Hiking Gatineau Park - Wolf Trail

I am the worst!! I haven't posted forever. We both just got so caught up in work and everything that we took a hiatus from hiking. Now that summer is over and we're back to reasonable schedules, we're hoping to get out for the next few weekends to see the leaves change colours, and embrace all the fresh air we can before our horrible Canadian winter hits.

This past weekend we decided to re-visit Wolf Trail in Gatineau Park, as the only other time we had gone, it was still early spring and there was quite a bit of snow on the ground. We decided to go the opposite way we had gone last time, ending with the Tawadina lookout, rather than starting with it. I feel it resulted in a lot more constant up-hill than looking at Tawadina first, but both ways are gorgeous.

I couldn't get over how much the landscape had changed since our last visit to this trail. The 8.3km was abundant in little streams and creeks last time, but this time there was barely any water!

Alex at the Tawadina Lookout

I seriously can't get enough of the Tawadina lookout. I love this trail especially because of both lookouts, and how peaceful the trail is. The distance of the trail almost ensures that you won't cross paths with many people and if you do it's only a brief moment before you're back on your own again. We did the 8.3km in about 2:15 again, pausing for a snack break at both lookouts. 

Never gets old

Shortly after you pass the Mahinigan lookout, you come across a clearing with a small pond. It's absolutely gorgeous.

This clearing is  a nice break from all the trees

Mahinigan Lookout

I'm running the Canadian Army Run Half Marathon this weekend so I doubt any hiking will get done, but fingers crossed we can get out the following weekend. Alex has been dying to do the Luskville Caves, maybe we'll go see them before it gets too cold.

What's your favourite fall trail?

Frontenac Park - June 3-5, 2016

A few weeks ago, we decided to do a test run before our Cape Chignecto trip, we headed into Frontenac Park to hike Slide Lake Loop over two days.

June 3

We drove up the Friday night, arriving around 7:45pm, we were concerned about hiking in the dark so we hopped out of the car, whipped on our packs and headed into the park. That night, we stayed on Little Salmon Lake (6C), it was about 4.5km, and took us just over an hour. Since it was dusk, we saw a few deer. One of them let us get quite close and didn't scamper away, then another one scared us by bolting through the woods before we noticed it! We got to our site and set up our tent while the sun was still going down. We tried to get a small fire going to relax around before bed but most of the wood was damp and it was too dark to go searching for more. We played cards by headlamp in the tent and read part of the book we had brought. Also, for those considering staying at this site, the bear cable between sites C and D is riddled with poison ivy, beware!

Heading into the trail that would take us to Little Salmon

A Doe just off the trail

The sunset as we arrived at our site

Waking up to a clear sky

Oatmeal and coffee for breakfast

Ready for our long day of hiking

June 4

We got up early on Saturday, mentally prepared to hike about 12 km. We weren't exactly sure of the distance because we were leaving from Little Salmon Lake to the trailhead. It was quite hot, about 27 degrees with some humidity. We were set to camp at Buck Lake (1A) that night, and knew we were in for a long trek. We filled our hydration bladders, sunscreen and bug-sprayed up, then hit the trail, doubling back the way we had come the night before, until we hit the trail that would take us into the Slide Lake Loop. Once we hit the trailhead we stopped at the picnic table near the canoe launch for a snack of oatmeal cookies and jerky. Then we headed uphill along the north side of Dedication Trail. 

We powered through, stopping occasionally to take photos, until we hit campsite cluster #4. By this point both of our hydration bladders were empty and we were quite hungry. There's a sign stating that you must have a permit for the sites in order to descend down to them, but we saw that all 4 were empty so we figured a quick stop for water wouldn't harm anyone. We refilled our water, and had a quick lunch of pb and j sandwiches before heading off again. 

We continued on the trail, unsure of how much further we actually had until we came across a sign telling us we had reached Slide Lake Loop and had only a little bit longer until we hit our campsite. This trail was quite tiring, consisting of a lot of up and down hill, sometimes even scrambling up some rocks, where the trail was difficult to find. Alex and I were getting a little giddy from the heat, and named the blue hiker sign Billy, Our running joke the rest of the trip was "Damnit Billy, where are you taking us now!?" everytime we had to scramble up or down some rocks.

Almost 6 hours later, we reached campsite 1. We had reserved site A, so we followed the sign past the privy down to our site. It was quite large, and had a decent amount of privacy, site B was close enough we could see each other through the bushes, but not close enough that we could hear and see everything.  We set up our tent and then played a bit of cards until it was time to start a fire for supper. Our supper was basmati rice and dehydrated chicken we had made at home. In a word, GROSS. The chicken didn't hydrate as we had expected and we ended up eating dry stringy chicken. 

After supper, we sat around the fire reading for a little bit, then headed into the tent to read some more and sleep after our long day.

One of the amazing lookouts on this trail 

More cliche photos, but I love lookouts.

Finally made it! 

