Frontenac is a semi wilderness park located north of the city of Kingston in the province of Ontario. The park includes your typical features that make up the lower Canadian Shield such as white pine, birch, beaver dams and the ever present “trees and rocks and rocks and trees”.
This was a spur of the moment trip during the Easter long weekend. We both had the Friday off so we quickly went through all our gear (1st mistake), grabbed what we thought we needed (2nd mistake), and threw a bunch of stuff in the car (third mistake).
So what were the mistakes that we made?
Mistake #1: “We quickly went through our gear”. This is not a good idea. Luckily this was not a backcountry camping trip but just a long weekend trip. We didn’t take inventory of our gear or even test it out to make sure everything worked. Most of our gear is pretty brand new so it should be in working order…….right?
Mistake #2: “We grabbed what we thought we needed”. Again we assumed everything was in our gear container so why make a list of what you think you need……right?
Mistake #3: “We threw a bunch of stuff in the car”. Just frantically grabbed clothes, extra hiking shoes etc. etc. Everything else for a road trip should already be in the car (road map, windshield washer fluid, plastic bag for garbage…..or vomit….)…..right?……right?
…wrong………
On April 1st we were on highway 401 and drove all the way to Kingston to stay overnight in a motel. It was only the beginning of spring so there was still some standing snow present. By the next day we arrived at the gates of Frontenac Provincial Park around 11:00am and found it unusually warm and sunny. It actually got up to 23 Celsius, and being the first big warm up of the year it felt HOT! Not only that but we were over dressed, or at least Marianne was. Unfortunately, we also forgot to pack sunscreen (refer to Mistake #2). Marianne not wanting to get a sunburn, wore her hoodie while we hiked the Slide Lake Loop Trail. This trail, at 21 kilometres, had our reserved campsite almost halfway down its length. Our plan was to get to our campsite before dinner and then complete the trail the next day which were to include a scenic view of a gorge and a series of waterfalls.
Walking down the trail we observed a few species of herptiles, some perhaps making their first appearance this spring such as Spring Peepers, Leopard Frogs, and four Garter Snakes. We also saw three White-tailed Deer, Red Squirrels, Eastern Chipmunks, Canada Geese, Wood Ducks, American Robins, Northern Ravens, Black-capped Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatch, Golden-crowned Kinglets, and a Red-shouldered Hawk.
Our campsite was located at Site #4 which had four spots (labelled A-D). Our campsite was 4C, but clearly someone was already there (probably not even using the park’s reservation system. We did see an unoccupied site so we took our chance there. Soon it was time to pump water and ready the stove for supper. One problem…we forgot to pack our water pump (refer to Mistake #2). Luckily we didn’t forget a lighter so we had to boil our water to make our supper. Not a big deal but it kind of made you feel unprepared (and a little stupid).
After setting up camp it was time to relax for the evening. We looked forward to tomorrow’s hike and some great photo opportunities.
The next day we were ready to go exploring!! We took out our homemade breakfast that included granola, dehydrated strawberries and bananas, along with some powdered milk. Of course we had to boil our water again, but now we had an even bigger problem….our camping stove broke! (refer to Mistake #1). Now we had no stove and no clean water. We ended up using what we had left in our water bottles to add to our breakfast which didn’t taste that great cold. More importantly we were faced with a decision…….Do we finish the rest of the loop, or take the shortcut back to the car? We now didn’t have a stove to boil water, or a pump to clean water, and we forgot to even pack snacks for in the car (refer to Mistake #3). In the end we decided to begin the hike back to the car and go home defeated.
Around the halfway point back down the trail Marianne was getting a headache. Luckily we didn’t forget Tylenol and she took a couple with only a sip of water on an empty stomach.
We finally reached the car, packed our stuff in the trunk, and we were soon on our way down the winding road from the park gates. Before long Marianne was not feeling well, but this time she felt incredibly nauseous and dizzy. We didn’t have a plastic bag in the car (refer to Mistake #3) and Aaron had to pull over so Marianne could fall on her knees and puke up the dissolved Tylenol. After a few dehydrated apples and some more water, she felt 100% better.
So that was it! That was our long weekend camping trip! We still relatively enjoyed it, but it just goes to show how a spur of the moment decision can sometimes be a bad thing. We did learn a few things, such as to make a camping list, check it over before we go, along with checking our gear to make sure everything works. Since our trip to Frontenac Provincial Park we bought two camping stoves so we have a backup if one breaks.
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