Wednesday, October 16, 2013

PAD2O Frontenac Hiking Trip #1

The first trip of the semester happened the third week of September and the fall weather was spectacular. Beautiful sunsets, sunrises, blue skies and warm waters, what else would you want in a hiking trip.


We started out the trip with a bit of an adventure, as the bus tried to enter the park from the wrong side. A little tricky manoeuvring only delayed us by an hour and a half, or so. Once we were ready, the group started at Arab Lake parking lot and made our way to Birch Lake. We made it to our campsite, cluster #8, in good time, although our delay made our arrival time a bit later then we would have wanted. A gorgeous campsite on Birch Lake and we felt like we were the only ones there.


The night cooled off quite nicely, allowing us to get a great night sleep. We even had a couple of wolves howling close by during the night. The 2nd day started with nothing but blue sky. It promised to be another great day. It took the group a while to get packed up, which delayed us by almost an hour, which is something that we felt the entire day. It took us a while to get the motors running and our speed up. The plan was to lunch at the lookout at campsite #5, but we couldn't get there quick enough. So after a quick lunch on the side of the trail, we headed to the lookout for some great views.


We arrived at camp a little later than we wanted, but that didn't stop almost everyone from enjoying a swim. A quick lesson on firewood and fires and we were ready for the night. The students spent the night singing songs along with the loons on the lake. Although we found in the morning that some of the things necessary to maintain an animal proof campsite were not taken care off. A raccoon was able to have a good midnight snack.


The final day, the group had found the rhythm of being outdoors. Packing up went well and the trip out was fast and efficient. A great trip to start the semester.


13 comments:

Unknown said...

Frontenac Park Hiking Trip - Reflection

Primarily, I will start by saying that this trip was one of, if not the best school trip I’ve been on at this point in my life. Overall, we as a class had so much fun together experiencing the wilderness. I personally learned a lot not only about the outdoors but also about my fellow classmates as well as about myself.

Of course, as this was my first hike and camp experience there were a few mistakes that I, as well as my group made. On the contrary, there were many things we did right too. In terms of equipment my group packed perfectly, we brought the exact amount of things (clothes, personal things etc.) that we need. As there were four of us, we brought the perfect sized tent for us to all be comfortable during the night. With the teaching of Mr. Brouwer, we learned how to pack our packs and we applied that knowledge very effectively in order to provide a comfortable hike for the entire trip. Finally, a big thing that we did as I group was place our tent beside a group that we knew we would get along well with. This turned out really well because it allowed our groups to work together and help each other out as well as enjoy the campfire together after dark.

Some of the mistakes that we made as a class that I noticed were that we left a lot, I mean A LOT of things out. Such as shoes which could be damaged by rain, and more importantly, food that could be A- rained on or B- could attract bears, moose, raccoons etc. to our site. Another mistake that we made was that some groups didn’t hang there food until after dark…if they even did it at all. This wasn’t a problem for my group but if a dangerous animal were to come to our campsite, he won’t only be going after the people who left the food out. A big mistake that my group made was helping others out. We often finished packing our stuff up before the planned time and instead of helping others we would simply relax and wait. That is definitely something we can and should change for the next trip. Lastly, something that we didn’t take into consideration before leaving was our menu. Although our menu had the perfect amount of food that was nutritious, we didn’t include many ‘yummy’ foods. Therefore, by the last day I was going a big crazy from only eating healthy and low calorie foods.

My feelings about the trip were very high. I got along very well with my group as well as the other groups and I generally was in very happy spirits. I met new people and made memories with people who I didn’t even know before the trip and I will now be friends with going on in the future. The Frontenac Hiking Trip 2013 was an incredible learning experience that I will never forget.

Unknown said...

Frontenac Hiking Trip 2013

This trip was definitely the most fun and amazing experience I have had on a school trip. It was a great way to bond with different people, and really learn to work together with my class to accomplish tasks that required a team effort. I learned many things on this trip and would definitely do it again.

Our trip started on the Wednesday and finished on the Friday and throughout the three days and two nights, we had amazing weather! From previous students who went on this trip, I had heard about some experiences with rain. Although we were well prepared to rain-proof our gear, we surely didn’t need it as we had a complete trip of clear skies and starry nights.

