Fri, Dec 28 2007, Sat, Dec 29 2007, Sun, Dec 30 2007 - Winter Car Camping in Algonquin Provincial Park (View Original Event Details)
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IT'S HARD TO YODEL WITH PEANUT BUTTER IN YOUR MOUTH
I think it's fair to say that the five of us bonded immediately at the pre-meeting in Chalker's and we all looked forward to this trip together. It did not disappoint...
Chetan and Kate wanted to get an early start and met Justin at Downsview station, promptly at 7am. The gear was stowed in Justin's car and a chatty drive to Huntsville began. We heard some great stories of Justin's experiences in boot camp which would provide us with some fabulous phrases for the rest of the trip! Reaching Huntsville, we were just in time to be the first to eat at the buffet (including breakfast) of a Chinese Food restaurant. Wonton (which was particularly good) goes really well with eggs and bacon?!
Grocery shopping was quick and easy. Chetan looked after the vegetarian menu while Justin and Kate supplied the meatier (yes, bacon?!) ideas. Grapes were purchased for roughly 50 cents apiece and tomatoes for $5 each. Some re-arranging was necessary to fit these precious items into the car as laps were filled to the roof. Chatting was now muffled, but still possible...
We arrived at Algonquin at 1pm and found a site that had been cleared (a nearby picnic table had over 3 feet of snow on it) that was close to the WARM washrooms. We worked hard to clear more snow and level the area under the tent, next to the electrical outlet. Justin had agreed to "cheat" a little to put some yurtlubbers(?) at ease, and brought a heater. After much work, we three set about roughing it. Justin powered up his laptop (and the heater) and we watched a foreign movie while the wind howled outside. It was agreed that snacking would also be allowed in this tent. It was a cold and snowing December evening, but the three of us -cozy and protected, pretzel eating and movie watching - wondered why our ancestors found pioneering so difficult in this country...?
Susan and Jessie arrived around 9pm. It took Susan about 7 seconds to set up her brand new tent, which of course she wanted to try out, and then help Jessie set up at the Cineplex - uh, rather - Justin's tent. After a fun campfire chat and dinner of Jessie's now-famous chocolate cake, we all nestled in early and slept well, while it snowed and snowed...
It was still snowing by morning and the tents were covered in a thick layer. Breakfast included fried bananas and whipped cream and (the only way to eat bacon from now on) a tight, tangled ball of crispy bacon wrapped up in a personal, paper towel. (More wilderness training: this also makes your bacon more mobile, should you have to flee suddenly from your campsite.)
At the pre-meeting, Susan generously offered to rent us all snowshoes, which she did -and what fun they turned out to be! Susan herself (dressed as a Ninja and with a spirit to match!), had decided to go without and at times she sank down into the snow the length of her leg but just kept on going and going...Chetan proved to be a bit of a troublemaker, looking to start a snow brawl at every opportunity. At one point, we just couldn't take it any more, mitts were thrown down - THAT'S IT - THAT'S ALL! we exclaimed, and pelted each other for 15 minutes among the snow laden boughs of evergreen trees. (No cigarettes were harmed in this exchange, as per the Geneva convention).
Some of the prettiest forests and vistas were seen as we broke trail heading to the Tower. (See Susan's and Chetan's beautiful pics) It was fairly cold with the wind but we were having so much fun, we hardly noticed. We stopped several times (for peanut butter pitas, yummy - thanks Susan) while talking with catgut befooted, fellow snowshoers heading in the other direction and another time on a windswept spit for peanut butter cups (yummy, thanks Justin)...The title is a lie...it's quite easy to yodel with peanut butter in your mouth - for Susan anyway, others of us need more practice. The writing was on the wall, though - and in the snow! This all just made us hungry and for two of us, in desperate need of a coffee! We headed for camp. There was talk of peanut butter pasta (unplanned) but it never materialized - next time definitely!
What followed was gastronomically surreal. Jessie, enjoying the experience of cooking her gourmet food in the snowy, windy out-of-doors, treated us to an exceptional concoction of stir-fried delights. Chetan made some fabulous rice. There was soup and yak's(?) milk fondue and more cake and whipped cream and fried bananas. The rest of the day and evening were spent talking and laughing and eating around the fire! We all took the oath of the unwritten, TOC PRIVACY rules, which provide that, what is said around the campfire (in a tent or wikkiup, car, or on trail), STAYS there, so the contents cannot be spoken of but we all know how it "makes us feel"! Jessie and Chetan had never had marshmallows before and although, Chetan, being vegetarian wasn't sure he could have them, he did provide us with the twigs. Jessie liked the "spicy" taste the pine tar added, Susan did not. Justin decided (as has become tradition) to try a new fusion food and combined marshmallow with yak fondue. Kate followed. Both disappeared to the washrooms soon after. It is NOT recommended.
This continued until bedtime and Justin and Chetan watched another movie while Jessie and Kate and Susan slept soundly. We awoke with another hearty breakfast and went on one final snowshoe hike after packing up. It was beautiful weather and we made our fond fairwells in the parking lot, knowing we would all see each other again for New Year's (or so we thought). Jessie and Chetan returned to Toronto with Susan while Justin and Kate went to the visitor centre, then a hike at the logging museum before heading on to Belleville to make preparations...
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.