New Trip Report posted by TrailZen

Trip Name: ALGONQUIN--BOG BRIDGES AND DO-RAG COFFEE.

Entry Point: Other

Click Here to View Trip Report

Fantastic report...love the maps...super pictures. Looked like you both had a wonderful trip!

phisherman: "Fantastic report...love the maps...super pictures. Looked like you both had a wonderful trip!"

Thanks for the compliments--it was a great trip in a place new to us.

TZ

What a great trip report! Thanks for all the wonderful pictures.

I really like that purple life jacket. Never seen one like it. I had an old Grumman life jacket that was similar. What brand is yours?

noodle: "What a great trip report! Thanks for all the wonderful pictures."

Hey, Noodle--thanks for the kind words. I was afraid I might be posting too many photos.

TZ

mart: "I really like that purple life jacket. Never seen one like it. I had an old Grumman life jacket that was similar. What brand is yours?"

We're both using SEDA lifejackets. Probably shouldn't be, because of their age, but they're the most comfortable we've owned and they're toasty on cool days. They have enough pocket room for small 'ditch kits', and I carried an inReach Mini in mine.

TZ

never too many photos! i loved them and and have looked at them several times already.

i've often wondered what it would be like to travel in a place and not have any idea what i'm going to find. that's a lot of people, but you sounded like you didn't mind too much.

thanks for your story

Great post! Enjoyed all of your daily accounts and pics. I have canoed in Algonquin since the late 70's and have spent time on some of the same lakes. Actually drove into Brent, on Cedar Lake, three or four times and began trips from there. Algonquin Outfitters used to have an outpost there, not sure if they still do. btw, we are practically neighbors, I live in Black Mountain.

Mocha: "never too many photos! i loved them and and have looked at them several times already.


i've often wondered what it would be like to travel in a place and not have any idea what i'm going to find. that's a lot of people, but you sounded like you didn't mind too much.


thanks for your story"

Hey, Mocha--glad you like the photos enough to view them more than once--Thanks. We always wonder what we'll find in a new paddling venue; during the short time that our plans were to paddle out of Beaverhouse, we wondered if we'd have parking room, more people, a developed corridor along a park border, etc. Tia always says we'll be able to deal with whatever we find, and we usually do.

TZ

nctraveler: "Great post! Enjoyed all of your daily accounts and pics. I have canoed in Algonquin since the late 70's and have spent time on some of the same lakes. Actually drove into Brent, on Cedar Lake, three or four times and began trips from there. Algonquin Outfitters used to have an outpost there, not sure if they still do. btw, we are practically neighbors, I live in Black Mountain. "

Howdy, Neighbor! Thanks for the kind words about the report and photos. AO still has an outpost on Cedar Lake in Brent, and Cedar Lake shows some great loop opportunities--maybe next time.

TZ

Algonquin in the off season is wonderful. June the best.. the bugs seem to scare the casual paddlers off. October save for Thankgiving is great too.
This year has been crazy with the get out of town Covid escapees

yellowcanoe: "Algonquin in the off season is wonderful. June the best.. the bugs seem to scare the casual paddlers off. October save for Thankgiving is great too.
This year has been crazy with the get out of town Covid escapees"

I'm not sure any parcel of public land in the US or Canada has escaped the 'Covid escapees'. We were so thankful for an opportunity to paddle in a place new to us that we didn't mind seeing more people than usual, but we're hoping for Quetico access and a non-existent fire season in 2022. Thanks for taking the time to check out my trip report, and thanks again for your helpful comments in the "Crossing the Border" thread in the Quetico forum.

TZ

Nice, thanks for sharing. Did you grab the coffee filters on your halfway swap?

cyclones30: "Nice, thanks for sharing. Did you grab the coffee filters on your halfway swap?"

Hey, cyclones30--not only were the filters not in the food pack for Days 1-5, they hadn't made it into the car when loading gear in North Carolina. We drank do-rag coffee the entire trip, and when we got home there were enough residual grounds worked into the fabric of the bandanna to make a couple more cups of coffee. It didn't taste nearly as good at home as it did on the trail, however. Thanks for the kind words.

TZ

TrailZen: "

yellowcanoe: "Algonquin in the off season is wonderful. June the best.. the bugs seem to scare the casual paddlers off. October save for Thankgiving is great too.
This year has been crazy with the get out of town Covid escapees"

I'm not sure any parcel of public land in the US or Canada has escaped the 'Covid escapees'. We were so thankful for an opportunity to paddle in a place new to us that we didn't mind seeing more people than usual, but we're hoping for Quetico access and a non-existent fire season in 2022. Thanks for taking the time to check out my trip report, and thanks again for your helpful comments in the "Crossing the Border" thread in the Quetico forum.


