretty good. The smoke was bothering my eyes a lot, so pretty soon after supper, I went into my tent to get warm, and ended falling asleep sooner than I planned.

Our final day didn't start off too well. After it taking us about 45 minutes too long to get ready, somebody had poured out all the oatmeal they hadn't finished out on a tree, and left the beach pretty dirty. Mr Brouwer was understandably quite upset about this, and it delayed us even more. One last comment about this campsite: it would have been a beautiful site to swim at, if the weather wasn't so miserable. The hike was pretty uneventful, but was pretty nice because it wasn't raining, and the bugs weren't out. We got to the pickup site before the bus, so we had a snack and waited for the second group to arrive. Some people were telling them to go back, but I knew they'd have a great experience, just like us.

A couple things I would do differently ; I would take extra care to make sure my clothes in the pack stayed dry, I would take a bigger water bottle, and I would take a way smaller sleeping bag. A couple things I thought my group and I did really well was our meal plan, because I never felt hungry or exhausted, and our packing, because everybody in the group shared the load pretty well.
All in all, this was a trip to remember, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I can't wait for next year.

Mr.Brouwer said...

With anticipation for the hike many students described as the best part of Mr Brouwer’s Outdoor Ed class, we had high hopes on our way to Frontenac Park.

Our hike to the first campsite was the most enjoyable, with a slight drizzle and few bugs; a good start to our trip. Taking off my pack after our first hike is indescribable. With the feeling of freedom, a walk was all I wanted. I took a short hike up two hills close to camp with some friends. We strolled around admiring the view.

Our first campsite was gorgeous. I love exploring new parks and would definitely consider returning to the site on Little Salmon Lake. The view from our tent of the water and the sight of a loon was relaxing as my cooking group started dinner. While Dan got a fire started, the girls cut vegetables, cheese, and grilled pre-cooked chicken on our trangia stove. If I were to go again, I would bring the same stove because it was very simple and it made our meals a lot easier.
That evening, chatting around a fire making sausages and s’mores with my friends was my favourite part of the whole trip. The stars were out and the lake calm. Everything was perfect when we curled up into our sleeping bags.
We woke to sun and a promising day ahead. As we began to hike, the sun disappeared, the rain came, and this is how the weather continued throughout the day. The terrain was muddy and I slipped on a rock, finding a bruise on my back that night. With every camper wet and cold, we put up a tarp and stopped for lunch. With frozen fingers, drenched jackets, and hungry stomachs, we prepared lunch. We tried to stay positive. We joked, snapped photos under the tarp, and did silly jumping jacks to keep up our spirits despite the weather.

Mr.Brouwer said...

Back at camp, our positive attitudes were dampened. We just wanted to feel warm. It took three attempts before our tent was up because of lack of cooperation. I know this was one thing I would do differently if I had the chance. We ended up wasting time and energy getting the tent up, instead of taking a break and doing it properly the first time. This was my least favourite part of the trip. I was cold, wet, and yes, a little grumpy. The wind off the water was hitting our already wet clothes. We lacked enthusiasm but convinced each other to get involved in building a fire.
I helped saw plenty of wood for the fire, which warmed me up. We got our dinner going shortly thereafter. While making spaghetti and garlic bread, our moods were lifted and we began joking around again. Supper was delicious and eaten like true campers; out of the pot! We made sure every group member had a warm water bottle of hot chocolate before quickly getting ready for bed.

I woke up to find a little lake in our tent and my new merino wool socks, (I had attempted to dry for the following day) floating in water. It was zero degrees in the tents but with a disturbing lack of sleep, we were anxious to get out of ours. The whole group moved quickly but the ‘leave no trace’ rules were pushed aside by some trip members. When we cleaned up camp, we left and had an efficient hike, everyone eager to get into a heated bus.

