Fri, May 18 2018 - Car Camping in Killarney Prov Park (Friday, May 18 to Monday, May 21) Victoria Day LONG Weekend (View Original Event Details)
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Friday, May 18:
We left the carpool location as planned shortly after 10 am. After a short stop in Parry Sound for coffee and lunch at Tim Hortons and quick shopping at LCBO, all cars proceeded to Killarney PP. We all arrived almost at the same time in the park, signed in and occupied our 2 campsites. The day was warm, sunny and dry, and setting up our tents was easy and fast. We chose one of our two campsites for our communal meals and campfire gatherings and set a screen house there. After a quick dinner, we gathered around campfire….
Saturday, May 19:
After our first communal breakfast, we all decided to take on the most difficult hiking trail in the park, the Crack. The sky was gray, and the forecast predicted rain for the rest of the day… We drove to the access point to the Crack. After about 1.5-2 km of winding through the woods, the trail passed a bridge on a site of a small lake, the trail became more and more rocky and difficult. We had 2 stops with lookouts and continued. Unfortunately, rain started… The final 15-20 % of the trail were especially difficult requiring almost rock climbing skills. Considering the rainy weather and, therefore, slippery conditions, not everyone could make it to the very top of the Crack. But half of the group reached the lookout, and you can see photos of those breathtaking view. Luckily, we all made it back safely and happily to the parking lot and returned to our campsites. We gathered under our screen house to have some snacks/lunch and to hide from the rain…. After 7 pm, the rain stopped. We had our delicious communal dinner and chat around campfire. We all had smores (!!!), drinks, snacks… The night was loud and fun.
Sunday, May 20:
We woke up in our tents to an amazing sunny weather and bird songs. After communal breakfast, we left our camp for, probably, the most beautiful of all day hiking trails in Killarney, the Chhikanishing Trail. Winding on the top of rocks overlooking Georgian Bay, the trail offered several gorgeous lookouts. We stopped several times to enjoy views of the bay, to lie down under the sun, have a snack or to deep our feet in a cold water. We returned to the campsites, had a lunch and went on a Cranberry bog hike. We passed a beach, a beautiful lake, beaver dam and had a very rocky and difficult section before finishing our hike. With a delicious communal dinner, campfire and lively conversation, we ended our long third day of the trip.
Monday, May 21:
Our last day was sunny and dry. After communal breakfast, we packed our tents, the gear, parked our cars close to George Lake and tried for a bit a backpacking trail to Topaz Lake. We left Killarney Park at 2 pm and drove to Killarney village for a fish&chips lunch at famous Herbert Fisheries in the harbor. After lunch, we went for a walk around the village and Killarney Mountain Lodge. Just before 4 pm, we all left for Toronto.
Final words:
We all enjoyed this camping trip with its wonderful hikes, our campfire gatherings, delicious food and drinks and amazing weather without bugs. We had been a great team, and everyone contributed to the success of our adventure. My huge THANK YOU goes to everyone in the group. I hope very much, we will meet again on some future trips.
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.