Adventures Close to Home: Fall Hike in High Park

October 28, 2015August 12, 2016 / Oleksandra Budna / 10 Comments

In the fall, every bright, sunny day feels like a gift. And as October nears its end, I become acutely aware that each of those days may be the last one before the temperatures drop, before it rains, before the snow falls. Not that I don’t like rain or snow. I enjoy being outside in any weather. But sunny skies are always a cause for celebration. So yesterday I decided to take advantage of a glorious fall day and headed to High Park.

High Park is 399 acres of nature right in the middle of Toronto filled with large green spaces, hiking trails, picnic areas, sports facilities, Grenadier pond, numerous streams and waterfalls, a dog park, playgrounds and even a small zoo. That is why, High Park is often a destination of choice for people seeking a nature retreat amidst a busy city. It becomes particularly busy in the spring when people flock here in large numbers to see the famous cherry blossoms (To see pictures of High Park in the spring, check some of my posts on Random|Pix). Little as I like crowds, it is exciting to see people getting so excited about nature. In October, High Park looks different from its airy, boisterous, cherry-blossomed self but it is no less beautiful decked in its best fall attire.

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Camping in Restoule Provincial Park: Fall and the Beauty of Change

October 15, 2015August 12, 2016 / Oleksandra Budna / 9 Comments

I zoom in on a lonely red leaf tucked in between bare branches. Not ready to let go of the tree that has been its home for the past several months, it is basking in the sun, blushing under its fiery gaze. Eventually, it will get whisked away by the wind and twirl its way onto the ground, adding its warmth to an already thick blanket. Or it will zigzag through the air and end up on the steely surface of the lake below, a tiny red boat gliding into winter. I wish good luck to a brave little traveller and continue on my way.

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Fall Weekend at Killbear Provincial Park

October 1, 2015August 12, 2016 / Oleksandra Budna / 14 Comments

Last week, our family displayed acute symptoms of camping withdrawal disorder: desire to sleep on the hard ground, cravings for slightly burned food prepared over a campfire, constant attempts to block out the noisy city to hear the birds. With the next camping trip two whole weeks away, we knew we couldn’t last that long. We needed our camping fix now. So on Friday night we threw our gear into the back of our car and headed to Killbear.

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Happy Birthday to Algonquin, land of beauty, memories and adventures!

May 27, 2015August 12, 2016 / Oleksandra Budna / 3 Comments

So Algonquin Park is turning 122 today! Established in 1983, Algonquin is the oldest provincial park in Canada and it’s becoming even more beautiful and attractive with every passing year.

I couldn’t miss such an important occasion since it’s the place of so many favourite memories: our first trip into the interior, our first four-day canoe trip, our first winter camping adventure in a tent. Beautiful sunny skies, stormy weather, rainbows, fall colours, spring flowers and moose sightings, incredible sunsets and loon calls at night. We’ve visited Algonquin in all seasons, experienced it in every type of weather, explored it on foot, in a canoe and on a bike and it is always beautiful and exciting.

Lake of Two Rivers in the spring

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The Best of 2014

December 17, 2014August 5, 2015 / Oleksandra Budna / Leave a comment

With 2014 almost done, I went through my photos and put together my top 10 camping moments of the year. It was a bit hard to rank them since it was such a great year for camping but I am pretty confident about my number 1 picks (yes, there are two of them).

10. Thanksgiving Weekend at Grundy Lake Provincial Park

Lots to be thankful for: Gorgeous fall colours, picturesque trails, great friends, roaring campfires in the evening and a hearty thanksgiving meal. What else can you wish for on a beautiful fall day?

9. Early flowers and happy moose at Algonquin

Victoria Day weekend was a bit chilly this year (temperatures were around freezing most nights). It didn’t stop us from enjoying dainty spring flowers and a great bike ride from Mew Lake to Rock Lake. We even came across a very happy-looking moose on our way back.

8. Easter at MacGregor Point Provincial Park

Since Easter is all about nature awakening and rejuvenation, we decided to head for the woods to celebrate it. It was the first time we did it and it is bound to become one of our favourite family traditions. Kids got to do an Easter egg hunt in the actual forest and we did lots of hiking even though there were still heaps of snow around.

7. Sunsets at Pinery

Sunsets at Pinery Provincial Park are always gorgeous whether you watch them on the beach or over the Old Ausable Channel.

6. Family Day weekend at Arrowhead Provincial Park

Arrowhead is often called the best kept secret in Ontario. Well, I think the secret is out as this February we had to spend over an hour in a car lineup to get to the park entrance. It’s easy to see why the park is so popular in the winter: with hiking, snowshoeing, tubing, skiing and skating around the torch-lit loop, you never run out of things to do.

5. Backpacking at Bon Echo Provincial Park

It was our first backpacking trip and in spite of hordes of mosquitoes and a sprained ankle, we are planning more and longer hiking trips.