We greeted our trip #2 classmates and wished them luck with weather on their trip. Tired, sore, and happy campers climbed on to the warm bus to return home.
I would have liked to try leading the group and looking at the map more, though I do think that position had a lot of pressure. The group was led in the wrong direction once, a few members got lost another time, and the group was separated when those in the lead did not wait up.
The trip was wet, but nevertheless, camping remains one of my favourite pastimes and I could not have asked for a better group to experience this trip with. My group always helped each other out with cleaning, hanging the food at night, packing our bags, distributing weight, and positioning straps. Camp chores were done together and as a team. The main thing I learnt on this trip was that a negative attitude doesn’t get you anywhere.
Looking back, I think of memories I’ll never forget and the friendships that grew on this trip. Singing in the rain, telling stories at the campfire, washing dishes, rolling up tents, taking pictures of our breakfast, daydreaming about hot tubs; I’ve brought home countless shared jokes and got to know some really terrific people.

By Leah

katherine95 said...

The Friday before we left for the hiking trip, it was the day we were supposed to pack. I wasn't there that day so I had to bring my hiking backpack home on the weekend to pack. When arrived at home and was going to start packing, I discovered that my backpack didn't have buckles. I got quite worried after this that I would have to pack my whole bag at school on Monday, but my dad ended up fixing it. When I got to school on Monday, I learned that there were also buckles there I could attach on to my bag. Even if it did work out okay, I learned that I should have checked over the bag before I chose it and brought it home.

Also, when I packed at home I didn't have everything with me, such as the food. I couldn't really pack it all properly at home, (put the heavy things in the middle, the sleeping bag on the bottom, etc.) so I had to go to school early on Monday to pack. When I arrived at school early on Monday, I didn't have as much time as I thought I would so I basically put all the food on the top part of the backpack. This was a bad idea since I was supposed to put the heavy things in the middle and the back, and the food was basically most of the heavy items. It would have probably have made it easier for me, but I wasn't really thinking at the time. In the future I will pack the bag the right way.

Throughout the whole three days we were hiking, it rained. The rain made it very hard to make a fire. All of the wood that we could find in the forest was wet. The first night we were able to eventually make a fire, but it took a while because the wood had to dry. That was the only night we were able to make a fire, and it took a lot of patience. For the next time I go camping I have to remember to be prepared for it to be raining a lot, and it to be hard to find fire wood. Before I left for this trip, I hadn't really thought about it, so I was annoyed when we couldn't start a fire. Next time I will try to be prepared for it.

During the trip I wasn't very happy because of all the rain and such. I didn't enjoy the trip very much because the cold and wet brought my attitude down. Next time I go camping and it's wet or cold, I need to keep a positive attitude so I can enjoy it more.

The second day was when it was really wet and cold. During the hike we stopped at one point for lunch. My groups lunch would have been fajitas, but we were so cold and tired that we didn't heat them up, we just ate them cold. I know we would have felt better if we had actually warmed them up and eaten them because of how cold we were. Next time we should actually heat up the food because we may be tired and such, but after we eat something warm, we will be warmer and we will be happy we did that.

The first night was my favorite because there was no rain and we were able to make a fire. Otherwise I didn't really enjoy it, but I usually do enjoy camping. We had bad luck because of the weather, but hopefully I will have a better time next time I go camping, and it doesn't rain.

*EMMA* said...

The hiking trip to frontenac was one that I would never want to repeat, and yet, there are also so many wonderful unforgettable memories.

The night before the hiking trip, all I can remember is lying in bed and not being able to sleep all night due to the uncontrollable excitement. Even when we got off the bus and saw some light rain, I was still very excited about the upcoming trip. I couldn't wait to cook our hot meals, go swimming-what a joke, and have a cozy sleep all curled up in my sleeping bag. None of these events happened in the ways that I had hoped. For the most part, our meals were great except when we neglected to make a hot meal in the freezing cold. The closest thing we got to swimming was when we had a kiddie pool in our tent each morning. "Cozy" was not a word that was used once on the trip! Hot waterbottles helped provide heat in the sleeping bags, however, by the morning, they were quite chilly.