As a group of 4 girls, I found we evened out the weight of all our equipment and food very well and there was no need to switch out things during the hiking portion. Our tent was surely spacious enough for another 4 people, so we used the extra space to spread out our clothes and empty packs. On the first night, we shared a campfire with one of the groups of boys and we enjoyed a fun time bonding around the fire. In terms of food, we packed more than enough for the trip but there were some meals I think we would have definitely traded the other groups for. However, it was our first trip and what we had packed satisfied our hunger for the whole trip.

On the first night, we hung our bags, set up the tent, went for a swim in the lake and then ate dinner. We learned the second night, that we should have followed that routine again instead of eating close to sun-down and having to hang our food in the dark. After getting comfortable with the camping atmosphere on the first night, I think our groups got a little careless on the second night when it came to the cleanliness of our camp and where to hang the food. Next time, I would pack away all left-overs and reachable food so we aren’t unknowingly giving some raccoons a midnight snack.

In conclusion, like I said before, this is certainly a trip I would do again! The hiking portion certainly pushed me to my limits, but it was a great experience. I also got to know more people in my class and made some new friends over some campfire bonding on the second night. We also got to hear a variety of animals...including the Beavcoons. But as a class, I think we had an amazing time and it is definitely something I won’t forget.

Jessica Thomas

creeperkid23 aka Raven said...

Frontenac Hiking Trip 1 PAD20 - Reflection

This trip was definitely one of the best most fun school trips I have ever been on. Not only was it just an amazing experience with friends, but it was also a great learning experience.

It was the first hiking trip I have ever been on, but not my first camping experience. With having all the food and supplies being packed in hiking bags we had to tie them up into trees so that racoons or bears could not reach them. This was something my group did well on the first night but not so well at all on the second night.

The first night went well, making food and setting up our tent was good as we had everything set up early so we could enjoy the rest of the night. However, the second night was not so good for our group because we were all tired from a long day of hiking so we decided to rest and sit until it was almost dark out. This wasn't such a good idea because we had troubles setting up our tent and it wasn't up properly, also our food bag was not strung up high enough and just about any animal could get it if they tried hard enough.

The morning after the second night went well until we had to pack up. I felt like we slept in too long and spent too much time preparing breakfast, then we were left with little time to clean up and get everything in our bags.

This trip was an amazing experience for me, as I'm sure it was for everyone else on it. The next time I ever go on a hiking trip I will be so much more prepared than I ever would have been before.

Unknown said...

Frontenac Park Hiking Trip-Reflection

The Frontenac hiking trip was a great experience, I learned a lot and had a lot of fun. The trip was gave me a great opportunity to learn about thee outdoors as well as bound with my class mates.

I would consider myself some what of an 'outdoorsy' person I enjoy camping and being outside, but I had never taken up hiking before the trip. Although it was hard at times I sincerely enjoyed it. Because I have never hiked before my group and I made a few minor mistakes. But apart from little things here and there I believe my group was very successful on this trip. My group and I did a very good job planning our menu. We had a good amount of food that was easy to make and clean up. We brought a minimal amount while still bringing enough to fill us. The food we chose to bring was nutritional, giving us the energy needed to hike all day. In terms of equipment we had all the essential items(tent stove fuel ect.) None of us over packed so our packs were very manageable to carry all day while we were hiking. Once we arrived at camp we decided to set up our tent beside another group we knew we would get along with. Both groups worked together in gathering fire wood, cooking dinner and washing dishes. It worked out very well because it took us half the time to accomplish the things we needed to. We also had a really fun time hanging out once all the work was done. We all bonded and learned a lot about each other.

A few mistakes were made on the trip but I think we all learned from them. Our biggest mistake was leaving food and garbage out after we went to bed. Mr. Brower had warned us about leaving out food because the wild animals, such as beavecoons, bears and raccoons would be attacked by the smell. Luckily none of us got attacked by any animals, but racoons did come to the camp site. We also left a lot of garbage on the ground. The camp site was really nice and leaving garage all over defiantly ruins the appeal. Another mistake I think my group made was not helping other once we finished everything we needed to do. A lot of time was wasted in the morning when everyone was getting ready. My group was one of the first groups ready, but once we finished packing we simply sat back and relaxed. If we would have helped out the other groups once we were done we could have got going a lot faster. A personal mistake I made was I packed for cold weather so I was a little warm hiking in the heat with my thermal socks. I didn't find it was that big a deal because it wasn't sweltering hot, but I would have been more comfortable if I had packed slightly differently. The only other noticeable mistake I made was not bring sandals or shoes I could ware around camp. I got some pretty bad blisters because I never gave my feet a chance to breath.

