Winter Camping In Algonquin Park

scubasteve

scubasteve

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Cambridge, Ontario
Well I plan on going back to Algonquin for the last couple days of Jan and first week of February or second week of February. Best part about winter you have free roam and aren't stuck to interpretive trails and portage routes plus campsite can be anywhere 100m away from any water source or summer camp site. Got me some bigger snowshoes and made me a pulk to save the back so time to have some fun in the hammock in winter :)
image.jpeg 10x36" snowshoe
image.jpeg Diy pulk only cost $40
 
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sLAsh

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Enjoy, I was in a yurt last February in Killarney and had a great time.
Do you use an under blanket with your hammock?
 
scubasteve

scubasteve

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sLAsh said:
Enjoy, I was in a yurt last February in Killarney and had a great time.
Do you use an under blanket with your hammock?
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Under Quilt and sleeping pad with -20 sleeping bag but being its not gonna be that cold (-10 to -15 at night) I prob won't use the under quilt just sleeping pad, -20c bag with hood and have my 0c mummy bag for a liner just in case. You never know up there. Not to mention I have my insulated hunting gear that I don't wear to bed but could and a trusty insulated hood with balaclava :). One thing I learned after 10 years of roofing is that winter is brutal here lmao but I'm usually comfy until -35c. Once the thermometer can't go lower the fun factor is gone and its dont screw up or your dead. Did it once and won't be doing that again intentionally.
 
jroovers

jroovers

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I've always wanted to do a hot tenting winter trip to Algonquin, looks/sounds like a lot of fun. Hammocking in the winter and not even cold tenting is even crazier lol. The thing that makes me nervous about trying this is the winter lake travel... what do you do for safety on the ice? Especially when going through an up and down period of weather like SW Ontario is having now, the ice can thin out in spots especially near creek inputs/outputs and where there are currents. The thought though of basically being able to camp anywhere and have a fire wherever you want is incredibly appealing :)
 
scubasteve

scubasteve

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jroovers said:
I've always wanted to do a hot tenting winter trip to Algonquin, looks/sounds like a lot of fun. Hammocking in the winter and not even cold tenting is even crazier lol. The thing that makes me nervous about trying this is the winter lake travel... what do you do for safety on the ice? Especially when going through an up and down period of weather like SW Ontario is having now, the ice can thin out in spots especially near creek inputs/outputs and where there are currents. The thought though of basically being able to camp anywhere and have a fire wherever you want is incredibly appealing :)
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Ya it's 30 m from any water or summer site not 100 as for the ice you stay the hell off lmao too much risk even with poles. I just go around, besides the lake is just wind in the winter the woods are calm. I've been in a hammock down to -38 but at that temp any exposed skin is painful especially eyeballs and nose. Not fun at all but still amazing to say you did it even tho pics look like Han Solo in Star Wars lmao. I'm only expecting to get down to -15 maybe -20 but have the gear to last to -40 safely. In all honesty it's way easier to stay warm in a hammock it's easier to insulate from cold air than ground plus you can hang your underquilt so it's not compressed losing its insulation factor. Even tho I'm bringing my underquilt and pad for emergency I'll probably only use my -20c bag and a blanket folded under me. Will most likely use my pad for ground. Being in Ontario I always bring pretty much double gear that way if what I have on gets wet I have an entire other set in my dry sac. Tents just hold moisture from your breath making more work in morning and bigger risk of chill at night. I just sleep with a thermos of hot chocolate beside me and some trail mix and I'm golden :D. Foods better as well easy to bring steaks and bacon in winter.

I want to get the boy and wife out somewhere closer to home so they realize it's not so bad but she will want truck in sight hahaha.
 
jroovers

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That makes sense regarding the lakes. Out of curiosity, what area do you plan on accessing? I'm assuming you are going to follow a portage or other trail off of 60 somewhere to get to the general area you plan on camping?
 
scubasteve

scubasteve

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jroovers said:
That makes sense regarding the lakes. Out of curiosity, what area do you plan on accessing? I'm assuming you are going to follow a portage or other trail off of 60 somewhere to get to the general area you plan on camping?
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Ya bush gets pretty thick. My buddy is coming for the first two nights to try out his new hot tent. We decided we are going to do the Minnesing trail then when he leaves Wednesday I'm heading to mew lake campground to park and heading out on the Upper Highland trail around north side of provoking lake then using the portage to lake of two rivers where it meets the old track and rail trail which will be a nice easy trek back to the car :) heading out Monday morning. Weather is calling for -4 to -15 with 1-3cm of snow a day so should be a cozy trek and lots of fresh powder. I'm a cold camper myself and find hot tents are a pain making a lot of condensation not to mention makes the morning when you get out even worse lol.
 