I have to admit, the very first day of the trip, I didn't think I was going to last! The heavy packs,the swarming bugs, and the pouring rain made the hike very non-enjoyable. When we finally got to the first campsite, I was relieved. Once we got camp set up, collected firewood and cut it, my food group members and I went on a little adventure up a hill behind one of the platforms. The views were breathtaking, and everything looked so perfect from such a high altitude! Despite almost falling off a cliff, those 30 minutes were the best that day! Once we got back and made our hot meal, everyone hung around the fire for a bit. Later that night, after most groups had gone to bed, Leah, Arden, Megan, Dan and I huddled around the fire and cooked some sausages. Looking back, we don't think they were cooked, but at the time, we really didn't care!

The next morning when we woke up, Arden and I found some puddles of water on the edge of the tent where we had been sleeping; not the most comfortable sleep. After everyone got all packed up, and ready for the big day ahead of us, we waited for Mr. Brouwer to tell us the route plan for the day due to a very unfortunate injury. Although the route was slightly changed, it really didn't affect us in any way. The day was brutally cold, and my tent mates and I were doing our warm-up dances to try and stay warm. By the time we stopped for lunch, everyone was frozen, tired, hungry, wet, and achy all over. Once groups were done eating, everyone pitched in and helped pack up the wet tarps. Then we hit the trails again. I must say, that before lunch that day, I experienced some of what felt like the longest hours of my life! After lunch however, it went by faster. By the time we reached camp that day, everyone was so tired that cutting a single piece of wood was a challenge. Our fingers were so cold that we could barely put up a tent, and I started dreading the next day. That night, after some amazing garlic bread and spaghetti, my tent members and I went to bed at 8:00. All nuzzled in my sleeping bag, my hot waterbottle became my best friend!Compared to the previous night, we all slept well until we woke up at 2:30am thinking it was 7:00.

When we woke up the next morning, I think I had so much excitement to get onto the warm bus that as soon as I was up, I started packing for the day. After waiting for people to pack up their tents and clean up the food from the morning, we were on our way... slightly later than inteneded. That day went by so fast because we were all so excited to get home! We crossed a very unfortunate encounter on the way, but all in all, that day was great! The weather cooperated, as did our shoulders.

When my Mom asked me how the trip was, I said "horrible", but looking back now, I realized that having a great time with your peers and learning new things makes up for the bad experience.

Sean said...

Hiking Trip Reflection

When I hike.. I don’t hike because i enjoy walking for hours, I dont hike because i enjoy the scenery and i don’t hike to enjoy the weather. I hike because i enjoy the feeling of accomplishing something. When I’m hiking for hours and i get to my campsite, that’s when i feel it’s worth the hike. When i get to the campsite, thats when i relax and enjoy the scenery, and i don’t feel like a slave to anything with an engine.

Our hiking trip started when our yellow bus picked us up at Cairine. The sky was overcast, spitting out rain. This was the standard for our trip, with the exception of Monday night and Tuesday morning, when it was actually pretty nice. I heard allot of complaints about bugs, although i didn’t seem to be bugged by them. The first campsite was awesome, although maybe I’m slightly biased because our second campsite was being bombarded by the wind.

Our hiking supplies were less then optimal. I packed too much clothing, not the right types of food and my sleeping bag was huge. The best thing i packed would probably be our beef jerky, as it was easily sealed and easy enough to consume. I regret bringing so much bread, unless our original intention was to have pancakes. I regret bringing tomatoes, unless our original intention was to have spaghetti sauce. I regret bringing tortilla chips, unless our original intention was to eat tortilla dust. Another thing we forgot were the pots and pans, in the end we mooched off of other groups, but of course that left us eating after everyone giving us little time to prepare our meals. It’s not all bad that we lacked on some things, Neil hurt his foot and we had to carry much of his supplies. Although in the end we carried much of other groups left overs that the didn’t care to to ownership of.

