Spring has definitely sprung!

What beautiful weather we have been having lately. Like the early ice-out this year, everything else seems to be about three weeks early. Trilliums are starting to flower, a few black flies have been spotted and the trout are biting, according to customer reports.

If you are planning a trip to Algonquin Park in the next few weeks, you should be prepared for black flies and possibly a few mosquitoes. In a recent newsletter from our friends at Black Feather, bug expert and Black Feather director Wendy Grater offers some great advice on dealing with bugs. Here it is:

IT'S BUG SEASON ... TIPS TO PROTECT YOUR HIDE
As the trilliums start to bloom and buds turn into leaves, the blackflies and mosquitos of the north woods start to make their return.  All mosquitos are not created equal.  Of Canada’s 74 species, some are extremely aggressive and annoying, others less so.  Aedes vexans, for example, is a small, in-your-face mosquito that comes out a week after a heavy rainfall, day or night.  Other species, such as Culex tarsalis, are less aggressive.  Sneaky but easily disturbed when biting, C. tarsalis will attack your ankles and backs of hands while you are not looking. Only the female mosquito feeds on blood, which is a vital source of protein for egg production.  The so-called ‘bite’ is actually a puncture by her proboscis.   

What is the best protection against this relentless little insect?  In Canada, a product can be registered as an insect repellent only if it provides greater than 95% protection for at least 30 minutes to an approximate area of an average human forearm.  If it meets this standard, Health Canada issues it a Pest Control Product number.  

a) DEET
Products based on a synthetic chemical that we know as DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide) offers long periods of protection.  The mosquito hones in on carbon dioxide, heat and lactic acid that we produce.  DEET has been used for the past 40 years and is the best protection against mosquitos.  Since the mid 1950’s, DEET has undergone extensive testing and billions of applications.  DEET is available in varying concentrations.  A 30% product would provide about 6 hours of protection, and is best for most adults.  There are guidelines for the use of insect repellents for children under the age of 12.  As a precaution, wash off insect repellent when you come indoors and do not use a DEET based repellent on your pets! 

b) Natural Remedies
There are a number of natural insect repellents, using such things as eucalyptus oil, citronella oil and soy bean oil.  The word ‘natural’ suggests a gentle, toxic-free method of protection, but the effectiveness of natural products still relies on chemical action.  Some plants are toxic and many used in repellents contain volatile plant oils.   Algonquin Outfitters note: many of these are quite effective but generally do not last as long as DEET-based products. Trial and error or expert advice are the way to go here. I personally find products containing tea tree oil and eucalyptus to be reasonably effective.

c) Homestyle Remedies  (ie:  Wendy’s tricks after 25 years in the wild!!)
There are several ‘home’ remedies:  ingesting foods high in sulphur, coating your skin with petroleum jelly, eating onions, eating garlic.  Its safe to say that the amount of garlic that you’d have to eat would leave you friendless long before you repelled any mosquitos.
Some personal things that you can do to minimize the amount of bugs around you:
- avoid wearing dark colours - these attract bugs
- avoid eating bananas
- keep cool - heat and sweat attract bugs
- don’t breathe!  - C02 attracts bugs!
- don’t use perfumed shampoos, soaps or makeup (try citronella-based shampoo & body washes)
- use bug jackets or at least head nets. Algonquin Outfitters note: these products are a physical barrier against bug bites. If you live and/or work in bug country, you definitely need a bug jacket. We carry a wide range and are big fans of the Original Bug Shirt.
- seal pant legs and sleeve cuffs to shut out insects
- impregnate a bandana with DEET or Citronella and tie around your neck
- sit (or stand) a minimum of 3 metres (10 feet) away from the next person.  Space allows air to circulate, decreases the amount of warmth and CO2 around you.

 Canoe tripping in bug season can be quite enjoyable if you are prepared to deal with our flying friends. You are guaranteed not to see many other people, that's for sure!

Wow! Ice out on Canoe Lake April 3!

Boy, you take a few days off to get knee surgery and the world just keeps moving along. While I was sitting on my deck recuperating after ACL reconstruction on April 1, the combined effects of sun, wind and rain were working away in Algonquin Park. Fortunately, the intrepid reporters at Canoe Lake Ice Out Headquarters are on the job:

Wow!

It looks like the ice went off Canoe Lake last night before midnight which makes it Saturday, April 3rd, 2010 and blows away the previous record of April 14th set in 1953.

