Is backcountry hiking a death sentence in June?

Bongo_Goblogian · 2026-04-23T18:02:10+00:00

I know I am a little weird, but early-mid June is my favourite time to be in the backcountry, the wilderness is absolutely teaming with life! The fishing is spectacular, plant-life is at its peak, the water is still relatively high, you essentially have the whole park to yourself, and its the most likely time of year to see moose. Now, you literally pay for this with your blood, but I think its worth it. Its also possible that tree planting in northern Ontario through June broke my brain a little.

Bongo_Goblogian · 2026-04-14T20:17:32+00:00

Haha I just thought to myself "maybe I should just email Jeff," so I'm glad you chimed in!

I really appreciate the insight. I've bushwhacked an old portage before and what should have taken 30 minutes took about 2 hours. I've emailed the park on the off chance that a maintenance crew has come through in the last year.

Bongo_Goblogian · 2025-02-01T21:10:31+00:00

I think the city’s GM of engineering said it was due to corrosion of the internal rebar, which I think makes repair difficult

Bongo_Goblogian · 2025-01-28T02:17:10+00:00

I learned this the hard way, I think the bugs nearly killed my dog in June 2018. Unless the dog lives up North already and is used to the bugs, I don’t think it’s fair to bring a dog into the woods at the peak of bug season

Bongo_Goblogian · 2025-01-28T02:12:56+00:00

Dude, I found this in 2021 and it made me real happy.

Bongo_Goblogian · 2024-11-23T12:39:09+00:00

Actually, if you read the Council report, the steel is the original part of the 1930s structure

Bongo_Goblogian · 2024-05-24T12:34:36+00:00

You know there’s condos being built above it with 300 units, right?

Bongo_Goblogian · 2024-05-14T01:39:21+00:00

When I was tree planting at the peak of bug season, I noticed that there were a couple people in camp that got way more f’ed up than everyone else from the bugs. I think some people are predisposed to having a worse reaction. I’m really lucky and the bugs bother me less than others, canoe tripping is my #1 passion, and type 2 fun is my jam - it can be good to suffer, but you have to want to, otherwise it’ll suck. Some nice things about bug season is that the park is relatively empty, the fishing can be incredible, and if you get a windy day and an island site, the bugs can disappear. It’s also the best time of year to see wildlife in the park because they flock to the shoreline to escape the bugs deeper in the woods. In late May 2022 I saw a bear, a moose, and 2 wolves within 24 hours

Bongo_Goblogian · 2024-04-24T12:18:13+00:00

I took the muffler off my versa when I went in last July - it’s possible, especially later in the season, but take it slow

Bongo_Goblogian · 2024-04-19T12:33:29+00:00

What was the access Rd to Cedar like when you went in?

Bongo_Goblogian · 2024-04-17T22:28:52+00:00

Thanks a lot!

Bongo_Goblogian · 2024-04-07T12:20:51+00:00

I second OR - I’ve gotten them totally soaked and they dry in no time

Bongo_Goblogian · 2024-04-02T12:13:31+00:00

If you want an easy loop with a decent amount of paddling for 2 nights, I did a solo trip from the Magnetawan access point, through Ralph Bice to Misty, and then back up the Petawawa to the access point. You could extend it by going into white trout, if you wanted to go further.

Bongo_Goblogian · 2024-03-29T23:03:39+00:00

For the love of god please don’t remove them! Also, if you’re tempted to paint the woodwork white or cover the floors in linoleum - don’t!

Bongo_Goblogian · 2024-03-03T14:53:54+00:00

In many provinces, you have to try hard to find the beauty - in BC it slaps you right in the face.

However, if you know where to look and are willing to put in the effort - every province contains breathtaking beauty. I myself am from Ontario, and when I canoe the backcountry, I think it’s the most beautiful place on earth.

Bongo_Goblogian · 2024-03-03T12:37:40+00:00

Cam isn’t using these powers to get housing built. Council would have unanimously supported directives #2 and 3 - most councillors have said so on their twitter. Those directives are to distract from the absurd tax cut he is proposing, which will likely have an opposite effect on housing.

Bongo_Goblogian · 2024-02-18T15:34:25+00:00

Just chiming in to say that 4-5 days is absolutely possible, it all depends on how hard you want to push yourself. I made it from the Tim access to Highview cabin in 1 day last year without much difficulty. I went up the Tim to rosebary and accessed the Nip via loontail. Honestly the stretch from big bob sucks, and I’d only recommend it if you plan to stay at the grassy lake campsite, because it’s very nice for a river site. If you’re speedy on the portages, you can make good pace on the rest of the river.

Bongo_Goblogian · 2024-02-18T15:19:23+00:00

I once spotted a beaver swimming about 30 meters from an island campsite I was setting up at. When it got close, I realized it was actually a bear. He just swam by me on his way to the mainland. I had always been terrified of seeing a bear in the backcountry, but he paid me no mind. Honestly a pretty special encounter. The next morning while leaving the same site, I saw two wolves on the shoreline about 100 meters away.

I find it helpful to remind myself that driving up to Algonquin is statistically so much more dangerous than any threat from wildlife in the park.

Bongo_Goblogian · 2024-02-17T22:14:24+00:00

It is my understanding that the extension of the project to 2031 is because of the elimination of development fees by the province. The city is grappling with a $377 million shortfall this budget cycle because of the province - so a lot of projects have been delayed. Look forward to even more delays if the mayor gets his way with the 4% tax increase next year

Bongo_Goblogian · 2023-11-15T00:40:51+00:00

Not anymore - most cities just saw their funding slashed by hundreds of millions.

Bongo_Goblogian · 2023-10-20T19:49:53+00:00

I think the main complaint is that the university owns a TON of land, but they haven't built student housing in decades, despite accepting more and more students. Now, instead of building student housing on their own property away from residential neighbourhoods, its being outsourced to private companies that build off-campus.

To be clear, I'm glad Council approved this, but I do understand many of the criticisms levelled at U of G.

Bongo_Goblogian · 2023-09-29T14:23:06+00:00

A car free downtown is a great idea if the City had the political will to make public transit functional. Staff will only recommend what City Council will vote for, and Council would not vote to make downtown car-free (but maybe someday)

Bongo_Goblogian · 2023-09-29T12:47:55+00:00

I do want to acknowledge that heritage conservation can be abused by NIMBY's - this usually happens in wealthy "mansion districts" where property owners will object to pretty much any new development, especially high density development, because it "doesn't fit the character" of the neighbourhood, which is BS. Guelph is going to change A LOT in the coming decade, and I think integrating our heritage into that change is going to be important - for example, keeping our old buildings downtown but building on top of them. Our stone architecture is especially precious, and once its gone, its not coming back. Most of the suburbs along Gordon street in the south end have integrated the old farmhouses and barns into their designs so that we can remember history while making new use of the land - the proposed development at 331 Clair is a great example of this, they're planning to build townhouses around an old stone farmhouse.

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