Just a few days ago, Feb. 24th to 27th, Mark Rubino and a couple of friends hiked up Lake Opeongo and spent 3 nights camped inland, half way up the west shore. Mark's trip-log describes their hike, stay and daytrips to Opeongo Island and Bates Islands .. Winter Trekking On Opeongo - Feb. 2011

"As we trekked across the open ice, snow squalls overtook us as horizontal snow blew through us. By 3:45 pm we had reached the safety of a campsite on the north side of the bay we were camped on and ten minutes after that we were back at our camp. The snow squalls had subsided and by 5 pm there were breaks in the cloud cover and even the sun came out, the weather seemed to be breaking!" "

Still another photo-trip-log from Stephen Molson. This time, Stephen shares his visit to Big Crow Lake in May of 2009 .. Big Crow Snow - May 2009

"Half way across the lake, extremely strong gusts blew up from over the hills, bringing with them snow and driving ice pellets. I was immediately engulfed in skin-lashing painful white out conditions. The winds reached 50-60 km/hr and turned the lake into a froth of rolling white water and high waves. It was all I could do to hold my position and struggle to turn the boat and face them head on."

Stephen Molson has submitted another photo-trip-log. This time, it records a brief one-night visit to Fork Lake in mid-June of 2010 .. One Night on Fork Lake - 2010

"Once on Norway Lake, we paddled quickly along its shallow north-east shore, towards the lilypad-choked channel leading to Fork Lake. After another beaver dam pull-over, we arrived on a pleasant looking calm Fork Lake at 4:30 pm. ... We beached the boats, unloaded, began camp setup and explored the island. ... We paddled along the shoreline, had a couple of hits but both fish got off at boatside. It was getting late, so we returned to camp ..."

Judging is completed for the Winter cohosted Algonquin Outfitters / Algonquin Adventures photo contest. This contest was for photos illustrating what Algonquin Park means to you .. anything from a paddling your canoe, enjoying the campfire, watching the sun set or just being with your friends .. illustrating what makes Algonquin Park "My Algonquin". Check for details at .. http://ao-sales.blogspot.com/2011/02/my-algonquin-photo-contest-winners.html

You can view all of the entries at ... https://picasaweb.google.com/108214573772269053707/AOWinter201011PhotoContest.

"We met a pair of ladies starting a 10 day trip to Burntroot Lake and back, with their cat. It wasn’t his first trip either .. good Kitty! We also stopped and chatted with two men from Ohio. They were on their way to Big Trout Lake for a week. My kids conversed for over twenty minutes with them about "iCarly/SpongeBob/Suite Life on Deck/Phineas and Ferb/etc.". It was hilarious. The men were well versed in Nickelodeon, Disney, etc. shows, as one had kids of his own. From ‘Pond’ Lake, we navigated the little channel (Petawawa River) back to Hambone Lake. It still had enough water to navigate the narrow passage."

"Imagine...You've just returned from a week long canoe trip into Algonquin Park's Interior. You thirst for more, already planning your next trip. Perhaps it is mid-March, you haven't dipped your paddle into Algonquin in five months, cabin fever raging through your soul. Whether you're a forty year veteran of the backwoods or a first-timer, or someone in between, Algonquin Park offers some of the finest outdoor experiences one can expect in Central Ontario; Canoeing, fishing, hiking, campgrounds, as well as many programs to enhance the visitors' knowledge and enjoyment of "The Park". "

"High Falls lake itself was a curious body of water. Rocky and steep shoreline on either side, but very murky water with lots of dead-heads and snags owing to all the organic material deposited here from the logging days. It made for slightly tricky navigation as large boulders and submerged logs would suddenly loom from the depths beneath the canoe with little warning, especially in the areas of shadow that the sun was no longer hitting."

This 142 page, full-colour book, is written by Andrew Westwood of Ottawa, Ontario. Andrew has put together a comprehensive book including canoe equipment, clothing, portaging, accessing, essentials, strokes, maneuvering and safety practices. He's made good use of a sequential point-by-point layout. The book is superbly illustrated with colour photographs by Paul Villecourt, of Andrew demonstrating the various techniques.

Andrew's sequential layout clearly breaks each technique down into well-explained, illustrated and numbered steps. This book does a superb job of explaining the full range of canoeing skills available.