Two of my official field correspondents, Hugh Statten and Charlie Plant, reported that it was "blowing like mad and raining" yesterday afternoon, and the ice was already off Smoke and Joe Lakes and was going out on Canoe Lake as they watched. It was pretty much all gone by 10:00 pm last night and I received confirmation from Charlie at 8:00 AM this morning:

"It is official. The ice is gone. In case there are any doubters I will get an official portrait done today of Hugh Statten, dressed in his chiefly robes and holding a copy of yesterday's Globe in front of the vast expanse of water that is now Canoe Lake."

Another record was set this year in that no one chose April 3rd as the ice out date and so we have no winner. But I am happy to give credit for being closest to John and Sandy Churchill who picked today, April 4th, and also to Doug Yandala who said "Early this year...April 1st...no joke!" (I hadn't even had time to update system to include  dates before April 6th -- so you don't see them on the predicitons!)

Stay tuned to the web site for more info over the next couple of days.

We have no reports on Opeongo or other interior lakes yet but will update this bog as soon as we do. The satellite images from the last few days are too cloudy to garner any useful information.

Your faithful blogger pondering icing his knee rather than ice on the lakes

Yes, the lakes are still frozen

Acoustic music legend John Hartford sang this about the Mississippi River: "it's too thick to navigate, it's too thin to plow." Lakes in Algonquin Park are in a similar state at the moment.  Despite the fantastic weather forecast, don't plan on canoeing in Algonquin Park this weekend. While there is some open water around the edges and few ponds are open, all lakes are shore-to-shore ice.

The good news is that most of the snow is gone, the woods are dry and open, there are NO bugs and it will be a beautiful weekend for exploring Algonquin Park on foot. The day hiking trails and backpacking trails accessible off Hwy 60 give access to some spectacular scenery and the pleasant temperatures will make for glorious walking conditions.

 Don't believe me? Here's a clip from satellite imagery taken March 30. 

Lake Opeongo is just right and up from centre. Lake of Bays is the 

big, mostly ice-covered, lake in the lower left corner.

The satellite image above shows some interesting things. Clearly, all major lakes in Algonquin Park are frozen. Lakes in Haliburton County, well to the south, are still frozen (look at Redstone Lake and Haliburton Lake in the lower right). This image is "true colour," so I assume that the whitish stuff is snow remaining at higher elevations (then again, it could be unmelted frost). Note that the image is not oriented like a map and the "north-south" is roughly diagonal from upper left to lower right. To the left of Lake of Bays, you can see that Fairy, Peninsula and Mary lakes are open and Vernon has a big pan of ice floating around. In my experience, when the big lakes near Huntsville (like Fairy, Peninsula and Vernon) open up, Lake of Bays follows about a week later, Oxtongue Lake goes  three or four days after that and Algonquin Park lakes follow in another week or so. If that pattern holds up this year, ice out in Algonquin Park is at least two weeks away, if not longer (in my humble opinion).

Opeongo is going to Opeongo this summer!

We like getting emails from customers and friends telling us about heir adventures and what Algonquin Park means to them. This is a great one:

Hi,

My name is Jessica H----. I met a colleague of yours at the Outdoor Adventure Show in Toronto. He said that I should email you as he enjoyed my puppy. I have attached a picture of my puppy, a border collie, lab, german shepherd mix. I named her Opeongo. I named her Opeongo after Opeongo Rd and lake. I have been coming to Algonquin Park since I was a young child. I first learned to canoe and kayak on Lake Opeongo. I have also been fortunate enough to see a moose rut take place off of Opeongo Rd., feed my first gray jay, see my first wolf and learn to love the wild world around me. It is because my parents took me there as a child that I went on to become a biologist and an avid outdoors-woman. I hope that my new puppy will become a dog that I will be able to take traveling with me in Algonquin Park. This summer I will be bringing Opeongo to Algonquin Park to hike and camp with and also to show her the lake that I named her after. My favorite dog and my favorite park!
Take care,
Jessica

Winter's last gasp?

The recent span of sunny warm weather has got many people thinking that spring has sprung. Most of the snow has disappeared, I've seen people in shorts, we've had calls and emails from folks thinking they would be going on a canoe trip this weekend and robins have been sighted in Huntsville. On top of that, the big lakes in Huntsville area, like Fairy and Peninsula, will likely be ice-free by the end of this week. Before you get too excited, take a look at today's weather forecast:

Things will be firming up a bit for the weekend! Now take a look at some pictures of Oxtongue Lake, taken this morning. I would estimate that the ice here is eight to ten inches thick and quite solid. Pounding with my foot, I could not break up the edge of ice by the dock.

A little open water where Outfitter Creek flows into Oxtongue Lake

Utah checks out the Quinzee - not even suitable for a dog house!

Even the open water was iced over this morning. 

Where is a dog to get a drink?