TOURduPARK
It was 1:30pm by the time we got back to the cars and we loaded up for the journey home. We took off across highway 60 and drove back to Huntsville to stopped at Wendy’s for some extra greasy food – we burned enough calories on this trip, time to get some back! After our final meal together we celebrated another successful trip in Algonquin Park then made our way back down the highway. All in all, I really enjoyed hot tenting and hanging out with the guys for the long weekend - and would do it again in a heartbeat!
The uphill section of the portage was pretty exhausting
Saying goodbye to Pinetree Lake access
Evidence of good times
tr 29: Hot Tenting on Pinetree Lake
It won't be long before the ice is gone and we can get back to paddling
If anyone else comes here to camp, they'll be happy to find this!
Day 4: Pinetree Lake back to the parking lot
Another cold night but certainly not as bad as yesterday. We were fortunate enough to hear wolves howling through the night but we were unable to locate any wolf tracks near the campsite. We started the morning like any other – a huge pot of coffee enjoyed in the very warm hot tent. It was my job to get breakfast going today and I was kind of lazy about it, planning to feed the guys Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal. It did the job and I knew we’d be stopping for lunch in Huntsville anyway. We spent the morning trying to gobble up as much of the leftover food as possible – lighten the load!
We 'poured' out the water bucket
The parking lot!! Finally!
Pinetree Lake back to the Pinetree parking lot
This is where we slept for the last 4 days - the wood stove melted the snow right down to the ground
Looking across Pinetree Lake
Final check of all the gear
With everything packed up there was nothing left to do but hit the trails. The absence of food didn’t make the sled feel any lighter, but it was easy enough to make our way across the lake. As we approached the portage landing, Scott spotted out some wolf tracks near our own tracks that we made on the way in – pretty cool that they were so close to us! The first hill coming up off the lake was just as difficult going up as it was going down – because of the grade of the hill, our sleds kept sliding off to the side and either tipping over or becoming stuck. Using more effort than I care to admit, I struggled to get up the hill. I’m not sure if I was just tired or being lazy but the trek back to the car felt way longer than it did on the way in – it also didn’t help that the first 900 meters or so is a constant climb uphill. At this point we weren’t travelling together as we were all moving at different paces. Markus and Scott were ahead of me, and Jeffrey trailed behind. I caught up to them as they took a short rest and I asked how much further. Scott said we were about half way done the trail – not the best news but I was happy it was at least half over. They had a smirk on their face and I didn’t understand why – until I continued along on the portage. Not two minutes later I could see the parking lot in front of me – bastards – they tricked me! I was really happy to be back at the parking lot – that portage was rough.
Our outdoor fire pit
Around 10am we began the process of packing up. One by one we packed up our stuff from the interior of the tent and when it was clear Markus began to take it down. The set up and tear down of a hot tent is a considerable amount of work – especially when it comes to pegging out all the guy lines to provide the right pitch on the outer walls. I payed close attention to Markus as he took down the tent, looking for pointers on how to do it effectively – just in case I ever decide to go hot tenting on my own or with someone else who doesn’t have experience. There was a lot of random stuff scattered around but we managed to collect everything and get it all packed among the 5 sleds.
Packing up on another cold morning