TOURduPARK
Back at camp it was time to get dinner started and Markus was up for the task tonight. His famous chili was on the menu but it would probably be a while – this stuff was frozen solid. He placed the bag of frozen chili in a pot of hot water over the stove and we made a campfire outside to relax around while it defrosted. I was still in a bit of pain and sitting on a milk crate didn’t help much – live and learn. After a few more campfire drinks made by our bartender Scott, the chili was nearly ready and it was once again getting dark – we decided to move a large pile of wood along with ourselves into the tent for the night. With the chili finally ready it was dished out along with some bread for dipping. As we ate we continued our conversation from last night – its fun to talk about Algonquin. It’s more fun to do so while actually in Algonquin. With dinner over we lounged around drinking and chatting until about 10pm when we were all tired enough to hit the sack. We expected it to become very cold over night (as per the -30 forecast) so it was my job to continuously feed the woodstove (I was closest) tonight. I loaded it with as much wood as it would take then drifted off to a very cozy sleep.
Video: Scott Rogers
It took about 25 minutes or so to reach a small bay west of our camp which we would use to cut through the forest. This was the thinnest section of forest between the upper and lower portions of Pinetree Lake. Markus lead the way followed by the rest of us. The going was easy enough without towing sleds, but the forest was thick and we had to zig-zag our way through, finally reaching the other side a half an hour later. We continued along the north shoreline until we arrived at the canoe campsite and took a break. We considered having lunch here but nobody was hungry yet, so we broke out a few more drinks and just relaxed at the campsite. It was a bright and sunny day – not a cloud in the sky and it was finally warming up a bit more (either that or the booze was finally working, I don’t know). We hung out here for a while before deciding to continue on. As we arrived at the narrows leading back to the upper portion of Pinetree Lake there was open water visible. Because of this, none of us felt comfortable on this section of the ice and we crossed it while keeping mere centimeters from shore. With that behind us we continued on back to camp.
Exploring the upper and lower sections of Pinetree
On the way back to camp, everyone took notice of the many snow covered hills we had passed and it didn’t take long for someone to put two and two together. Snowy hills + toboggans = fun! However, in that calculation we forgot to factor in the alcohol, which was currently at exponent level 5! Back at camp we wasted no time grabbing my sled then making our way back down the lake. Its funny, when you walk by the hills they look like a great place for some fun – when you get up on the hill and realize it’s steeper than it looks from the lake, you start to second guess your decision. It was decided that Markus would be the test pilot, and if he survived we would all take a go at it. With the sled in hand he clambered up the steep snowy hill and stopped front & centre. He sat in the sled while bracing himself with his legs then let go! He gained speed quickly and before he knew it BAM! A giant rock hidden under the snow sent him flying up of the sled and crashing face-first onto the ice below. Luckily Scott decided to film this event and the footage begins with Markus sliding down the hill, follow by a loud ‘Owwwwwww.. my fucking asshole!’. Turns out that rock hit him where the sun doesn’t shine. We laughed our asses off for a solid five minutes before I decided that I wanted to give it a go! My plan was to slide down the hill a little to the right of where Markus did, thus avoiding the hidden ass-punching rock. At the top of the hill I sat down in the sled, bracing myself before launching just as Markus did. Then I started to second guess this idea – the hill was much steeper than it appeared and I didn’t want to suffer the same fate as Markus. In my minute of mental debate, Markus can be heard yelling, ‘C’mon, don’t be a wuss – I did it!’ and with that I said screw it and lifted my legs. Mistake. Oh what a mistake! Trust your instincts people! I was lucky in that I didn’t hit the rock that sent Markus flying – I was unlucky in that I hit a different, much bigger and sharper rock and it got me right in the butt. You can see the rock launch me straight up in the air before I flew off to the right and roll down the hill. I was hurt, not dramatically but man my butt was stinging! You know that feeling when you fall or sit on your tailbone and it gets all burny for a minute or two – yeah, magnify that by a hundred and that’s where I was. I rolled around on the ground for a few minutes while the guys had a good chuckle at my misfortune. Lesson learned; new calculation: Toboggan + hidden rocks = burny ass!
Big hill at the east end of Pinetree Lake
A beautiful day to explore the lake and surrounding area
Hanging out with friends and drinks in the tent
Winter tobogganing - Markus is the test pilot
It wasn't fun
tr 29: Hot Tenting on Pinetree Lake
Photo: Scott Rogers
Photo: Scott Rogers
Since we were base camping, there was no sense of urgency to get anything done – we had nowhere to be and all the time in the world to get there – so very relaxing - but as the day progressed we figured we better do some exploring because standing still in the winter does not keep you warm enough. The idea was to head down to the south bay, have lunch at a campsite there then head back to our camp. We wanted to make a loop out of our journey so we decided to cut south through the forest to the larger part of Pinetree Lake, then planned to loop around clockwise back to our campsite. We packed a few drinks then clipped on our snowshoes and hit the ice.
It was much brighter today compared to yesterday
Video: Scott Rogers
Photo: Scott Rogers
It looked fun - so I gave it a shot!
Enjoying hot oatmeal in the dead of winter
Three explorers ready to go
Jeffrey and Scott looking puzzled at something Markus is doing
With everyone’s stomach hurting from sheer laughter and my ass still on fire, we decided it was time to head back to camp. I was walking a bit funny, but it wasn’t too bad. When I got back to camp I decided to ‘investigate my injury’ to determine if there was a wound or not. Here’s the amazing thing: the rock broke through 6 layers of material and gave me a small but not serious gash. It sliced a 2-inch hole through my sled, snow pants, sweatpants, light pants, long underwear and boxers (yes, I like to layer). I was amazed I didn’t have a much worse injury, and happy too – that could have ended the trip for me.
Photo: Scott Rogers
One of the many ridges around Pinetree Lake
We hung out in the tent for a while before mustering up the courage to go outside and enjoy the day. Jeffrey was on breakfast detail today and the meal was Oatmeal & bagels, toasted over the woodstove. Before that happened, Markus & Scott prepared a spot on the lake to clear and chip into the ice for water. I was surprise at how flat the surface of the ice was – how cool would it be to clear a hockey rink and bring skates & sticks? One day, I will do this! The ice here was around 12 inches thick and water gurgled up through the hole when Markus finally broke through. In the meantime, Jeffrey and I were back to collecting wood. With everyone having expended a bit of energy, we became hungry and it was time for breakfast. Jeffrey whipped up breakfast and we enjoyed it outside – it was cold out but not as bad as early in the morning. The oatmeal was a great and simple idea – easy to make, and keeps you warm. Clean up was a breeze, we simply used some paper towel & snow to wipe the oatmeal residue from our cups and we back to drinking coffee laced with Bailey’s.
Markus breaks the trail back to camp
Day 2: Exploring Pinetree Lake
I woke up to the sound of Markus using the butane torch to re-light the woodstove. It got pretty cold last night – even in the tent. The plan was to take turns feeding the woodstove overnight, but once that last log burnt out nobody wanted to leave the comfort of their sleeping bag to keep it going. We all decided to blame Jeffrey, I don’t know why, but it seemed like the right thing to do. I must admit, I was glad Markus fired up that stove before getting out of my sleeping bag - according to Scott’s thermometer, the overnight low was -27.8 and the current temperature was -24 – too cold! Everyone now awake but no one eager to go outside (not even for a morning pee) so we hung around in the tent while the stove did its thing. Scott perked up some coffee and we lightened it with Baileys Irish Cream – you know, cause sometimes regular cream just doesn’t cut it!
Though it looks like I am completely on fire, its just my ass that burns :)