The actual hike i find wasn’t too bad. My feet were fine, i had no blisters, my shoulders weren’t tired from my bag and i didn’t feel overly tired. Somehow i get the feeling my tolerance to aching back and shoulders has something to do with biking with a bag full of books bent over on my road bike. I find that the worst part was when we stopped on Saturday for lunch, I got cold because i wasn’t moving anymore and all of our food was at the bottom of our pack. Otherwise while we kept moving, i didn’t focus on being sore, i focused on getting to the end.

If I could describe the trip with one word, it would probably be “soggy”, be it the weather outside, or the contents of our food bag being covered in crushed tomatoe. The trip overall was a success in my opinion because i learned allot form it. Stay away from squishy food.

Jessica Livingstone said...

May 2nd

I woke up early excited to start the trip. I load everything in to the van and check, double check and triple check to make sure I don't forget ANYTHING. Finally I arrive at school and repack my hiking bag. Then we are on the bus playing eye spy and, at one point, annoying each other by saying "Are we there yet?" Then as we start to quiet down, we finally arrive at the main office of Frontenac Park. This is the last time we see running water and use full advantage of this. As Mr. Brouwer deals with paperwork and other stuff, many of us looked at what they had on display. It was pretty neat, they had some maps and minerals and even some stuffed animals. Then we loaded back on to the bus and went a bit farther to start our hike.

I was a little apprehensive starting out because it was spitting and our chosen guide didn't know where to go even though there was a sign that said "campsite 6 ->". But in high spirts, I helped find the way and started off with the people in the lead. We crossed some bridges and jumped over some streams. after a while i would fall behind to tie my shoe or look at a gorgeus veiw. In the end though, all I wanted was to crawl into bed and ignore everyone. I was cold, semi wet, and tired. I got to the site with the last 5 or so people and found that my tent group already had a place picked out and the tent ready to pitch. The group we were sharing the site with was collecting firewood. Seeing this brought me out of my daze. I dropped my bag and helped out setting up camp. Once my tent was up, I was down by the fire pit assisting with the fire. Then as I started to make supper, others cleaned up a bit, got a steady supply of wood and got dishes set up. Then after the dishes were washed and we were satisfied, it was time for marshmellows and hanging around the campfire.

We soon found out that we were the only group that had a really good fire and soon many people came to hang out with us. As it got more and more crowded, a member of the other group and I started to search for a good food hanging tree. We decided to use the same bag for both of our teams as it would be easier. After having trouble getting the bag up, some of us sat a bit into the woods and chatted while trying to spook the campers at our fire... It didn't work, although they are lucky it was just us and not a bear or something because they took no notice of the noise at all... Soon after that, I crawled into my tent and tried not to disturbed the two others who were sleeping in there.

Jessica Livingstone said...

May 3rd

I wake up to the sound of fire crackling and do mental math in my head trying to figure out the time, as I normally wake up around 6-ish, and it was still dark, I figured it was around 5. It didn't seem that bad so I snuck out of my tent and sat by the small fire that someone from the other tent made. Soon, we ran low on wood and went to go find some which is quite difficult in the dark. After about an hour after I woke up, someone else came and helped out with the fire. Then told us it was actually 4:30 in the morning. I was shocked that I only got about 3 hours of sleep but since I was completely refreshed I didn't mind as much. We chated and laughed while waiting for the sun to come up and enjoyed the peace of listening to the birds and animals in the woods.

Around 6 in the morning I started to feel the weight of lack of sleep so I went for a small nap and woke up to Mr. Brouwer telling everyone to wake up at 7:30. I jumped out of bed and attempted to make pancakes but unfourtunatly, they burned very easily. So after a small breakfast, we lounged around tidying up every now and then. Soon, we found out that one of the campers got injured and that we had some more free time while they tryed to contact a canoe company to take him to the next campsite. A friend and I took advantage of that and rushed to explore the edge of the lake. we found some rock slides and this large group of plateaus with some large trees and lots of birch bark. As it was thought that we might have to stay overnight again, we grabbed some of the wood we found and brought them to camp.

