"Basil L." and his buddy Chris took a 4-day canoe trip north out of the north arm of Lake Opeongo .. looping through Happy Isle, Merchant, Big Trout, Longer, La Muir, Hogan, Big Crow, and Proulx Lakes .. May 19-22 - Big Trout, Lake la Muir, Big Crow.

"Loading up the canoe at the end of the huge piece of shield rock that this site is situated on, I lost my footing while taking my pack off and ended up just barely saving myself from a full dunk. It was a steep angled rock that went straight in, but I was able to get both hands down behind me while taking a good soak from the crotch down. Luckily Chris was able to give me a quick hand to recover and no harm was done."

"Cici Canoe" and "L.T." took a Canada Day long weekend canoe trip from Cedar Lake to Radiant Lake and back .. Cedar to Radiant: Canada Day Weekend.

"Radiant Lake wasn't horribly choppy, but it wasn't flat either. And the wind was blowing directly in our faces. It took about 35 minutes to get to the mouth of the Petawawa River. We were going upstream today and it was moving faster than it looked. The first part of the river is a long paddle and with each twist of the river, the wind would blow at us again."

"Neelands" has posted his 28-photo well-captioned and mapped 'Smugmug' account of his early season solo canoe trip out of Magnetawan Lake.. 2017 May 16-20 Little Eagle-Daisy-Ralph Bice Lk.

"First night on Little Eagle, then back past the access point to Daisy Lake for Night Two. Portage to Ralph Bice and Nights Three and Four on that lake. No earth-shattering epic travel here. Just wanted to warm up for the season with short and easy paddling days and to check out this corner of the park before the bugs hit."

"Cici Canoe" and "L.T." took an early-season three-day canoe trip to the upper end of Grande Lake this year .. Grand Lake: May 20 to 22, 2017.

"I was nervous thinking about the swift under the train track bridge. The very first time we went up that swift in 2014, it was really high and flowing very fast. Last year the water was very low and it was a different challenge trying not to hit any rocks. This year it was almost perfect. Enough water to not be in danger of hitting any rocks .."

Back on May 4th, Robert M. (a.k.a. 'Uppa') ended up running most of the Opeongo River rapids by accident. His first day took him all the way to Round Island Lake by way of Booth Lake and a string of northbound portages. Check out his videos at Algonquin Solo Spring Camping Trip - Part 1 and Algonquin Solo Spring Camping Trip - Part 2 .. returning to Lake Opeongo by way of a logging access road, after a bad turn in the weather.

"I've never taken a GPS on a camping trip, and usually I don't even have Jeff's map loaded on my phone. The time of year and the forecast had me especially nervous about this trip, however, so I took more precautions than usual, which turned out to be a really fortunate decision."

Early this month, Cobi Sharpe headed out from Canoe Lake on her first solo canoe trip. The wind, rain and snow put her to the test. Check out her blog Waboose Adventures for "Why I Went Out Alone in Algonquin" .. Part One .. and .. Part Two .. both have a video component.

"So not only did I have a red sky in the morning, but I also had a mackerel sky. Because I had been faced with rain, wind and snow during my trip, and I had to change my route and just do what I could, it was probably a good idea for me to decide to head out of the park. The last thing I wanted was to be stranded because of windy conditions, but I also didn’t want to pack up all my gear wet and deal with drying it out later."

Drew Czernik has posted an account in his blog All of Algonquin of the canoe trip he took from Crotch Lake to McKaskill Lake and back, earlier this month (portaging out via a logging access road).

"With the rose coloured glasses of hindsight planted firmly in front of my eyes, the hydro cut part of the portage was actually pretty cool. The weather and topography along the cut made for scenery that was stark and harsh and somehow quite pretty. There’s something otherworldly about walking through clear-cut rolling hills along a barren gravel road that stretches out both ahead and behind you and looks like it’s never going to end."

The Algonquin Forestry Authority has released its initial 2017-2018 Schedule of Operations Map (with seasonal distinctions).

As in past years, the map states, "Subject to Revision - Scheduling of operations may vary". Accordingly, it would be prudent to periodically revist the AFA website's "Annual Work Schedule" to verify details of the 2016-2017 Schedule of Operations Map when planning 2016 Algonquin Park trips, so as to minimize exposure to noises associated with logging.

Chris, of the Algonquin Voyageur website, has posted the trip-log of his 5-day canoe trip with his dad .. by way of Smoke, Ragged, Big Porc, and Little Coon Lakes .. then looping through McGarvey, Loader, Lower Loader, Dividing and back to Little Coon .. and returning back to Smoke Lake .. 2016 Smoke - Big Porcupine - Dividing - Smoke.

"It definitely was a site and I found the tree where the sign use to be but there was no sign of it anywhere. Within five minutes of us landing an interior Warden and Canoe Ranger came onto the site having just come off the Bonnechère portage. We chatted for a bit and then they went about cleaning up the site, putting up a new sign and digging a new latrine while we unpacked and set up camp."