After 12km, we were grateful to see this

Drying out our boots and socks

View from the site

Day 2 ended up being 15.6 km and took us 5:50 minutes, including our lunch break and lookout rests. This site was gorgeous, but the other side of the lake is public property and has some cottages, so just after suppertime there was a fishing boat trolling the water blaring rock music. So much for a peaceful night in the woods!  

June 5

Sunday morning, we were woken up by a downpour of rain at 6 am. Luckily the tent pad was heavily sheltered by trees, so when we woke up the tent was still dry. We tore down the tent in record time, packing everything we could before breakfast. We ate and pumped water in the pouring rain, already soaked before we even fully broke camp. I was pretty sure we had about 10-13 km left, but wasn't sure the exact amount so we decided to just  brave the rain and get out as fast as we could. Little did we know, it would pour for all 14 km that morning. 

We walked on, scrambling down over rock formations that were apparently a trail, following Billy for quite a while. We came across some more lookouts, but decided to just power through rather than stop for lunch or snacks. We ate as we walked, only stopping once at a lookout to take our packs off for a minute. This trip, I discovered how unpadded my pack was, sure it was great for canoe trips where I only wore it for 1-2 km max, but 10+ km? Not so great.

We saw quite a bit of wildlife on our way out of the park. The cooler weather and the rain brought out snapping turtles, wild turkeys, some more deer and a beaver. At one point, Alex and I were both quiet, just hiking along, when we came over a little ridge and heard what sounded like a human scream. We looked up to see a deer running away, I guess we had scared it, I had no idea deer made that kind of noise! 

After 10 km, we were both done and just ready to be in the car, and once we found the trail that ran parallel to Big Salmon Lake Road (Corridor trail) we thought we were finally out of the woods. Unfortunately, we still ended up having about 3 km to hike before actually reaching the Big Salmon Lake parking lot where we had parked. 

We gave this guy a wide berth as we passed

By far my favourite view

The other side of this spectacular view

Finally resting with our packs off, also I seem to have lost a sandal!

Soaked! I also dropped one of my contacts in the dirt that morning and was forced to wear my glasses :(

Day 3 ended up being 14 km total, and took us just over 4 hours. This was a gorgeous trail and I would definitely recommend completing it, just be prepared to hike a lot of hills!

In two weeks, we're heading to Algonquin Park to do the Western Uplands trail with my new pack and Alex's new hikers (an eyelet fell off one of his Lowa boots as we were taking our boots off to get in the car, so Atmosphere replaced them for free as per Lowa's warranty.)

What's your favourite Ontario backpacking trail?

Recipe - Dehydrator Jerky

A few weeks ago, we picked up our first dehydrator to make our own backcountry meals. This coming weekend, Alex and I are heading up to Frontenac Park to complete the Slide Lake Loop. We decided to try making our own jerky for the trip. When we bought the dehydrator, we also picked up a mesquite jerky seasoning and cure to try with the meat.

We bought beef rouladen for our first attempt as it seemed to be the least fatty meat at the time. Everything I've read has said that you need the leanest cut of meat as the fat in the meat can turn the jerky rancid. I sliced the rouladen into fairly big strips as I knew it would shrink in the dehydrator. 

The hardest part was ensuring that we had the correct amount of cure and seasoning. I patted the meat dry and then sprinkled half of the cure mix over the meat. Next, I flipped the meat over and sprinkled the remaining cure on. I tossed the meat in a bowl to ensure that cure was evenly spread over all the meat. 

Next I stacked the meat in a tupperware, pressing the meat down to ensure it could cure properly. I saranwrapped the container and then put the lid on top. It cured in the fridge for 24 hours. Everything I have read also mentioned the risk of bacteria becoming heat resistant if raw meat is dehydrated without being pre-cooked. I baked the meat on a cookie sheet for 15 minutes at 215 degrees Farenheit to ensure the meat would be fully cooked .

Once out of the oven, I patted the meat dry and spread it over two trays in the dehydrator. I set the dehydrator at 155 degrees and let it work its magic for 4.5 hours.

The final delicious product! Since we aren't eating it until Saturday, put it in a Ziploc and then stored it in a container in the fridge. Our next dehydrator adventure will be mashed potato flakes and dehydrated chicken. I can't wait!

Have you ever made jerky?

Hiking Bon Echo - Shield Trail

Oh. My. Goodness.

The mosquitoes on this trail were by far the worst I have ever seen, this was most likely due to the fact that this trail runs along a marsh and that it is I guess breeding season for mosquitoes, but holy crap. We had doused ourselves in bug spray but we could still feel them everywhere, I'm covered in bites!

The beginning of the trail

Okay, enough complaining, the trail was gorgeous and I wish we had gone at a slower pace to enjoy it but we simply couldn't slow down without being swarmed by a mob of mosquitoes. We ended up running and walking the trail to get out faster, it was almost 30 degrees Celsius here today and we got to Bon Echo around 2:30 pm so it was quite hot.

