In early spring of last year, Martin G. and a friend hiked and paddled a day-trip loop northeast of Lake of Two Rivers, north to Black Fox and Whitegull Lakes, west to Banshee Lake, and then south via Sasajewun Lake. Check out his YouTube video of that trip .. "One Sunday Morning, an off route adventure in Algonquin Park"

As an "ice-out" trip, it's a taste of what awaits us all in Algonquin Park at the end of winter .. still months away!

"A friend and I explore beyond Algonquin Park's published canoe routes. We do more hiking than paddling through one of the few parts of the park that neither of us has seen."

In September, Cody and Elo paddled north of Canoe Lake to redo his first solo canoe trip .. "Recreating My First Solo Canoe Trip, 10 Years Later" .. chronicled on his website Algonquin & Beyond !

"While visiting the last campsite, I was literally one second away from needing to go for a swim to retrieve my canoe. When Elo jumps out of the boat, she propels the front of her body forwards by pushing off with her back two legs. This means that her back legs push the canoe in the opposite direction, and with the way the canoe was resting against the rocky shoreline at this campsite, it flung the canoe backwards into the lake. My heart dropped and I immediately put one foot into the water, knee deep, and just barely grabbed the canoe."

In mid-August, Elo, Cody and his friend Dan headed out of Magnetawan Lake. It was a five day loop .. "The Two-Man Tim River Big Trout Loop" .. and again chronicled the trip on his website Algonquin & Beyond !

"It was a long day, and we had an equally long day ahead of us for Day 2. We stayed awake to watch the moon set in front of the campsite and then enjoy the peak of the Perseids Meteor Shower. In the 15 minutes that I was looking up to the sky I saw three of the biggest shooting stars I?ve ever seen, along with plenty of smaller ones. The Perseids put on a great display."

In late September, 'Bampot' and friend headed out of Rock Lake on a three day loop via Galeairy, David Thompson, Fraser, Pinetree, and Fork Lakes .. then along Rock Creek and portaged to Gordon Lake and back to Rock Lake. His trip report is in the form of forum posts at .. "Rock / Galeairy / Pinetree Loop via Rock Creek".

"The first section of Rock Creek was very scenic and relatively navigable. We could tell that the 320m and 40m portages do not see much traffic, and we wondered what condition the bushwhack portage would be in once we reached it downstream. Travel became more difficult after the 40m portage, with several beaver dams, boulders, and deep, soft mud slowing our progress. In fact, it took us about 20 minutes to travel only 200m at one section. We began to worry that getting to the Gordon Lake portage would take hours."

Cody and Elo headed out of Rain Lake to McCraney Lake early in August .. "I Finally Went to McCraney Lake for 3 Days". They enjoyed some good weather, some rainy weather, some wildlife and some starry night skies .. and chronicled it on his website Algonquin & Beyond !

"I took down my barrel, had a snack, brushed my teeth, gave Elo a snack, then cleaned up camp and brought my camera and tripod back to the northern beach to do some astrophotography. Clouds were starting to roll in so the photo-op didn?t last too long, but I was still happy to be able to look up and witness the stars in all their glory."

Steve P. tries to head out into the backcountry as much as time and life commitments will allow. Each year he goes a little further away, on routes that are a little more challenging. He's chronicled his trips online on "canoedaddy.com".

All of his Algonquin Park adventures are collected together on "Algonquin Park Trips"

"I love going with those who are close to me; my wife, my daughters, old and new friends alike. My father often joins me on longer trips further afield. However, if no one is willing or able to come along, I often venture out on my own."

Drew, his daughter and their friends rendezvoused this September on Booth Lake .. on a three day Labour Day weekend trip "Booth Lake 2024". His well-illustrated trip-log of their adventure is located on his website .. All of Algonquin !

"Gordon and I had the boats and were the first to arrive at the crossing. I went first and made it across despite a couple of steps where the log and I disagreed on where my foot should go. Gordon came about 20 seconds after. By this point I was back on the path and just out of sight so I heard rather than saw Gordon lose his own argument with the logs and end up in the creek with an resounding splash."

Back in July, Cody and his dog Elo did a six day canoe trip via Kawawaymog Lake to North Tea Lake and Manitou Lake .. .. "Double-Triple on North Tea Lake and Manitou Lake". They enjoyed good weather, dramatic full-moon rises and the company of a trio of otters. The trip-log is filled with wonderful high definition photos, as is his entire website .. Algonquin & Beyond !

"As I continued to paddle, that one otter that grunted kept poking out from the water. It would make a grunting sound towards me, and then go back underwater. I was clearly not welcome. Elo was calm as a cucumber the entire time. The otters piqued her interest but she was watching in complete silence. But I know Elo has my back if the otters tried to pick a fight!"

On August 23rd, Jim R. and his brother did a twenty eight kilometer day-hike from Basin Lake to Spectacle Lake, following a route immersed in the history of Tom Thomson .. "The Tom Thomson Route: Achray to Basin Depot". As usual, their website's (Algonquin Day Hikers) trip report is well-illustrated by photos.

"We made our way to the first couple of GPS points but still could not find any sign of a logging road or trail. The whole area is covered with dense forest. The old maps and more recent satellite images suggest that the original road went to a spot on Lower Spectacle Lake which is now the location of the campsite on the south shore of the lake. It?s a fairly level area of bare rock that juts out into the lake. Having found no sign of the original road, we decided it would be best to take a compass reading and head in a straight line to that spot on the lake."

Peter Stokes has submitted his trip-log of a seven day solo canoe trip he took in September of last year. It took him from Canoe Lake east to the Otterslides, up to Burntroot, down to White Trout, and home via McIntosh and Tom Tompson, titled .. "September 2023 - 7 Day Solo Loop".

"I made my way down through Longer Lake. It was a nicer paddle, with the sun and a tailwind. I toured around the large island at the entrance to the narrows to White Trout. The wind had risen and was it was harder work getting west to the cliffs .. another pretty section of the park. I took the third site past the cliffs on White Trout (PCI campsite 6). I landed around 1:00 PM to a pretty steady flow of traffic heading east to Big Trout. It was a fairly sheltered site with a great west view."