Over all I think the trip was very successful and I had a tone of fun. This was defiantly the best school trip I have ever gone on and I look forward to many more fun trips with the class.

Unknown said...

Frontenac Hiking Trip - Reflection

To start things off, I’d like to say the outdoor ed hiking trip is a memory I’ll never forget. I became closer with all my classmates, talked to people I never thought I’d talk to, while learning survival skills and staying alive in the wilderness. As an individual, as a group and as a class, few errors were made. There are a few things I think could have been better, but for the most part it was great.

The trip began with an extra long bus ride, because we accidently took the wrong turn, and ended up in a windy road, and a dead end. This wasn’t the plan. But everyone still stayed calm, and after a few attempted phone calls, texts, and no service, we thought we were doomed. Luckily, we had a great bus driver, and managed to tear down a fence and get ourselves out. We then met Mr. Brouwer and were back on the right trail.

Once we got to Frontenac provincial park, everyone unloaded the bus, had a quick bite, and we were off on our hike. At the beginning, everyone was chatty. People singing, talking about how excited they were, and telling stories. But about 10 minutes into the hike, you could tell people were short of breath, from walking, and everyone was silent. On the first day we hiked 6 km. This felt much shorter than it actually was. Mainly because most of us had a lot of energy and were exited to get to camp.

We often took water breaks, or stopped at lookouts to let everyone catch up, and I made sure to always ask if people needed to lighten their bags, or needed any help. They always denied the offer, but it’s the thought that counts.

Once we arrived at the campsite, my group set up our campsite as fast as we could so we would have the best spot. But without even looking at the other ones, we realized it may not have been then best one, and that the next time we should examine all of them before picking which one. We also decided to share our platform with another group we knew we would get along with. This was convenient because we all shared food, and helped make the fire.

Our choice of food was quite good also. We had just the right amount, and it was all very delicious. If I could change one thing about the meal plan, it would be the veggie dogs. They turned out to not taste the same as hot dogs, and made for an unsatisfying meal. Luckily we had other things to eat! Besides that, the food was great

As the night came along, we needed to make dinner, hang our bags, start a fire, and have a swim before dark. Once we were done those, we all sat around the campfire, sang songs, shared stories, and had a good time.

Unknown said...

Frontenac Hiking Trip - Reflection, part 2

When we woke up the next day, we quickly
made breakfast, packed up our tent, and were waiting for others to be done. I later realized that instead of waiting around doing nothing as the others got packed up, we should have gone to the other groups and asked if they needed help.

On this day, we hiked 11 km. We were all sore from the first day, with a few blisters, so it seemed a little longer. But we all kept our heads up and kept putting one foot in front of the other.
After about 4 hours, we had finally arrived at the camp. We picked straws to see who would get which platform, because last time was unfair. We shared ours with the same group as the night before, and had the same routine. This time, everyone sat around the same campfire, which was a great bonding experience. Everyone helped get wood, and we all had fun.

I noticed that the second night, not everyone hung up their bags, and there was a lot of food and articles left out on the campsite. This was a problem for my group, because our bags were tightly hung up, but I also take responsibility because I should have helped clean up.. It would have been the right thing to do. With everything out, it gave an invitation for the racoons, bears, beavcoons or any other animal to a feast. But luckily, they didn’t seem to be too hungry.

As the third and final day rolled around, you could tell everyone was starting to get exhausted, as I was myself. This is when people needed motivation the most. I tried to keep a positive attitude the whole time, and this time I asked if anyone needed help taking down their tents, or packing up. They all denied but I did my best to help anyways.

On this day, we walked 6 km. It find it felt shorter than it was, and I believe it's because everyone was anxious to go home, shower, have a proper meal, and have a warm and soft bed to sleep on. But no one complained.

When we arrived at the bus, everyone quickly loaded it, and we were off. The bus wasn’t quite as loud as it was on the way there, and we also didn’t get lost, but it was still a great time.
Carrying 10 pounds in a bag on your back isn’t the easiest thing. But when you’re with your best buds, having fun and making memories, you learn to put the bag aside and take in the good. I had an amazing time on this hiking trip. I learned a lot of new things, made new friends and now know how to camp in the wilderness. You learn from your mistakes, and i will apply thing i have learned from this experience in my everyday life.

Sydney Switzer

Unknown said...

Frontenac Hiking Trip Reflection

My trip to Frontenac Park was an experience that had good and bad points.