Bob & Diana McElroy have added to their Bush Log and Notes website, an in-depth documentation of The High Falls Lake Fire, August 2016 .. a forest fire on the northwestern shore of High Falls Lake. It's a timely reminder to be careful with fire in Algonquin Park.

"On or about August 08, 2016 a fire broke out on the northwestern shore of High Falls Lake in eastern Algonquin Park. A travel ban in the area was quickly imposed. As the forest was extremely dry, the fire spread very quickly, reaching a size of about 48 hectares several days later. Through the actions of water bombers and helicopters, six fire crews on the ground and finally rain, the fire was essentially under control about a week after it started, but it was not declared officially out until September 01."

The website's submissions incentive awards, for the past year, have been announced.

The five incentive awards have been made to Chris Taylor, Craig White, Wanda Spruyt, Martin Garster and Cody S.

For links to all the participants' submissions, check out the Submissions Awards Incentive 2016 page.

The Reel Paddling Film Festival is hosted locally by Paddling Adventures Radio .. on Tuesday, March 21st 7:00 PM – 11:59 PM .. at the Tap & Tankard, 224 Brock Street South, Whitby, Ontario L1N 4K4. The complete tour schedule is here.

"Since 2006, the Reel Paddling Film Festival World Tour has been showcasing the very best paddling films. The World Tour screens in more than 120 cities around the world. Join Paddling Adventures Radio and special guests on Tuesday March 21 as we enjoy some of the films the Festival has on offer this year. An evening where you will be inspired to explore rivers, lakes and oceans, push extremes, embrace the paddling lifestyle and appreciate the wild places."

This half-hour Ontario Travel video "The Canoe | Canadian Canoe Culture" is a testimony to the power of the canoe and paddling. Its third story "Explorers - Garry & Joanie McGuffin" focuses on Algonquin Park. Check out the McGuffins' own website at www.themcguffins.ca.

"Discover the different ways Ontarians have connected to our natural environment, each other and themselves through paddling. This film captures the human connection and bond created by Canada’s well-known craft & symbol, the canoe. Through the stories of five paddlers across the province of Ontario, Canada - a majestic background both in it’s landscape & history - the film underscores the strength of the human spirit and how the canoe can be a vessel for creating deep and meaningful connections."

Tracy McKim has submitted a trip-log of 3-day solo backpacking trip he took on the Highland Backpacking Trail in October of last year ... 2016-10 Provoking Lake Backpacking Trip .

"I stood there for a few moments, soaking in the moment. Just as I was about to turn and enter the tent in the last of the failing light, I heard a sound in front of me. It sounded exactly like a bicycle whizzing past, the same sound as rubber tires moving along the road. It came from ahead of me from my left and moved toward the right. I could not discern if it was on the ground or in the air. Just about when it seemed it would have been directly in front of me, the sound stopped. I could see nothing."

Cody S. has submitted fourteen campsite descriptions to the website's Portage Campsite Inventory (PCI)...

Harness Lake CS #5,   Lake Louisa CS#1,   Lake Louisa CS#2,   Lake Louisa CS#12,   Linda Lake CS #1,
Linda Lake CS #3,   Owl Lake CS #1,   Owl Lake CS #2,   Raven Lake CS #1,   Raven Lake CS #2,
Bruce Lake CS #1,   Otterslide Lake CS #9,   Little Otterslide Lake CS #4,   Head Lake CS #4

Martin Garster has submitted a trip-log of an eight-day solo trip he took this past spring .. looping out of Lake Opeongo .. via Proulx, Big Crow, Lavieille, Dickson, McKaskill, Shirley, Booth and up the Opeongo River back to Lake Opeongo .. How to Avoid the Dickson Bonfield Portage .

"With my heart pounding in my ears and bear spray in hand I hurried across the last 2 or 3 hundred metres of the portage to my boat and paddled out into the safety of the lake. Once on the water, I circled back to where the creek empties into the lake. Sure enough the bear was right there studying the mouth of the creek. Again he wasn't really aware of me. He eventually caught wind of me and started staring my way. I cleared my throat. That was enough for him to turn tail and disappear into the bush."

Andrew (aka "ATVenture" on the forum) has posted his account of a 3-day canoe trip that he and his friend took at the end of this past October. They started out from the Brigham Parking Lot (A38), through ‘The Cascades’, on through Ooze and Opalescent lakes, and then back up the Barron River ... A Late Fall Canoe Trip To Remember

"We continued down the river so we could paddle through the impressive Barron Canyon. I have canoed this river a few times now, but it was a first for Tyler, who I think was pretty impressed with the size of the cliffs at the waters edge. Once we paddled to the far end of the canyon we had to backtrack down the river to reach the car. It was 3 portages totaling just over 800m but it didn’t take us long for since we were single carrying at this point."