4. Canoeing at Kawartha Highlands

Canoeing is probably my favourite outdoor activity. Remoteness, beauty, loons at night, tranquility – all of these make any canoe trip irresistible, especially in a beautiful park like Kawartha Highlands.

3. Stars at Bruce Peninsula

Bruce Peninsula is beautiful any time of the day, but at night under the star strewn skies, it is spectacular.

2. Celebrating New Year at Allegany State Park

What can be a better way to ring in the New Year than in the woods, around a campfire with your family.

1. Foggy morning paddle with my younger son

During our canoe trip this year, my younger son woke me up early so we could go for a paddle. As we cut through the thick morning fog, it felt like we were the only people in the world.

1. University send-off party for our older son

Our son going to University and moving out was the biggest family event of the year. Since camping has always been such a big part of our lives, it seemed appropriate to celebrate this big achievement while camping.

Looking forward to new adventures in 2015!

Thanksgiving Weekend Camping at Grundy Lake

October 16, 2014October 5, 2015 / Oleksandra Budna / 4 Comments

There was a lot to be thankful for this past weekend. Beautiful sunny weather. Deep blue skies and incredible fall colours. Being with family and friends. Having an opportunity to leave the city and be in nature.

We headed to Grundy Lake Provincial Park for the Thanksgiving weekend. Thanksgiving used to be the last camping trip of the year before we started going camping in the winter. However, since we usually stay in cabins and yurts in the winter, it is still the last camping trip in a tent. That is until we pluck up the courage to try winter tenting.

We visited Grundy Lake a few times in the past but that was a few years ago and mostly in the spring and summer. I had my doubts whether it was the best choice to see fall colours since I remembered lots of pines. It turned out I had nothing to worry about. We booked a campsite at the Poplar campground. When I got out of the tent on Saturday morning, I was bathed in the golden glow of the forest around. The ground had a thick carpet of foliage; the trees were all decked up in their best colours; and beautiful leaves twirled around in the breeze. Kids had lots of fun jumping and rolling in piles of leaves and showering them over each other.

Since our son was still getting over the remains of his cold, we decided to take it easy this time. We spent a lot of time by the campfire and cooked the most delicious food: gnocchi with vegetables, veggie burgers, lentil stew, mushroom and barley soup, and roasted root vegetables (by some universal camping law food always tastes so much better on a camping trip).

We took bike rides through the forest and hit a couple of easy short trails: Swan Lake and Gut Lake. Both trails looked spectacular – smooth rocks, whispering marshes and gurgling brooks framed by interlaced green pines and multicoloured maples, birches and aspens. For more pictures of the beautiful fall forest, visit my Random Pix blog.

By another universal camping law, time always flies so much faster out in the woods. Before we knew it, it was time to go back home. On our way back, I enjoyed the beautiful fall landscape flashing by and started planning next year’s trips. Where should we go next?

Falling for Fall Camping

September 25, 2014September 28, 2015 / Oleksandra Budna / 1 Comment

Summer is officially over but it doesn’t mean you have to put your camping gear away. Fall has so much to offer that it will make you fall in love with camping all over again. Here are some reasons why we love fall camping so much:

View from the Crack, Killarney Provincial Park

Fall Colours

Well, it is an obvious one. Albert Camus once said that “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” I could use hundreds of words to describe the second spring and wouldn’t come even close to capturing the beauty that is a forest in the fall. It’s as if nature, in the face of impending monochromatic winter, splashes all its paints across the canvas.

Looking up, Canisbay Lake Campground, Algonquin Provincial Park

Feast for Senses

Fall is a feast not only for your eyes but all the other senses as well. Cool crispness of the morning, earthy smell of mushrooms, crunchy leaves under your feet, campfire smoke dancing in the sunlight, multicoloured foliage twirling in the wind. Fall air is filled with beauty and tranquility.

Dancing Light Mushroom Log

Rediscover Your Favourite Parks

It is a great opportunity to rediscover your favourite parks and see them in a new light, both literally and figuratively. With the beach weather gone, fall is a good time to try new activities that parks have to offer, explore new trails and locations.

Canoeists on Mazinaw Lake, Bon Echo Provincial Park

Mild Weather

Speaking of the weather, cooler temperatures make most camping activities, like hiking and biking, more pleasant and less sweat-inducing. Yes, the evenings are usually chilly but they make campfires even more inviting and conversations more sizzling. Plus a hearty stew tastes so much better on a chilly fall night by the fire!

Getting Wood at Killarney Biking at Lake St. Peter Provincial Park

Absence of Bugs

No bugs! To all those people who can’t go camping because of pesky mosquitoes and flies – fall is the time to try it.

Sun Rays Red Giant

Smaller Crowds

Finally, one of my personal favourites – fewer people. Parks tend to get overcrowded in the summer. As the number of park visitors subsides in the fall, I can finally find much needed solitude and refuge from the city buzz. As the nature starts slowing down preparing for the winter, I am inspired to do the same: breathe in deeply, exhale slowly, calm down my racing mind and listen to myself.

Autumn Reflections