Head Lake Bushwhack, QEII (2 Days / 25km)

Tried to make it a loop, but failed. Oh well.

The Cover:

My favourite shots that are 'cover-worthy' for this little story.

Rating:

Ah, a park that we have yet to discuss! Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Provincial Park (lovingly referred to as QEII) is a favourite shoulder season haunt of ours. When we visit this park, it's always when the bugs are more forgiving (or simply non-existent). I can't say that I've ever paddled here (Isaac definitely has), but I've spent a solid chunk of time backpacking or winter camping. In fact, my first time winter camping? It was here in this wonderful place! We have so many great memories in QEII and will continue to visit for years to come.

I Want to Live Here Rating: 2/5

People-Meter: 1/5

Anxiety Scale: 1/5

Pain Train: 1/5

10/10 Recommend: 3/5

The Prologue:

Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Provincial Park (or lovingly referred to as QEII) is a 33,505 hectare park situated in South-Central Ontario. The park is non-operating and contains no public facilities or services - to explore this place, you need to be comfortable with a more backcountry experience. Cell signal is completely unreliable, the trails are more or less rugged (although they have significantly improved over the years), and there are a limited number of sites (it's first come, first serve given the nature of the park). There's canoeing and hiking courtesy of the Ganaraska Trail. A solid park if you're looking for adventure a little closer to home (if you live in Southern Ontario, that is).

After a long break from QEII, it was time to visit yet again. A winter camp is truly the best way!

Here's our trip report!

The Story:

Day Zero:

Cambridge to Head Lake

For the first time in a long time, we left home after lunch instead of in the dark of night. The trek to our starting point for this adventure was approximately three hours away, so not as nasty as the drive to Algonquin Park lately (thank goodness). Traffic was legitimately okay through Toronto, which was nice for a change. Typically it's quite rough, but not this time round. I did however, fall asleep for a significant chunk of the drive, so I can't really give a true account.

We arrived at the put-in on Head Lake around 3PM. It was plowed, surprisingly. We're pretty sure that snowmobiles also use this as an access point, which would explain why everything was clear. After evaluating the parking situation, I set up a go-pro on a nearby tree (struggled to get it attached - Isaac had to come help me) and we proceeded to unpack the car, gather our gear, and prepare for our snowshoe across Head Lake into QEII.

A snowmobile buzzed around us for a little while. The driver seemed concerned and weren't entirely sure why. The put-in was listed on the Ontario Parks website as an authorized entry-point for QEII, and given that this park is open year round, the behaviour was a little odd. Then again, this is a relatively new park in the grand scheme of things, so some folks are not entirely familiar with its existence? Maybe? Also, two people preparing to walk on a lake with sleds? Probably not all too common in this particular spot. It's definitely in a more cottage-esque area overall.

Pondering aside, we hit the trail in good time. And by trail, I mean Head Lake! It felt so good to be outside again and walking on ice! Finally, it was safe enough to travel in the winter using the flat, smooth ice. It was such a beautiful, sunny day, but cold as all hell. The wind was brisk out there! I found myself constantly tugging my buff higher and higher up my neck. If I could have turned it into a hat, I would have. Long, long ago I got frost nip on my ears and they've never been the same. Even with a hat on I find that they get more than a little chilly.

The same snowmobile that was circling earlier actually pulled up and asked whether we were planning on ice fishing. He said that it wasn't allowed on this particular lake. We made it clear that we were hiking into QEII and were not planning on fishing - that would require lugging around an ice auger, which we do not own and would just be unpleasant to carry around. Not sure if he believed us, but oh well. You win some, and you lose some, I guess. Funny enough, we did come across a group of cottagers that were ice fishing? The whole situation was honestly a bit weird.

Our walk across Head Lake took a couple of hours (a total of 5km in total). There were a couple of slushy spots out on the ice that were icky to pull the sleds through, but we survived. Things just got more than a bit icy. More than once, Isaac had to chip the ice off my snowshoes so I could walk normally. That man was also crazy fast, oh my goodness. He was ready to camp, flying across the lake like a bat out of hell. Fortunately, I've learned that trying to keep up with him is a lost cause, so I walked at the pace that worked for me, Isaac occasionally stopping so I could catch up.

We enjoyed the views of the lake throughout the afternoon. The sunshine soon disappeared however, quickly replaced by clouds, so we weren't really expecting much of a sunset at all. By the time blue hour rolled around, surprise, surprise - the setting sun burst though the clouds, creating the effect of a fire fluttering out. It was very beautiful and made the final steps into the official QEII limit very satisfying.

