December 2018

Mew Lake Winter Camping with The Outdoor Kind – 113018-120218

By |2018-12-11T18:34:21-05:00December 11th, 2018|Categories: Adventure, Algonquin, Algonquin Park, camping, campsite, Canada, carcamping, cold camp, cold camping, Exploring, hike, Hiking, hiking trails, hot tent, Mew Lake, Ontario, ontario parks, Outdoors, scenery, scenic, snowshoe trails, snowshoeing, waterfalls, winter, winter camping|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I have been chatting with an awesome guy online since November 2017, John Van Barriger from The Outdoor Kind.  We connected through social media due to mutual friends and similar interests and I have always thought what John does is really cool! After chatting for a year, I finally got to meet John at the Ontario Winter Camping Symposium.  He drove all the way from Wisconsin to attend the show and meet a bunch of [...]

October 2018

Hardy Lake – Virtual Fall Colors Hike in Muskoka

By |2018-10-30T16:57:09-04:00October 30th, 2018|Categories: Adventure, Canada, edibles, Exploring, fall, fallcolours, foraging, hike, Hikers, Hiking, hiking trails, leaves, Muskoka, muskoka trails, Nature, nature trails, Ontario, Outdoors, virtual, virtual hike|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Hardy Lake is a beautiful place to go for a hike and I am grateful that it is one of the parks that is very close to where I live. On Wednesday, October 10th, after I finished work, I headed over to the trails to get some videos and pictures of the fall colours before it was too late. The weekend before I had spent canoeing in Temagami and although the area is extremely beautiful, [...]

August 2018

Little Blackstone Lake – The Massasauga – 081118-081218 – Recovery & Rest

By |2018-08-28T14:45:48-04:00August 28th, 2018|Categories: Adventure, algonquin highlands, alone, animals, backcountry, backcountry camping, camping, camping food, campsite, canoe, canoeing, Exploring, great blue heron, Massassauga, Nature, Ontario, ontario parks, outdoor products, Outdoors, paddling, Provincial Park, solo trip|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Every time I look at a calendar, I feel a sense of panic.  It's AUGUST! It's August and one of my two most favorite months of the year to camp, September being the most favorite.  I need to go,  go go and I can't stop.  I have to get out. That is what I hear, constantly in my head.  Not only is it August, but I missed 5 months of camping due to 2 concussions [...]

May 2018

Wye River – Attack of the Killer Swans!

By |2018-05-31T09:40:33-04:00May 15th, 2018|Categories: Adventure, alone, animals, birding, birds, bridge, Canada, day trip, Exploring, kayak, Kayaking, Nature, Ontario, Outdoors, paddle, paddling, River, tangii|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

It has been a very long time since I paddled and I had been anxious to get out, but the ice wasn't cooperating or getting off the lakes.  It seemed like forever and finally, the first Wednesday in May,  the ice went out in Muskoka.  I was so happy and my mind began doing that thing it does, planning an adventure and figuring out the where, when, how, etc. Last year I visited Wye Marsh [...]

Humphrey Nature Trails – A Beautiful Place to Hike

By |2018-05-31T09:49:46-04:00May 8th, 2018|Categories: Adventure, alone, Canada, Exploring, hike, Hikers, Hiking, hiking trails, hikingtrails, humphrey, ice, Nature, nature trails, Ontario, Ontario Trails, Outdoors, scenery, scenic, seguin, Trails, Up north, walking, walks|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The other day, while visiting with my friend Sam for dinner, she told me about some trails nearby.  The trails are called the Humphrey Nature Trails and they were literally around the corner from where we had dinner at Whatta Pizza.  I was very glad she showed me where the actual trail head was, because it was hidden behind the fire station.  I decided I would come back and explore the trails on the following [...]

Making Maple Candy – Eventually

By |2018-05-31T09:50:52-04:00May 1st, 2018|Categories: Adventure, Canada, cooking, DIY, edibles, education, Exploring, homemade, ice, inspiration, learning, maple, maple sap, maple syrup, maple trees, Muskoka, Nature, Ontario, outdoor products, outdoorproducts, recipes, teach, teaching, Uncategorized, Up north|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

When I finally finished making my maple syrup I was incredibly proud. I was also really happy, that it was over.  It was a very very long process as far as the boiling went and I know that was due to my inadequate heat source but it didn't make it any less long. I was about to close the book/blog/video on the whole maple syrup series, until a friend, Terry Thomas commented on my facebook [...]

April 2018

Making Maple Syrup for Dummies – From Sap to Syrup – Part 2

By |2018-05-31T09:56:02-04:00April 24th, 2018|Categories: Canada, DIY, edibles, education, enthusiasm, Exploring, food, homemade, inspiration, maple, maple sap, maple syrup, maple trees, Muskoka, Nature, Ontario, outdoor products, Outdoors, teach, teaching, Up north|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

This post is Part 2 of Making Maple Syrup, to see Part 1, click here.   After 13 days of collecting sap, I was ready to try and turn it into maple syrup.  Please see Part 1 for the collecting maple sap blog post. I had a few buckets that were still frozen solid or had a big chunk of ice in them, so I got out the big pot, filtered the sap that was in [...]

Making Maple Syrup For Dummies, Like Me – Part 1

By |2018-05-31T09:57:51-04:00April 17th, 2018|Categories: Adventure, Canada, cooking, DIY, edibles, education, Exploring, homemade, ice, inspiration, learning, maple, maple sap, maple syrup, maple trees, Muskoka, Nature, Ontario, outdoor products, Outdoors, recipes, teach, teaching, Up north|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

I have always been curious about how maple syrup is made.  Every year around this time, my boss says, you should make maple syrup and blog about it, but I have always been too busy out on trips and hikes and exploring to give it a go. I guess I should therefore thank my concussion for this years test run.  I have been unfortunately spending a lot of time at home and as the trees [...]

Hunters Bay Trail – Hiking with Eileen – 032418

By |2018-04-03T06:00:29-04:00April 3rd, 2018|Categories: Adventure, Canada, enthusiasm, Exploring, hike, Hikers, Hiking, hiking trails, Huntsville, Muskoka, muskoka trails, Nature, Ontario, Ontario Trails, Outdoors, scenery, scenic, Uncategorized, Up north, walking, walks, winter, women, womens event|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

In June, 2017, I was invited to participate in the Women on Water event.  It was a wonderful event and during my time there, I met a lovely lady named Eileen. Eileen was there by herself and I went over to introduce myself and talk to her a bit about her pink hair. She had put it in for the weekend to show she was a wild woman and I thought it was very cool, [...]

March 2018

Algonquin Logging Museum – A Cool Place to Visit In Winter

By |2018-05-31T10:19:57-04:00March 27th, 2018|Categories: Adventure, Algonquin, Algonquin Park, Algonquin Provincial Park, Canada, day trip, Exploring, family day weekend, hike, Hikers, Hiking, hiking trails, hikingtrails, Mew Lake, Nature, Ontario, ontario parks, Outdoors, Provincial Park, scenery, scenic, sightseeing, walking, walks, winter|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Have you ever been to he Algonquin Logging Museum Trail? Up until last February, I had never been there and was quite surprised there was a trail in the Park, that I didn't know about. Of course, had to rectify that quickly. The trail starts off around the side of the actual logging museum, which isn't open in the winter, unlike the trail. Some of the trees are marked with that types they are, which [...]

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