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scubasteve

scubasteve

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For everyone else that enjoys backcountry camping I have used avenza maps app and absolutely love it. Lots of free maps and more even better ones if willing to buy. If you visit Algonquin then jeffsmaps has a download for the entire park map free and more accurate than the Ontario parks map for Algonquin and even has travel times. I ordered his maps for west, central and southern areas and they are worth every penny since they are tear proof and waterproof. Highly recommended that's for sure he also has the superior trails and tamagami mapped for trails. Best part you can plan route and measure in km and add poi to camp locations.
 
vdubz

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I love Algonquin! Awesome smallmouth bass fishing on provoking in the summer. The portage from two rivers is a bit of a pain, but worth it! Never tried winter camping there though. Best of luck! Have fun!
 
jroovers

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Looks like fun!

Yes, Jeff's maps are the best, he also makes the maps available for download onto handheld GPS, I use the map overlay on my handheld Garmin, don't always use it in the park, but handy if you become disoriented or are having difficulty locating a portage. Also, can be fun to use tracks, and see where you've been, distance covered, elevation changes (especially on portages), and trip length/velocity of travel.

Have fun, post some pics when you are back!
 
scubasteve

scubasteve

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jroovers said:
Looks like fun!

Yes, Jeff's maps are the best, he also makes the maps available for download onto handheld GPS, I use the map overlay on my handheld Garmin, don't always use it in the park, but handy if you become disoriented or are having difficulty locating a portage. Also, can be fun to use tracks, and see where you've been, distance covered, elevation changes (especially on portages), and trip length/velocity of travel.

Have fun, post some pics when you are back!
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Ya that app I use if on your phone will run while on airplane mode and use your gps so you can track location if need be which is pretty sweet because even with no signal it works long as your phone has gps capability. I didn't take many pics mostly short video but my buddy is sending a bunch he took. I just use map and compass and time to judge speed and distance.
 
scubasteve

scubasteve

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vdubz said:
I love Algonquin! Awesome smallmouth bass fishing on provoking in the summer. The portage from two rivers is a bit of a pain, but worth it! Never tried winter camping there though. Best of luck! Have fun!
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Winter camping is awesome if you know what to do and are prepared. I was beyond warm and slept in my base layer only with my nalgene hot water bottle in my hat beside me. I didn't even use my underquilt for my hammock just a mylar blanket and 10 degree sleeping bag under my -20 bag with a 0 degree inside but I sleep with an insulated hood and detachable face mask with breather holes and sleeping bag is a mummy bag. Got so cold at night you could hear a tree pop with the deep freeze every couple minutes it was awesome even tho it got down to -25 at night but lots of standing dead wood around so fire was roaring. We didn't go where planned but headed up into canisbay more and found a nice secluded spot west of the trail. We were sheltered by a small hill from the lake and a huge hill from the rest. Day two we did some lake travel across the bay to the point then bushwhacked up a hill for a nice view and back around threw more bushy hell to the trail then camp lol. Snow up there is still knee deep. One step off a packed trail without snowshoes and you get a quick reminder. Day three was just me and got nailed with a white out for a few hours and overnight adding another 3" of snow and day 4 I went back to the truck and home. I didn't book highland because weather was looking iffy so knocked off a day and stayed an extra day where we had a camp with some wood already since snow storms aren't fun setting up in.
 
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scubasteve

scubasteve

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Cambridge, Ontario
nathan said:
That's amazing Steve sounds like a real adventure...
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It always is.If you ever go make sure you have a backup plan since weather doesn't co-operate. Final decision usually gets made night before after checking. You don't want to head out when all a sudden tornado watch or blizzard is in effect lmao :)
 
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