I learnt many things on this trip,like how to start a campfire and what to use from the woods in the fire. I had never set up a tent before or cooked in the outdoors. I also found it interesting to learn how to put chemicals in lake water to make it drinkable. The activity that I enjoyed the most was when we were cooking and eating the food that we brought. I was also surprised at how comfortable it was sleeping in a tent.

The downside to the trip was the length of time we spent walking. Long distance walking is not one of my favorite things to do especially when I was carrying a heavy backpack and trying to keep up at the same time.I also didn't realize that I needed to bring a bagged lunch to eat during the hike because it took a while to get to camp. I would definitely bring one next time.

Due to the length of the hike, by the time we arrived at the site we had very little time for any activities before we needed to start cooking. Unfortunately no one brought anything to play with. In the future I would bring a ball. Luckily the weather was nice and the sun was shining.

I would go hiking again if it were a shorter distance. I would go to a look out again and if it were hotter I would go swimming.

Overall it was a good trip. It was interesting to learn new things and to go hiking and camping for the first time.

Unknown said...

During this trip, there were a lot of things that went well with my group, and a lot that didn’t. First of all, I found our group equally contributed to cleaning up after our campsite when it came to meals, at night and leaving the campsite. We also all helped each other when it came to setting up and putting our stuff away, setting up camp and packing up. We all took turns helping out with meals which made things much quicker. Also, our group always cooperated very well which made things much easier and more fun. I had an amazing time on the trip not only because of the people, but the trip in general was a great time. Going swimming in the lake, having campfires at night and even hiking the whole day made the trip an amazing experience.



Although this trip overall went well, there were also many things we should and could have done better. The main problem was the amount of food we brought. We thought we would be eating so much because of all the exercise we would be doing. We were completely wrong, we probably packed enough food to feed the whole class this trip! It was great how we thought of all nutritious aspects of our meals making sure we had all the food groups for enough energy for the day, but it was way too much. Also, we probably should have made our meals simpler, instead of having stuff like pancakes, we could just an something such as oatmeal. Another thing I packed myself way too much of was clothing. I figured because I had a compression sack all my clothes would fit, but even though it all fit, it weighed a lot. With less food and less clothing my pack would have been much lighter. Also, the first thing you want to do when you get to camp is rest and go for a swim, but I don’t think we realized how fast it gets dark. Putting away food and garbage late at night was hard because you only had a flashlight.


Overall there were several things I should have done differently but it made a great time! I felt like I got to know many of my classmates more than I used to and became closer friends with everyone. This was definitely one of my favourite school trips and there were so many memories made. Not only was it fun, but an amazing learning experience and many lessons learned for next time.

Unknown said...

This was definitely one my favourite school trips. I was a little sick but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the trip. My group was great. We all equally split up the weight of the food and the tent in our packs. We also shared all the work that had to be done at the campsite like putting up the tent, cooking and hanging our food.


We brought way to much food. We thought that because we were walking all day that we would want more food. However, it was actually the opposite. If we had brought less food our packs would have been lighter and we would have enjoyed the hiking a bit more. Next time I’m going to bring a bigger towel. I didn’t think I would really need a towel because I thought it would be too cold for swimming.


I learnt a lot more about hiking and camping on this trip than I thought I would. I also learnt that it is important to have good fire wood starter because we couldn’t keep a fire a fire going at all! This trip was by far one of the best experiences of my life!

Unknown said...

We started off the trip on a amazing bus ride! We made a wrong turn then we were on a way road. Fortunately we had a amazing bus driver, he got the bus turned around and we headed our way to Frontenac park.

I've done a little bit of hiking in my life but I'd never hiked over 5 km, so this was something I was looking forward to do. I did really enjoy the first day of hiking once we had reached the campsite we setup our tents got supper ready and went swimming. Even though the water was really cold I still ended up going swimming cause I never like being sweaty.

On the second day hiking for me was a little tougher because I slept on my neck funny but I still tried my best and didn't complain about because I knew we could get to the next campsite in no time. I was wrong about thinking this campsite was going to be easy to get to but I still did it, and I had a great day!

On the third and final day I was determined to finish early. On the hike some of the guys and I played 20 questions to have the time pass by faster and it worked. For me it seemed like we were only hiking for 15 minutes before we stopped and ate lunch. Once we finally got on to the paved road I knew I was almost there. I got so happy!