This trail is 4.8 km and is listed as moderate, taking about 2 hours on rolling hills. We made it through in just over an hour, mainly because we were walking as fast as we could on the rocks without injuring ourselves.

About halfway we found this gorgeousness and stopped for a snack

We had to pay for a day permit to leave our car in order to hike, which I found a little ridiculous (it was $15!) but I understand why they have daily fees, however I feel like there should be an option for per hour payment as we essentially paid $15 to be there for 1.5 hours.

First attempt with the selfie stick

A large part of the trail was along the Canadian Shield which was pretty cool. This is definitely a trail I'd love to check out again with better weather! 

Have you ever done any of the Bon Echo trails? Also, check me out on instagram @hippyhiker I'll be posting photos daily.

Recipe - Nut Bar

This is our absolute favourite snack, even beating out GORP. We make it once a week to take as a snack for work and typically take it on our hikes. It's not really a set recipe, which I love, because I can just throw whatever nuts and dried fruits and oats we have in the cupboard into it and it's always different.

I've written up a basic recipe, but you can add whatever seeds, nuts, dried fruits and chocolate you prefer. The only downside to this recipe is that because the liquid base is natural nut butter, honey and maple syrup, it doesn't quite harden to create an actual granola bar, it ends up stay in chunks that we eat with a spoon, but it's delicious I promise!

Nut Bar

                         1 c oats                                             1/4 c unsweetened coconut

                         1 c Rice Krispies (optional)             6-8 diced dried apricots

                         1/4 c chopped almonds                    1/4 c chocolate chips

                         1 tbsp ground flax seed                    1/4 c dried cranberries

                         1 tbsp chia seeds                              1/4 c chopped cashews

                         1/2 c sunflower seeds                       3 tbsp honey

                         1/4 c chopped walnuts                      1/4 c nut butter

                         1 tsp cinnamon                                 2 tbsp maple syrup

• Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
• Combine honey, syrup and nut butter in saucepan and heat on medium low heat until melted, stirring occasionally.
• Pour melted mixture over dry ingredients and fold in until everything is coated.
• Press into an 9x13" casserole dish using parchment paper and chill for about an hour. 

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do! What's your go to hiking snack?

Camp stoves and a blast from the past

Since this is really our first year doing back country hiking trips (we've typically done canoe trips as a group), we've had to buy a lot of different equipment. My parents had mentioned they had a tiny camp stove we could use for the trip to help us out. We go to pick it up, and it's actually from 1986 and quite big for a back country stove. It has a little base that you fill with fuel and pump to get the fuel up to the burner, super retro, but kind of cool.

Anyways, we decided it'd be too heavy when added with all of our other gear, and that we just wanted a little burner to screw onto a butane/propane canister. We picked one up yesterday at SAIL so we could finally cross camp stove off our list, and as we get in the car to head to my parents to return theirs, we realize that it's the same stove! Just 30 years later. How hilarious is that? It's super cool to see how camping gear has changed over the past 30 years, we've definitely gone minimalist since the 80's.

Hiking Gatineau Park - Luskville Falls

Yesterday was a bit chilly, but we figured Nova Scotia mornings may be equally as chilly and decided to brave the cold and head up to Luskville. It was fairly quiet, but probably because of the weather. This is definitely the toughest trail we've done since we've begun 'training' for Cape Chignecto. It's a 4.5 km (5 km if you hike up to the fire tower and back) and is listed as difficult on the NCC website, the website says it's about  a 2.5 hour hike, but we powered through to improve our cardio and rock climbing skills and finish in just over 1.5 hours.

On our way back down

Part of the falls near the beginning of the trail (after this, the trail gets tough!)

I really enjoyed this trail, it was a lot of climbing, I'm talking about 1 km right off the bat to get up to the lookout, then you continue on up a little more and reach the fire tower before heading back down. You cross the falls at the top and again near the bottom to get back to the parking lot, however both crossings are fairly easy granted you watching your footing on the rocks. The designated crossing spots are in calmer parts of the streams the waterfall flows into so you don't really have to worry about the current. 

One section of the streams

Can you see the trail?

A lot of the trail looked like the photo above, essentially climbing up or down rocks depending on which part of the trail you're on. The trail is fairly easy to follow and as with all NCC trails it's clearly labelled. This is the first NCC trail I've been on that has consistent white arrows spray painted on rocks to ensure you stay on the trails and don't get lost.

I seriously love lookouts

This was absolutely one of our favourite trails, we plan to hike this at least twice more to help us get ready for our Nova Scotia trip, including one time with our full packs on which will definitely be killer on the legs!

Another very rocky section of the trail

Another view of the falls near the beginning of the trail

What's your favourite trail? We're heading to the Toronto area this long weekend and we're planning to stop at Bon Echo on our way home and do the Shield trail. Hopefully we get to see all the rock paintings!