On the return to camp, we found everyone rushing to pack so that we can leave. Throwing down the wood, I rushed to help pack. The trip to the next camp had some very pretty places but through the rain and the cold and the fatigue, I barely remember or saw most of the stuff. I remember this one look out area where we could see across the lake. (I can't remember the name of it) The sun was semi-out then. Although lunch was horrible. it was pouring rain, and i was too cold to take the trangia out of my bag, so I ate small snacks and sat around other peoples stove so that i could warm up some. Then we were back on the trail, side steping wolf poop and waiting for people to arrive since some got lost. I remember walking in to the campsite 4 and being completly disappointed. It was windy, cold and didn't have a lot of shelter. I tried helping out some, but I soon fell asleep and slept till the next morning.

Jessica Livingstone said...

May 4th

I woke up first and was still wet and cold because I was ppushed against the side of the tent. I attempted to make a fire but decided to just wait for someone to come out. Finally, two people came to help and as they were palnning on how they were going to do it, I fell asleep again and ended up not helping. the next few hours were walking down a trail, we saw a beaver that got killed but besides taht nothing eventful happened untill we reached a large downhill 200 meters away from the bus stop. There, I twisted my ankle. Feeling bad for not helping with my camp that morning or the night before, I refused help and pushed through the pain for the last bit. Once at the stop, we had a potluck and shared whatever we had left. Soon the bus came and we climbed on. The ride home I slept.

I learned alot about myself during this trip. I also strenghened my perserverence and abiltity to stop complaining. I also learned how much a small fire can bring your mood up. This trip was very fun even if it didnt seem like it at the time. I wouldn't camp in those conditions again, but I would love to go to those sites agian.

Justin Sass said...

Day 1: as we board the buss i am filled with excitement, by the time we get off the buss i am filled with nausia ... :/ We take pics, set out to our trip and start to hike and talk, lots of fun was to come but being exausted wasint fun. after getting to the camp from day one, i got stung by a wasp but i was more worried about being too tired for day 2. as we go to sleep we get ambushed by other classmates attempting to scare us.
Day 2: when i woke up at 5am i was FREEZING and just wanted to go back to sleep in the warm. We end up getting up then leave camp for day 2 of hiking, it didnt help that i was running off of 6 hours of sleep but that didnt stop me. When we got to camp we set up out stuff and then made a fire. relaxed and fell to sleep.
Day 3: After having a great sleep i was happy to get on the road back to the parking lot when all of a sudden the teachers vanish -_-. They ended up being on the path back to the parking lot and hiding behind a hill. We make it back to the buss and i slept most of the way back.

overall i think that the hiking trip was very fun and i would love to do something like this again.

Justin Sass said...

Day 1: as we board the buss i am filled with excitement, by the time we get off the buss i am filled with nausia ... :/ We take pics, set out to our trip and start to hike and talk, lots of fun was to come but being exausted wasint fun. after getting to the camp from day one, i got stung by a wasp but i was more worried about being too tired for day 2. as we go to sleep we get ambushed by other classmates attempting to scare us.
Day 2: when i woke up at 5am i was FREEZING and just wanted to go back to sleep in the warm. We end up getting up then leave camp for day 2 of hiking, it didnt help that i was running off of 6 hours of sleep but that didnt stop me. When we got to camp we set up out stuff and then made a fire. relaxed and fell to sleep.
Day 3: After having a great sleep i was happy to get on the road back to the parking lot when all of a sudden the teachers vanish -_-. They ended up being on the path back to the parking lot and hiding behind a hill. We make it back to the buss and i slept most of the way back.

overall i think that the hiking trip was very fun and i would love to do something like this again.