This was probably the most fun I have ever had on a trip and I hope our next Outdoor Ed trip is even better! Even though my group did make some mistakes, Im glad we did because now I know for next time what not to do, and what I can do better!

Unknown said...

Overall I think that the hiking trip was an enjoyable experience to me. It was my very first time going camping so it was neat learning about the outdoors.

It was fun learning how to build fires, setting up tents, making my own food, swimming in the lake, learning how to pack a camping bag etc... Some people thought that it was quite a bit of walking but I was able to keep up with guys up front. The only thing that I would have changed in the trip was the fact that I didn't have many snacks and I probably would have held the amp more often because we only relied on the paths but the maps showed us short cuts to our destinations. The food was good, the weather was great, and the water was nice. We hug our bags as told 3m high and 1m away from the tree trunk too. One of my favorite events of the hiking trip was the bus ride. I think that was a once in a life time ride because it almost flipped, it got stuck in the mud, and while we were stuck in the forest we were driving backwards too. It was like a James Bond car stunt but 10 times better.

I wouldn't mind going on that same trip again. It was probably the best school field trip I have been on.

Unknown said...

This trip was such an amazing experience the best school trip I've ever had and probably ever will have. I bonded so much with everyone and really got to know them well. We really worked together as a class and accomplish so much that I never knew we were capable of doing. Without a doubt I would do it again and it would never get old.

Frontenac Park is the most beautiful place. There are so many nice views and lots of lakes and rivers. The weather couldn't have gotten any better than it did and we got extremely lucky and fortunate.

It started off rather strange, the bus driver took a wrong turn and we ended up going down a really bumpy road which led to a dead-end. This took us a long time to get back, but it was quite the experience and adventure. Once we were back on the right path we met Mr. Brower and begin our hike. I didn't know what to expect, I've been hiking and camping many times before but never with a huge pack on my back. I was ready for the adventure.

We took many needed brakes to fill up on water and just to relax for a bit. We needed to drink lots of water because it is really hot outside and we walked a lot. When we going to the camp we immediately began setting up a tent because we were quite late getting there. After we set up our tent we made dinner, we had chicken with rice, peas, and carrots. Then we went swimming it was cold but fun and refreshing.

The second day came fast we made breakfast and packed up everything. Now we began to walk, we walked for a while before stopping at an abandoned mine. It was in Mica mine. Mica is a mineral used in making glass, it was very cool to see since I've never seen an abandoned mine before. We got our campsite we made our tent then made dinner and cooled off in the lake. We then warmed up by the fire, fire was quite fun and strange at the same time.

On the third day we finished off whatever food we have left and began walking to the bus. It was a long walk, but we started it on time. We go to the paved road, I was so happy because we were done walking, but at the same time I was sad because, it meant we are going home and the trip was over. We are very fortunate that no one got hurt. It was a great experience learned a lot of really cool things.

Zach St.Amour said...

First of all, I would like to say that this trip was the best school trip I have ever been on. The bus ride to Frontenac Park was fun as we turned into some shady pathway that could barely even fit the bus. But with a team effort, a great bus driver and some quick thinking, we were able to get back on track and head to Frontenac Park.

The first day was great. Many others thought that there was too much walking but I enjoyed the challenge and was able to keep up to Mrs.Conantz's blazing speed... Luckily, my group packed the perfect amount of food so we wouldn't go hungry. We ate it wisely and had a tiny bit left when we were finished the trip. I was not used to carrying a pack so it was bothering me a bit as it was rubbing up against my lower back, but that pain was not an enormous issue, especially when we stopped to admire the beautiful views. Those lookouts were extremely nice. The next morning, the sunrise woke me up but our campground was facing west so I wasn't able to see the nice orange sun rising as the thick forest with tall trees was in the way.

The second day was just as great as the first. As soon as we got to the campground, we set up camp and went for a relaxing swim to cool ourselves off. We had a delicious supper that filled us up. We combined our food with another group all in one bag and hung it up well. The next morning we had a small fire after breakfast and tried to burn the remains of the pasta we had eaten the night before. Not all of it burned though so we had to pick it out and carry it off the park grounds. The whole class packed up quickly and set off for the bus.

On this trip the whole class came together as a team and respected the "Leave No Trace" principles fairly well. I had an excellent time on this trip: from the beautiful views, to the campfires, even to cooking for ourselves. I also learned many new things about the outdoors and even learned to be more responsible and come up with creative ideas when we had an issue. Thank you Mr. Brouwer for an excellent trip. :)