Archived News & Updates - April 2nd to October 3rd, 2004

Sunday October 3rd, 2004 . . . . .

Troy Farrell's "Algonquin Park 2004 Canoe Trip" is very well written and illustrated with great photos, telling of the trip he took this summer with his fiance Jen ... his second Alonquin interior trip and her first one ... from Canoe Lake to Tom Thomson Lake.

" ... we came upon a moose, wading about chest deep in the water and munching away on lily pads. I couldn't believe how much noise this animal made by simply slurping, scooping and chewing some freshwater vegetation. It was very cool. The moose didn't seem to care too much that we were floating around watching her. We then heard some thunderous noise coming through the bush behind her, and later realized that she had two calves that were playing in the woods behind her."




Saturday October 2nd, 2004 . . . . .

In a recent Message Board posting, Sean (an Algonquin Park Warden) commented on this past summer ... " what we're getting is a lot more less experienced campers going out into the interior thinking they can do the same stuff as in a campground or get away with more than they could in the campground (i.e. having a party out in the bush) ... some of the violations were so outrageous that we had to play the tough guy. One day we siezed a whole canoe worth of cans & bottles (full to the gunnels) in about 5 hours of work, not to mention catching 3 guys who'd hacked their own site out of the forest because the office wouldn't sell them a permit after 7pm. ... The only way I can see the situation improving is for those people to get a severe slap on the wrist when they get caught so they can go back and tell their friends. That's the way we pretty much cleaned up the campgrounds over the last 10 years, and it'll repeat itself in the interior."

If you came across destructive or inappropiate practices this year, you're asked to revist the Preserve And Protect Algonquin section and report the incident, relay your concern to government officials and sign-on to the online petition if you haven't already.

We certainly have to keep up the pressure to have the park regulations enforced to ensure the health and safety of both Algonquin Park and our camping experiences while there.




Wednesday Sept. 8th, 2004 . . . . .

A new map product has appeared on the market. The Fugawi Company now offers all of Canada's topography maps in digital form on provincial DVD's for the suggested price of $100 (Canadian $) each. This mention of their product is intended to provoke discussion of the product on the message board. I've not tried the product, but the concept sure sounds intriguing, particularly for those who use GPS devices .. as they claim to have the option of working with Fugawi GPS Software for GPS navigation on PC, Pocket PC or Palm PDA's. You can check out details through their website's front page at www.Fugawi.com or you can go directly to their specific page at .. www.Fugawi.com/docs/maptopocan.html. If you've had any experience with the product, please tell us about it on the message board.




Mon. Sept. 6th, 2004 . . . . .

Andrew Nesbitt has sent in some photos which will be added to the gallery section later in the month. However, his panorama shot of the Barron Canyon deserves immediate attention.

The portion you see here is less than the eastmost third of one of the most awesome shots of the canyon that I've ever seen. Click on this shot to access the entire panorama. It has been permanently added to the Photos/Panoramas subsection.




Mon. July 5th, 2004 . . . . .

Bill Banner emailed me at my job with the town of Aurora, with an inquiry concerning a local landmark. He also shared his ongoing fascination with the Gray Jay of Algonquin Park fame. Over time, Bill has produced a special tribute to The Gray Jay, Algonquin Park and "The Raven" and the accompanying The Gray Jay, Algonquin Park.

" I concluded that this bird, with its confident and fearless approach for a handout from the Park visitor was certainly one that I should get to know better. Beginning in 1998 I have tried to make yearly pilgrimages up to Algonquin Park in the late cold weather to meet the "Whiskey-Jack"."




The end of another Algonquin trip. Sun. June 27th, 2004 . . . . .

Randy Holmes' "Acme 2003" tells of a 5-day trip on Lake Travers and the Petawawa River .. with his friends Dennis, Derlin, John, Bruce and Paul .. with some good bass, muskie and catfish along the way.

" Much to my joy and dismay John caught a fantastic Muskie 30 minutes from camp .. Bruce netted it and got it into the canoe but it was still quite lively as it jumped and snapped. They had to get to shore before continuing. "




Fri. June 18th, 2004 . . . . .

Markus Rubino ("2Four" of message board fame) has provided us with Algonquin Adventure Iron-on patch files. By applying iron-on Algonquin Adventures patches to our t-shirts, we'll be able to promote the website and to recognize each other as Algonquin Adventures readers should we cross paths in the park.

Markus has also sent in some of his laser-printer iron-on 'Algonquin Adventures' logo patches .. 143 four-inch, 32 eight-inch and 15 ten-and-a-half-inch. If you wish to acquire some of them, check out the ordering details.




Mon. May 31st, 2004 . . . . .

John D. Locke has sent in the first Preserve and Protect Algonquin incident report of 2004. This would be an appropriate time for readers to revisit the website's Preserve and Protect Algonquin Section and to refresh their commitment to be pro-active in this initiative.




Nipissing River, looking upstream from their campsite .. photo by Rob Hardy. Mon. May 31st, 2004 . . . . .

Robert Hardy's "The Ultimate" is a trip-log telling of the August 2003 4-day trip he took with his friends Moe, Brandon and Ted ... from Cedar Lake, up the Petawawa to Catfish Lake and returning via the Nipissing River.

" ... there were a ton of bats flying everywhere. We immediately turned around and headed back. However the bats seemed to follow us a bit and it was pretty creepy there for a few minutes."




Sat. May 29th, 2004 . . . . .

Mark Rubino has submitted three "wallpaper" photos from the Cedar Lake trip he took earlier this the month. They include a rough portage, sweltering sunset and a moody lake-scape.

In addition, Rachel Biggs has sent in a moose shot her husband took when they were on McIntosh Creek, earlier in the month. Check them out in the Photos/Wallpaper section.




2004-2005 Harvest Schedule Map Wed. May 12th, 2004 . . . . .

The 2004-2005 Harvest Schedule Map has just been posted on the Algonquin Forestry Authority website.

It is a highly detailed, half-meg PDF file showing the AFA's work areas throughout Algonquin Park.

It's made available so you can plan your canoe trips to avoid travelling through areas that may have noisy forestry activities underway during that time.




Fri. April 2nd, 2004 . . .

A couple of Julian Spencer's recent Opeongo Lake "fly-over" photos. Click on them to download their wallpaper files!




Barry Bridgeford (Site-editor)