Fri, Jan 19 2007, Sat, Jan 20 2007, Sun, Jan 21 2007 - Wolf Den Bunkhouse & Cabins (View Original Event Details)
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What a great wintry weekend to be out-of-doors, and what better place to enjoy it from than the Wolf Den Bunkhouse. None of the eight TOCers who arrived on Friday night had ever been here before though a few of us had seen the Wolf Den sign from Highway 60 on previous trips to Algonquin Park. The Wolf Den itself is outside the park, about 9 kms from the west entrance. It's set in beautiful grounds from which one could walk through the woods to Ragged Falls (as some of us did). The main building in the complex is the Bunkhouse itself, with a well-equipped kitchen, bathrooms, lounge area and several rooms (both bunkbeds and doubles). Outside the Bunkhouse lie a number of small cabins (closed for the winter) and a two-storied "lodge" which contained two three-bedded rooms. The beds all had proper springy mattresses and fresh linen so, needless to say, sleeping was not an ordeal (the snorers wisely behaved themselves on this outing).
Friday night was taken up with arriving and sorting ourselves out. On Saturday morning, we all set out for Algonquin Park (checking in at the gate and paying a per car fee). Some of us skied the 13 kms of the Fen Lake trail while others snowshoed/hiked on other trails (some of us did a bit of both, right Peggy and Julian?). The day was perfect in many ways: cold but clear and there was just enough snow to make skiing worthwhile. Unfortunately, there wasn't quite enough of it for the snowshoers and they ended up hiking instead. On Sunday, we again split up into smaller groups and went off to do the same kind of activities in different places both inside and outside the park, rejoining at the Bunkhouse around 3 PM in readiness for the drive home.
In addition to carpooling, we also shared breakfast and dinner. Saturday night we had a delicious chicken fajita feast with Steven's excellent squash soup as an accompaniment. Oh, and there was wine: on Saturday evening, Rob made a point of spilling a glass on the furniture, marking out his territory for all time. Harry also made a name for himself, though in a more positive way, with his homemade bread and sausage patties, part of Sunday morning's breakfast.
And a final word about the Wolf Den owners: Ben and Robin are the friendliest and most welcoming couple you could imagine. Having stayed here once, believe me, you will be looking forward to coming back again, and again.
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.