There was a time when I thought anything more than a two-hour drive was just too far, meaning I would never visit Algonquin Provincial Park. Algonquin is an enormous park that is impossible to miss on the map. It is actually larger than some countries. A highway bisects the southern portion, and many hiking trails and campgrounds can be found in this section. The northern portion has these features with a more remote and rugged feel.
My life and my health began to improve. A two-hour drive was nothing, and we have now ventured from Alaska to Nova Scotia and as far south as Georgia. We even drove 13 hours to visit a waterfall that someone tagged us in. Algonquin was now within reach. I devised a weekend trip to this beautiful section of the province. Plus, it was all the more enhanced during the autumn.
The Province of Ontario has this incredible webpage that is updated frequently during the fall colour season. I was able to predict peak colours for the Algonquin region and set a camping trip plan in motion.
On the day we started this trek into the largest provincial park, we were impressed with the sights. It was going to be a perfect weekend. Then the night came, and we had the fright of our lives when an amorous fox passed our tent.
We hiked as many of the easier trails along the highway as possible. Like many natural areas, Algonquin has trails ranging from easy to epic in length, and there are information panels to read along the way. The funniest was Whiskey Rapids, which made the journey to an otherwise minor waterfall/rapid worth it. Each trail is designed to highlight one feature or another in the location.
We then visited Spruce Bog Broadwalk. Algonquin impressed us with the variety of plants, trails, and scenery. It was quite apparent that this region was set aside because of its beauty and volume of diversity. We started our walk along this pathway that led us around a bog. We dutifully stopped at each station, read what was displayed, admired the view, looked for various features and continued to the next.
We strolled to the site pictured. It is a bog, and like the other stops, there is a panel that Charlene starts to read. I listened to what she said, took it all in, and took pictures. I spot something in the bog that grabs my attention. I wanted a closer look. Charlene sees me moving forward. Her voice became a high-pitched screech when my foot stepped off the boardwalk and onto the bog. As soon as I felt the bog, I immediately retreated. Charlene’s voice is loud enough for anyone within a mile would be able to hear her continuing to read the panel.
My wife was at the part of the information panel that described how animals sometimes cross a bog, very much like this bog, and fall through the top layer, which is only floating. These wayward animals, like her wayward husband, would be pulled into the bog, drown, and be preserved in the oxygen-poor water.
She stopped reading.
There was nothing more on that information panel to read.
She stared at me.
I meekly stared back at her.
And just like any husband who does something potentially as stupid as drowning in a bog, I got an earful from my wife.
We were only partway through this trail, and with the potential of more pitfalls and perils, Charlene was having nothing of my curiosity. Thankfully, the rest of our touring this weekend was on more solid ground, and we enjoyed the fall colours in a place we both had once considered too far away.
I was, and still am, glad to have my wife look out for me.
- Be sure to pay admission when entering this park. This helps maintain the trails.
- Find this location, and many others, on my favourite map, All The Places We Have Been To.
- This trail is recommended for married couples. It is essential to have your wife nearby to pull you out of danger.