Well, until we made direct contact with the swamp.

You see, we originally planned on hiking through the swamp and settling on Fishog Lake for the night. Unfortunately, the swamp had other plans. It was far thicker than we anticipated. Borderline impassable at points (with sleds, of course), with thick undergrowth, brambles, and heaps of dead crap. Just incredibly annoying. We climbed up a small ridge to get a better vantage point to determine whether we could find an alternative route, but nope. Failure. It was looking like our plans were about to change.

And that, they did. Instead of staying the night at Fishog Lake, we chose to stay along the border of Head Lake, close to where we arrived after our lake walk. We had to find a flat spot to pitch our hot tent though, so I put my camera away in preparation for a bushwhack. Fortunately, it was short. We tramped around the swamp for about twenty minutes, climbing through brambles, thick brush, and alder before finding a decent place to set up camp.

We ended up having to climb up another short ridge, blue hour in full effect at this point. Camp was set up in the dark, but no big deal! While Isaac finished up with the tent, I collected firewood in an attempt to keep warm. Once the sun went down we were greeted with temperatures below -15, which isn't exactly pleasant. I was keen to get a fire going and bury myself in my sleeping bag (my beautiful and wonderful polar ranger).

Happy to report, that's exactly what we did. Once all the materials were collected for a fire, we get all cozy in our tent, playing cribbage for a majority of the evening (I won the first game, but Isaac soon destroyed me. He's just too good, guys). For dinner, we had a couple of Backcountry Pantry meals from MEC. I had the Shepard's Pie Beef Stew, and Isaac had the Kathmandu Curry. Both were very tasty! We are planning to replicate them in our own dehydrator for the upcoming summer camping season.

Overall, a solid afternoon out in the wilderness. More to come!

Day One:

Head Lake to Fishog Lake

Isaac was up at the crack of dawn as per usual (7:30AM - not incredibly early, but with the cold pressing in on all sides of our tent, it felt like it). I was awake, but didn't leave my heat burrito until 8AM (it's SO cozy in there). We weren't particularly fast to pack up and leave our impromptu campsite. We took our time, enjoying oatmeal, coffee, and a nice morning chat. When we did finally start taking things down, it was probably 8:30AM? Still pretty cold out (a balmy -15), but temperatures were to rise and the sun was to shine yet again, so yay!

Headed out close to 9AM. After much discussion, we decided to abandon our plans to tackle the swamp (it was going to be a colossal pain in the ass). Instead, we thought it best to return to Head Lake and cut into a different spot with the hope that we could access Fishog Lake that way.

So that's what we did - we returned to Head Lake and walked toward a new swamp. There was a bit of bushwhacking involved, but soon enough we could see an old snowmobile trail. Well, old-ish. Fresh tracks were headed in the direction we wanted to go, and who are we to ignore a helping hand? So on and on we stomped, thanking the snowmobiles that had helped to lessen our trail-breaking load. We're not 100 percent sure whether snowmobiles are permitted in the park, but we don't really mind.

As we marched away on the trail, I pretended to eat a cattail like a hot dog - clearly the cold weather was getting to me. We bumped into a couple of cross-country skiers, but they weren't too chatty. I tried to say hello, but the only thing that came out of it was a bit of a grunt? I guess folks around here aren't too friendly? At this point we were wondering if we had simply picked the wrong weekend to visit QEII.

As we walked along we spotted lots of hunting stands and additional paths in the snow that had been carved away by snowmobiles. Again, a lot of trails headed off in the direction we wanted to go, so rather than forge a new path, we let the snowmobiles be our guide. And they were pretty great! We eventually, we made it to Fishog Lake all in one piece! The hard part was actually getting onto the lake. We had to take a lot of care because the ice was thin and sort of spotty in a few spots (looked like the swamp was actually more of a narrowing of the lake, so water was actively flowing). We don't tango with thin ice, so we retreated to solid ground, skirting along the edge of the lake until we were reunited with safe ice yet again.

We walked all the way to the end of the lake and returned to the forest to have lunch. We originally planned to loop back to Head Lake for our second night using the forest as our path to victory, but the landscape was similar to the initial swamp we encountered - overcrowded with lots and lots of trees. Wouldn't make for a particularly fun or sensible hike, so the new plan was to eat and then double back.