TZ"

We don't have much public land in Maine but do have a ton of private land in conservation easements or private land owned by timber companies open to public use.
Over the last two years we haven't noted crowding on canoe trips . We have noticed crowding on hiking trails.

TZ move on up to Temagami. Its Algo on steroids with hilly terrain and some spectacular waterfall. However its subject to Ontario Parks new test fee structure so the camping fee to me is insane for a party less than four.

Well done report! I love your pictures and maps along with great descriptions of an area I haven't traveled. I love your wildlife and plant photography.

Laughed at the "his and her" maps and my husband and I plan to call ours that now. Trust but verify seems pretty sensible to us.

Such an impressive number of years to have been traveling together. Congratulations on your 49th anniversary!

yellowcanoe: "TZ move on up to Temagami. Its Algo on steroids with hilly terrain and some spectacular waterfall. However its subject to Ontario Parks new test fee structure so the camping fee to me is insane for a party less than four."

Thanks! Had to look it up, and like what I see. Yes, I've been reading about the fee structure changes on the Quetico forum and share the concern about small parties (as two is almost always our party size) paying so much more per person. When we consider the cost of our commute and the associated food/lodging, however, the changes to park fees won't affect the bottom line too much.

TZ

straighthairedcurly: "Well done report! I love your pictures and maps along with great descriptions of an area I haven't traveled. I love your wildlife and plant photography.


Laughed at the "his and her" maps and my husband and I plan to call ours that now. Trust but verify seems pretty sensible to us.


Such an impressive number of years to have been traveling together. Congratulations on your 49th anniversary!"

Thanks so much for the good review, straighthaircurly. We got into the two-map habit many years ago, primarily because we carried an old map we'd marked up with previous routes, great campsites, paths that look like portages but aren't, etc., and a new map for updates. And, of course, each has caught the other "slightly misplaced" on the map. Yep, trust but verify.

TZ

Nice report. I really enjoyed reading and taking in the pictures, top notch.

arnesr: "Nice report. I really enjoyed reading and taking in the pictures, top notch."

Thanks for the kind words, arnesr--I enjoy reliving our trips by doing a trip report, and couldn't do it without my wife's detailed journal notes.

TZ

It's been a long time since I had been through those parts. Thanks for taking me back.

I liked it when you described the sites as "dirt". My wife the gardener would instantly correct you, "Is not dirt; it's soil!" :) But actually had you ventured deeper into the park you would have found more exposed granite.

I think most, if not all, of the unmarked roads you described are either old or existing logging roads.

Argo: "It's been a long time since I had been through those parts. Thanks for taking me back.


I liked it when you described the sites as "dirt". My wife the gardener would instantly correct you, "Is not dirt; it's soil!" :) But actually had you ventured deeper into the park you would have found more exposed granite.


I think most, if not all, of the unmarked roads you described are either old or existing logging roads. "

Thanks for doing some virtual travel with us, Argo--glad you enjoyed the trip. I'll try to remember the "soil" vs "dirt" correction! We saw fresh tire impressions on some of the roads we crossed while portaging, usually near areas also showing recent maintenance. Our Chrismar maps stated that park roads & tracks were closed to the public and therefore not shown on the map, so we had no idea how deep into the park the roads might reach. The rail corridor, of course, showed signs of regular use.

TZ

I've never been so, it was very interesting to read your brilliant report about the area. By the looks of some of the photos, it doesn't look drastically different from the scenery encountered in BWCA/Q. Appeared you made the most of it & I enjoyed the report and your creativity with the coffee filter. As it is said, necessity is the mother of all invention. Thanks for taking the time to share your story and photos.

TuscaroraBorealis: "I've never been so, it was very interesting to read your brilliant report about the area. By the looks of some of the photos, it doesn't look drastically different from the scenery encountered in BWCA/Q. Appeared you made the most of it & I enjoyed the report and your creativity with the coffee filter. As it is said, necessity is the mother of all invention. Thanks for taking the time to share your story and photos. "

Glad you enjoyed the report, TuscaroraBorealis. Yes, the scenery was very similar, but without the granite bluffs and pictographs of Quetico. And necessity, especially when coffee is involved, drives some quick and creative thinking.

TZ