Rendezvous with Ramona, Clara, Maggie

Trekking diary: Algonquin National Park, Canada

17 July, 1995, 7.15 pm, Ramona Lake

Dear Amar,

Here I am in Algonquin National Park on the 1st day of a five-day trek, sitting on a cold, but dry, stone at a very nice “campsite.” It has an open, stone hearth, two metal, grill tables, two roughly wrought wooden benches and a marvellous lake view. Our tent is pitched close at hand; our clothes are drying on a line. We have a dying fire, which “O” has kept going pretty much since we got here at 1 pm. And which we used to dry our shoes on.

Have now changed my perch to a tree stump covered with raincoat, closer to the lake, partly to get away from the smoke. Our food is in a plastic bag, which is hanging from a tree. This is because bears and racoons try and get at the camper’s food at night. We’ve already had a food thief. While we were napping this afternoon, a chipmunk (like a squirrel but smaller, very cute with white and chestnut stripes) tried to get at our food bag! O chased it away and finally killed it; so persistent was it on getting our food. This is a tragedy of sorts. Two chipmunks had been running around our campsite totally fearless, all afternoon.

We walked about 8 km today – our shortest walk on this trek. But since we were partying last night it made sense to do less. (I finally organised a Holi Party where we actually played Holi! I had been waiting to hand in my thesis, and for summer to set in properly, to celebrate.)

The terrain on which we walked today was somewhat reminiscent of the Western Ghats [India] – up and down, though the trail is somewhat broader here. It has been raining and that’s what made it so Ghat-ish. It reminded me of the monsoon hikes we used to go on when I was at college. It’s definitely cooler here now than the Ghats are during the monsoons. We had four uphill climbs the steepest of which we named Rani. (O’s suggestion was Raja!) The steepest hills here are about 1700 ft. above sea level, which makes them, lower than the Western Ghats, but this is still quite hilly by Ontario standards. This is a mostly flat province.

It was a pretty manageable walk with a 25-30 pound load that I have (I am carrying all the food, plus my sleeping bag and very minimal clothes). O’s weight, with the tent, is nearly double.

Ramona Lake was beautifully misty when we arrived here. The rain stopped in the afternoon but the sky’s still grey. The lakes in Canada are gorgeous. The water is clear. The shore is lined with shapely, tall, coniferous trees, which are sharply reflected in the lake. The effect is peaceful and harmonious.

We passed numerous streams on the way. The trail was quite wet and muddy. Our first `wildlife’ sighting a hare – was spotted in the parking lot inside the Park, from where we began our walk. The unexpected treat was seeing Moose – not one, but two, grazing and drinking along the lake. These animals that look like a mixture of a cow, horse and deer are pretty large. Right now the male moose has what looks like four short horns. These will develop into spectacular antlers later in the year and will be used for aggressive combat between males, during mating season.

First we saw a small Moose, then a larger one. One of them came around from the opposite side of the lake, very close to our campsite. It must have seen/smelt us.

It’s been a wonderful day except that “O” cremated the chipmunk in our fire, against my wishes!

Noticed lots of lovely shapes, colours, patterns in the forest while walking – nature’s unique and unifying artistry!

19 July, Clara Lake

The sign for this lake is starring me in the face as I sit, gazing at the tranquil lake – home of at least the 2 loons we saw and heard since we got here. These interesting, large birds grace the Canadian $ coin (hence the Loonie!) and have many haunting calls. I just love loons who can perform amazing feats like dive 300 ft deep!

I couldn’t write yesterday. It was a tough day with rain, rain and more rain. Amplified the impression of being in the Ghats. Also brought to mind a very rainy hike in Thailand. Our bags are water resistant but not waterproof, so we had to shelter under clumps of trees during the downpours. We had just enough sunshine on arriving at our campsite at West Otter’s Paw, at about 5 pm, to dry our clothes and somewhat damp sleeping bags. It was a large, spacious campsite full of kindling – O’s a fire freak and gets one going soon after getting to camp!