It snowed heavily as we prepared our lunch (it had been snowing like mad for most of the afternoon). I collected firewood while Isaac prepared the fire, which required the use of the shovel (had to dig everything out). Sadly, during the process, our beautiful shovel broke. Apparently, it was already close to the end of its life - this single lunch was the proverbial nail in the coffin. Of course we had a second shovel on hand, but it was still sad to watch a beloved piece of gear literally fall apart. It was still semi-useful (as a scraper?), but upon our return to Cambridge it was headed right to the scrap metal pile (aka, a dark corner in our basement).

Sad feelings aside for our shovel, we made grilled cheese (or something to that effect) over the fire and sipped away at some chicken noodle soup. At the time, my camera was in and out of use. The heavy snowfall was making stuff wet and I'm not one to risk my baby unnecessarily, but damn, I sure wish that I did. Munching away, with a mouthful of cheese and bread, I spotted some movement underneath a nearby log. At first I thought that I was hallucinating, seeing some weird shit in the snow, but alas, I was not! I was, in fact, staring at an Ermine.

And oh, how glorious it was! Isaac and I had never seen one before and while the sight was didn't last, oh how special it was. What a small, white, cute, and bouncy little creature! If I was smart I would have had my camera ready, but nope - it wasn't meant to be. One second it was there investigating our lunch setup, and the next, gone. Vanished like a shadow. I still wonder if I hallucinated the whole experience, but Isaac saw it too. We couldn't be be crazy, right?

I tried and failed to find the Ermine and Isaac convinced me that we couldn't stay in the forest forever - the little creature was probably long, long gone, hiding underneath the snow. In much sadness and disappointment, we packed up and hit the road again, following our tracks back out toward Fishog Lake. We took a slightly different path back, checking out some new scenery along the way. We spotted an otter home, coyote tracks, and signs of wildlife all around. The snow had also let up, so we were gifted with warm and relatively dry conditions as we walked along.

Soon enough, we selected our campsite for the night. Another flat spot on top of a little ridge. Isaac and I originally split up while searching, and it ended up that his find was far superior to mine. Similar to the previous evening, we set up the hot tent, I went out to collect wood and Isaac got the fire going, shovelling our site out at the same time (a multi-talented man, oh my). There was SO much dead standing wood. For the first time in my life I actually enjoyed collecting it all, ha, ha ha!

We did, however, spend a lot more time out there setting up our campsite for the night. It's a great way to keep warm and make your little slice of the backcountry feel like home. Plus it's also a good way to check the surrounding area out, find sneaky little animal hide outs, find some animal tracks - all that jazz.

Once the sun started to go down we retreated into our tent. We ate coconut lentil curry for dinner, played another round of cribbage, and were lulled to sleep by the distant sound of snowmobiles on Head Lake.

Day Two:

Fishog Lake to Cambridge

Isaac was up at 7AM again, although this time round he puttered around the tent, mainly getting the fire going. He started packing up our sleeping gear and shook all of the snow off the tent. The warmer weather meant that is snowed all night long. 5-10 centimetres or something? Our tent was pretty overwhelmed by the end of it all. Basically buried.

The shaking of the tent was basically my alarm for the morning. I reluctantly rolled out of my sleeping bag, all toasty in the tent. The sun was shining, the stove was cozy, water was boiling - the perfect atmosphere for a tasty, tasty breakfast. Oatmeal yet again!

After breakfast we started packing up. Things went a lot faster this time around (the warmer temperatures really helped us out). Hit the trail shortly after 9AM, but all the snow yesterday made conditions a lot more challenging. The snow was sticky and heavy, making our sleds feel like a billion pounds. It was like walking through concrete. The snowmobile trails weren't super useful either - it was a long, long trudge back to the put-in on Head Lake. And let me tell you, it was LONG (at least it felt that way in my mind).

With all of the fresh snow, the wet spots, and the wind that picked up on the lake? The walk back to the car was miserable. Type two kind of fun. We were cold, yet hot at the same time, and our snowshoes/sleds kept icing up, making the trek tedious. I was hurting and Isaac walked ahead just to get things over with (thank goodness he's a machine). I was counting the minutes, urging them to go faster. Once I finally got to our car - uh. I was wiped and so looking forward to freeing my feet from my frozen boots - just getting warm in general!

As a result, our pack up was super quick. I even pulled out some hand warmers to help with the thawing process. Slightly uncomfortable though. Another local pulled up and just supervised our leaving? It was so incredibly odd, something we've never experienced in this area before (and we've been to QEII a lot). To say the least, we were happy to hit the road.

Our drive home was eventful this time round. We stopped in Orillia for nuggies (tradition) and Barrie to visit MEC, Kawartha Dairy, and my family. We didn't return to Cambridge until 7PM. A fully packed weekend in a place that we enjoy so much!

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