Fri, Jan 9 2009 - Wolf Den Bunkhouse & Cabins (View Original Event Details)
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Man, did we luck out this time around. The snow and weather conditions were near perfect. Driving up to the Wolfden on Friday night was easy with the roads clear and uncrowded. On Saturday morning, we woke up to a temperature reading of –28 (yikes) but the skies were clear blue and windless. With the sun beaming down, the air warmed by midday to a balmy –12 or so. Sounds cold when you’re sitting in an overheated office building but out there where we were, engaged in vigorous snowshoeing and skiing, it was grand. And the snow, good grief, it was the stuff one dreams of on a sweaty August afternoon: there was a solid base with at least a foot (and often more) of soft fluffy powder on top.
The Wolfden itself has not changed. It’s still the most wonderful homeawayfromhome that one could ever hope to find this close to a winter playground such as Algonquin Park. I've never met anyone who has stayed there who has not liked the place or found the hosts, Ben and Sue, to be anything but relaxed, friendly and welcoming. It’s also just so well-equipped for fun, but without being pretentious: imagine, you get off the trail and step right into a hot, dry sauna; then you roll around in the snow before going back in to reheat yourself. Later, you put some clean clothes on and head into the kitchen where you pour yourself a glass of wine and make yourself a good dinner which you eat at a table with everyone else (whilst sharing food and stories about the day’s happenings). After dinner, you head upstairs to the lounge where you find a chair close to the fire and open a book, or you join a few others to see who is the domino champ of the hour, or you pick up one the guitars lying about and play a version of “One More Cup of Coffee” that, you are convinced, was the way Bob SHOULD have played it on “Desire.” Eventually, the warmth of the fire and the wine and the day’s exercise combine to cause your heavy eyelids to sink and it’s time for bed. Downstairs (or outside to one of the cabins) you go, into a comfortable bed and . . . holy smokes, it’s morning already (and so it all repeats).
Thanks to all of this year’s participants for being such good company. The ‘den has been booked for the same weekend next year, so watch out for the posting (which won’t appear on the calendar until September or October—and the weekend itself may change so don’t go making any drastic plans just yet).
Have some photos from this event that you'd like to share in our photo album? Please forward them to Erik Sonstenes at photos@torontooutdoorclub.com. Please note that we prefer to receive the photos in approximately 640x480 or 750x500 pixels - do NOT send original high-res photos. If you have a LOT of photos, please submit up to twenty of your favorites (only) for a day event, or up to forty of your favourites for a multi-day event. Thank you.