But before we could make dinner there was a downpour. We piled everything into the tent and called it an early night. We munched on mixed nuts. We had had time to take a quick bath in the lake and discovered leeches between O’s toes! It freaked him out completely! I took charge and removed them, then checked my own feet. These leeches (I don’t know if there are many species) are tiny, black wriggly things except for the Mother leech who was about the size of a small coin. She was completely flat and dead looking.

We covered a distance of 16 k – twice what we’d done on day 1. The last part of this hike, from Rainbow Lake to West Otter’s Paw, was full of steep climbs and plunging descents. But the terrain was pretty. The effects of the long hike were evident today. I was exhausted after a much shorter walk, which took us through a lot of waterlogged terrain – both tiring and tiresome because you have to be mindful of every step you take. There were also fallen trees everywhere. The Park management sends a team to cut a path through these, from time to time.

As we were trying to cross a marshy area I caught my foot, ankle-deep in a bog! The mud gripped it hard and I couldn’t budge it. I sat there laughing because it’s always funny to fall (particularly if you haven’t hurt yourself). I might have been able to extricate my foot but not the shoe. O had to carry my bag across and then come back to pull my foot out by hand! The drill team arrived just as I landed in the bog. So we had help if need be. The sound of the drill and the seaplane are the only mechanical sounds you hear in the bush.

Today, at a small lake called Cashel, we saw another Moose. It seemed as unconcerned about human presence as had the other two. This Moose and the two Loons at Clara Lake are permanent residents here, more or less. O recalls coming upon them on earlier hikes through this terrain.

Clara Lake is a beautiful spot with a large rock outcrop and a river gushing by. The sound of running water is a constant here. I sat on the rocks, looking at the reflection of an interesting cloud pattern in the lake, for a long time. Also had the time to look at the river and a few species of small wildflowers that grew around here. Started reading `Watermark,’ about Venice, by Joseph Brodsky, a noble-prize winning poet. Rather pretentious, with enjoyable parts. (I brought it because it was the lightest book I had!)

This was our sunniest day. I was exhausted through it all till I took a nap in the late afternoon. There were neither people at this campsite nor the last one. We do meet trekkers on way and always stop to chat. The talk centres typically on where they’ve/ we’ve been on the trek/ how was it/ how many days are we/ they hiking and where we’re all from. The weather is of course discussed. The people we meet are friendly, but the interaction seems limited to these topics.

Discovering claustrophobia

On the first night I woke up screaming (I have no clear recollection because I was groggy) and made for the tent door, zipping it open. O panicked thinking it was a bear attack! I had been dreaming that the tent had collapsed around us. I had gone to sleep thinking how confined the space in the tent was. Waking to inky darkness confirmed my dream and so I made for the door!
What it all boils down to is that my claustrophobia (fear of confined, closed places/ spaces, apparently mom and grandma had it too) was acting up. Though I had slept in a tent, in the USA, not so long ago and not felt claustrophobic then. My friend Gill’s tent, which we’ve borrowed, is excellent – light, waterproof – but it’s small and has a low roof. The tent is bad enough by itself for claustrophobics, but it’s covered in a non-transparent plastic top sheet, which keeps the rain out, but worsens the claustrophobia!

I have started sleeping with my head near the door, the top sheet thrown back. I wake up a couple of times during the night to see the reassuring outline of trees against sky and fall asleep again. At times I fidget with the tent opening. I manage to sleep very well despite the claustrophobia, but my fidgeting keeps O awake!

Leeches, bogs, and claustrophobia – we’ve seen it all in just two days!

Food on the trek

Breakfast: flavoured pop corn cakes, tea
Mid morning snack: granola bars and/or the nut mix. Possibly herb tea
Lunch: dehydrated soups, perhaps noodles
Dinner: the most variable meal. Noodles/ rice/ couscous with peanut butter sauce.
O produced two toffees on the first day and some X-mas candy, which I stretched over the next two days. I ate a spoonful of sugar a couple of times, to appease my sweet tooth.
The food tastes divine, though we wouldn’t eat any of this in the city, save the nut mix.

