The Trip!
If you didn’t get a chance to read part 1, you can find it here: Part 1: Prep Work.
Now on to the actual trip. (This part will have more pictures than writing, I promise)
Friday, around 4:30 pm myself and Hayden got on the highway on route to Frontenac Provincial Park. The rain was splattering a little on us, but the weather in Frontenac was clear (according to the weather network). As we got closer to Deseronto, traffic came to a stop. We were not moving very fast. Great. What now? All speculation soon came reality as we passed an accident on the off ramp into Deseronto. Ok, full steam ahead! Then the rain, rain, rain. Awesome. Great. Sh%t. Would I have to turn around and not continue? NO! I was not letting this get to me. I knew the weather was nicer at our destination. We had to stop in Napanee to get some supper and we watched the rain fall even harder through the windows of the restaurant. We continued further on the road and as soon as we turned up HWY 6 from Odessa the weather cleared. I couldn’t see blue skies, but the rain had stopped and it looked like it was just staying close to the 401. Phew. This was a relief. The rest of the trip to the park office went great.
On arrival, we checked in, got our park pass, stopped at the sign for a quick picture before heading to the parking lot at the Kingsford Dam.
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| Your typical park shot? |
If you have ever visited Frontenac, you know that the road is like a roller coaster. Lots of ups and downs, twists and turns, and hills that make your stomach jump. It was a fun drive to the parking lot. Once we got parked, bags on, we were off!
It only took us less than 15 minutes to reach our site, and we were presented with a beautiful calm lake and a private beach. There was nobody around, and the other 3 sites were empty. I had to take a picture before we even walked up the hill to the actual site. This lake was calling me to go canoeing, but alas, that will have to wait for another trip.
Once on site, it was time to get camp set up. One nice thing about Frontenac PP right now is that each site is equipped with a food storage bin. No more looking for that perfect branch to hang your food!
We got the tent and our sleeping equipment all ready, then headed out to collect firewood. Hayden is actually a really good firewood collector, and he even loves trying to start the fire. He is trying to use the fire starter that we received during the Outdoor Adventure Show in Toronto this year. It took him lots of strikes with my flint, but couldn’t get the spark to hit the right spot. I had to take over, but he will get it one time soon with practice. I must say, this fire starter was awesome.
He also keeps the fire going by adding more and more wood. Sometimes a little too much and I have to remind him that it’s enough and wait for it to burn more. This allows for some play time with burning sticks. Don’t worry, he is carefully watched and I warn him about playing with fire, but you do have to have fun right?
By the time we completed all these tasks, it was well into the evening, and we sat to enjoy the fire, and maybe write our names with fire sticks :O
I didn’t have the best sleep, and was up every 2 hours tossing and turning. I find the first night of camping goes like this and would love to know how to get a good sleep that first night. Hayden woke up at 4:14 am saying “I’m up and awake now”. I gawked and said, “no, it’s 4:14 am, go back to sleep”. I have no idea if he did, but it was almost 6 am when he got up to use the bathroom and I guess that means we are up for the day. I stayed in bed for a little bit longer and he read his Chickadee magazine that I hid in his bag as a surprise for the morning. Good thing too because he read it and I got an extra few minutes of sleep.
Once I was up and heading to the bathroom. While in the bathroom I heard the footsteps coming down the path. Then I get this view….
Just like some creepy horror movie! Next thing you get eaten alive, or chopped up LOL. Hayden thought it was funny since he couldn’t see me, but I was telling him I can see him. He spent a few minutes making different hand signals on the door before I was done!
On our walk back to get breakfast, we stopped to stare at the lake, again, and Hayden spotted a blue heron. I just barely got a picture of it as it soared in front of us.
Breakfast was the usual, oatmeal and hot drinks. I even got to try out my new MSR Trillium Stove Base. This was a suggestion from the Passionate Paddler, and it worked great! No more worrying about if my stove is going to tip over on the picnic table or the ground.
I just love having my morning tea with a view!
Some morning shenanigans as well!
l decided to pull out the map and get Hayden to pick where he wanted to go hiking. We decided on a little section of the Tetsmine loop that lead us to the portage into Clearwater Lake. It was a nice hour long round trip. We saw some cool things like these huge lichens on a rock face, wood bridges over water ways, lots of dragon flies, and numerous birds and mosquitoes. I must say, there wasn’t as many bugs as I thought there would be on this section.
On our return to the site, Hayden really wanted to go swimming. I wasn’t so sure about this, as I know the water was going to be cold. I gave in and we started to get ready. This was when the black flies showed up. Mosquitoes I can deal with, but these black flies were all over my head and face. I DO NOT LIKE THIS! I got changed as quickly as I could, and this part I was not wanting to see. There was a TICK, yes a TICK on my pants! I brushed it off quickly, not getting a picture, and then had Hayden check himself and my back, his back, etc, etc. Luckily there wasn’t any attached to us. Blarg! This is the one thing I really do not want to see more of. Ok, back to the swimming… We went to our private beach and Hayden stepped into the water and stopped. He was assessing how to get past the numerous dead leaves in the water to get out to the sand. He really didn’t move, so I asked him was it cold? Did he really want to go swimming? HA, he backed up and said, it’s too cold. I figured. On that note, we headed back up to the site, got changed and started to pack things away and get ready to leave.
In no time at all, we were back out to the dam, took a final picture and said farewell to Frontenac.
I am amazed at how well he did, and I can’t wait to do more of these trips with him. We have a long summer ahead of us, and with my hubby working during the week, there will be lots of opportunities for a little mom/son time.
Thanks for reading, and I’m sure there will be more of these to come in the future 🙂
Sue,It's so great to read about your trip. Another blog to add to the feed reader.Sounds like you had a great time. What a great spot for an introductory trip for your son. I often forget about the access to Frontenac from the Kingsford dam. What a great accomplishment for you and your son. I'm glad you just decided to go for it. I think I too would have had a hard time without a canoe, but I guess that's how you find other interesting things to do.I can't wait to read about your next adventure. Keep us posted.