Algonquin - Mew Lake - Nov 02-08

It was the first weekend of November (as well as my birthday weekend) and Tomek and I decided to have our last canoe trip of the season- or so we thought. We were going to stop at the Algonquin Outfitters to rent our canoe and then head out on the water at Algonquin park. There was just this one tiny, minor, mundane little detail we overlooked- guess what?- they don’t rent canoes after the Thanksgiving weekend. So after having a good laugh at ourselves, followed by an intense game of heads and tails we decided that car camping at Mew Lake and hiking (a first for me) was going to be the new game plan. Finding the perfect site at Mew Lake proved to be quite challenging for Tomek. We must have driven around each site at least 3 or 4 times. My apologies to all those who were camping there that weekend and trying to get some sleep in the morning...NOT!!! In the end site #93 won out (this of course was the site we originally started with- go figure). So, after setting up and having a quick bite to eat we decided it was time to do some hiking. We headed out to Booth’s Rock trail. This was probably the longest trial that we did that weekend, but it was also my favourite. I absolutely loved the view at the end- it was AMAZING!!! Oh! by the way does anyone know how many steps on the staircase? We both counted but ended up with different results- I want the statisfaction of knowing that I was right hehe. By the time we finished the trial it was already getting dark so we headed back to camp for dinner- steaks and baked potatoes-YUMMY!!! Oh and lets not forget the b-day cake. Yes, that’s right Tomek made me a brownie cake over the fire- isn’t he the greatest? After we had dinner we sat around the fire for awhile and then it was off to bed- we actually with much needed reassurance that I wasn’t going to freeze during the night and a hot water bottle in my sleeping bag it was off to bed. When we woke up the next morning it was cold ( and I mean COLD). THE TEMP. OVERNIGHT REACHED -12C and although it had warmed up by the morning it was still fairly cold and windy. However, once Tomek got the fire going and made me some hot coffee I was ready to go. We had our traditionally breakfast of champions ( well sort of; the eggs froze during the night so we had to make do without- but it was still great) and then it was time for some more hiking. On our second day we visited the Lookout trial and the Oxtongue Rapids. I really enjoyed the water falls this time around. Just a quick reminder- my last experience with the falls near Rock Lake was not a pleasant one- I was eaten alive by bugs (ohhh painful memories). However, this time it was great and Tomek took some awesome pictures. After spending some time at the falls it was time to make our way back home. As always it was a great trip. I was actually quite surprised at how much I had enjoyed hiking. Can’t wait to do it again!!!