20 July, Maggie Lake

This is a very large lake with a very small island, with White Pine, other tree species and rocks, at the centre. The wild looking White Pine, much painted by Canadian landscape artists, is my favourite tree here. Maggie is a popular camp, being on the smaller 32 k loop, which is often attempted by weekend trekkers. There are two other loops. The one we’re doing is 53 K and the longest is something like 78 k.

Our campsite is large, with a rocky outlook at the edge of the lake, which descends gradually into the water. The rock is pinkish with some lichen on it. It’s great to sit here and read and write. There’s a nice, wooded area on one side. There seem to be a lot of seagulls around and they’ve been cawing away. A bird we’ve heard a lot throughout this trip is the fever bird. By the way, every campsite has a pit toilet. This is North America – god forbid that you defecate in the open!

We had sun again today after we got here. The day started out wet and miserable. We packed up our tent in the rain, this morning. The soggy tent made O’s load really heavy. Walked through a lot of waterlogged terrain again. Beginning to get sick of it. A tough hike overall with 3-4 `killer’ hills. Part of the walk went through a pretty valley. We encountered lots of fallen trees again. I was much less tired today. The sun really helps; the rain and slush starts to get depressing.

O said that last night we had a chipmunk running over our tent because we hadn’t put the nut mix away in our tree bag! I slept through it all as usual. O is also a rain watcher and hears it minutes before it descends. A useful thing, that.

We identified this campsite because of a pair of boots at the entrance. An army chap we’d met earlier today had recommended it to us. In all there are some half a dozen sites at Maggie. We burnt the boots in our fire.

We saw a raccoon earlier today. These aggressive, rat-like animals are found in the city as well. But the ones in the wild seem much larger. We had a visitor who told us that two bears – mother and cub – had been spotted earlier today. They are not uncommon at this camp. I have mixed feelings about encountering a bear face to face though I’d like to see one from a distance! The way to drive bears and raccoons away is to make a din. We wear whistles around our necks at all times (except when sleeping.) These should help in the noise-making department! O pointed out the bony remains of a Moose by the trail. It must have died in winter. We see Moose poop on the side of the trail quite often. Looks like small, black eggs – such symmetry! We have also spotted Moose, deer and possibly bear paw marks.

25 July, Toronto

The trek was an intense experience. It’s taken me quite long to “emerge” from it. I still feel `different’ days after our return. Tiredness set in on the last day and the various little tender spots on my feet started to act up all together, causing me to limp for the last half hour! We stopped at two streams on way. It was our first sunny day and the walk felt hot.

We met lots of people going in, as it was Friday. On emerging out of the woods we bathed in the cool stream, under a bridge. Then we got into the car.

It was weird moving at that speed (100-120 kmph on the highway) when we had managed to cover just 53 k in five days! We ate pizza at an Italian restaurant, which felt very quite heavy. It felt funny even opening the door, as I had not seen a building for 4 days! The pizza we ate was as much food as we’d have eaten during a whole day in the forest. We also stopped for ice cream.

The ATM concept seemed weird too as we hadn’t used any money on the trek. (We’d paid $4.25 per night, camping charges before setting out.)

The real culture shock set in, in Toronto. The buildings seemed terribly closely packed. The place seemed overcrowded, shabby and ugly! I have never thought of Toronto in that way before. On the subway, the next day, I felt uncomfortable because so many eyes turned to me when I entered the compartment. There were shiny surfaces everyone, and mirrors! I hadn’t seen my face for 4 days!

At first I didn’t want to answer the phone though I was glad to see my neighbourhood and my home. I would’ve liked to have stayed on in the bush longer, thought I had started getting tired of walking in the slush.

Have been somewhat slowed down since my return, though I feel I am getting back into city groove fast enough. Want to try and walk every day. O’s been running every morning!

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