Highland Backpacking Trail

Algonquin Provincial Park in Southeastern Ontario is known for its gorgeous lakes and endless canoe routes. It is the older park of the province (1893) and has more than 1500 lakes! While most of the park’s territory is only accessible by canoe and portages, there is still a lot of interesting options along what’s called the “Highway 60 Corridor”, the easiest access to the park coming from Toronto. One of Algonquin’s main campground, Mew Lake Campground, is open year-round. While being really busy in the summer months, it is calm and almost empty once the first snowfall hits the ground. On a mid-November weekend, we left the city early in the afternoon and drove for three hours to establish camp on our favorite campsite, #114. This campsite offers a secluded tent area further away from the little road, with nice views on Mew Lake. We rapidly set up our tent and enjoyed the evening around the fire.

As usual, I woke up before Andrea. I am a morning guy, no matter what day of the week we are! It had been a cold night as it was expected, being so close to the lake. For that night, we were testing our new winter “car camping” sleeping bags, rated for -29°C. They were toasty and awesome. When I checked on Andrea in the tent, the thermometer was showing -19°C, but she was still sleeping like a queen!

The plans for the next two days were to hike a loop section of the Highland Backpacking Trail for a total of around 25km. I started to cook breakfast and boil some water for our thermos while the sun was setting up, slowly warming up our campsite. It gave us the perfect opportunity to dry our tent from the overnight condensation. Andrea enjoyed her morning tea in front of the lake which was just starting to freeze up for the winter.

Drying the tent in the sun.

All packed up, we hit the trail in the morning, happy to see that the snow cover was not too deep. The first few kilometers had a lot of junctions in the trail, allowing hikers to tackle on different loops. We stayed on the outer loop all the time to assure us a decent trip in length.

I will be the first to admit that the mountains are hands down my favorite environment to hike in. But the winter scenery in Algonquin Park is really spectacular when covered by a snow blanket. I really cherish those moments of tranquility in the woods. Winter always brings a different vibe to any trip. The silence and the different light is what I enjoy the most.

Can it get any prettier than this?

The sun was getting lower and we started to look for a nice campsite for the night as there were quite a few close to each other about mid-way into the loop.

We found the perfect spot located on an elevated plateau above a big and calm lake. We caught the sunset just in time before spending the rest of the evening in the complete darkness, drying our boots and shoes next to the fire. Leaving the campfire area was hard because the temperature was frigid.

We woke up quite late, at least for our “backcountry standards”! We slept well despite an overnight mini snowstorm. Our tent lantern stayed lit the entire night and helped a lot to minimizing condensation. It also proved its utility by keeping the top of the tent somewhat warm enough to keep the snow off of it. Our backpacking sleeping bags were damp and it was one of the reasons we only planned on sleeping one night in the backcountry. Drying gear is extremely difficult below freezing and it can lead to precarious situations the night after.

Our campsite covered with a few centimeters of fresh fluffy snow.

After a nice and hot breakfast, we broke camp late in the morning a few pounds heavier with our wet gear in our backpacks. The weather was perfect. It was a little warmer than yesterday and the sun was shining down on us, making our hike back to the car really enjoyable.

We took our time, admiring the landscape on our way. As we got closer to the trailhead, we noticed the snow accumulation was way less in this area. Which is why I always say, if you are willing to put a little bit of efforts and get off the beaten path, you will always be rewarded. We were indeed rewarded on this short trip with stunning winter conditions.

A waterfall near the trailhead marked the end of our trip.