Hiking,Bruce,Peninsula,Normal, travel,insurance Hiking Bruce Peninsula
Torres del Paine is among the biggest of Chiles national parks, occupying almost 600,000 acres (242,000 ha) of land in the south on the border with Argentina. It is also among the most important, receiving a significant proportion of domes Like any American, traveling occasionally is just what I love doing and I bet you share the same stuff with me. But traveling does not mean that you would be safe. Escaping from our job and other stressful activities is just something that w
Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-priority:99;mso-style-qformat:yes;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;mso-para-margin-top:0in;mso-para-margin-right:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;mso-para-margin-left:0in;line-height:115%;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}We decided to spend Labor weekend at Bruce Peninsula, famousfor its crystal clear water, ancient stone plates and rocks, pebble beach andchallenging hiking trails. Our initial thought was to stay at Cyprus Lake orprivate campground, or in worst case scenario at the motel. But all sites androoms were booked. It was possible to get a regular motel room for $173 pernight, but we thought it is too pricey.And then we were lucky enough to book so called backcountrycampsite. There are only 18 sites like these offered by Bruce PeninsulaNational Park. These sites can be only accessed by feet through moderatedifficulty hike trails and donthave electricity, therefore are not popular among regular tourists. They offertrue wilderness experience. And unbelievably 3 sites out of 18 were stillavailable two days prior one of the most popular long weekends in Canada!Of course, such camping requires some fitness and specialequipment, but I already collected all camping items over last 8 years ofcamping. Some important items for two-day backcountry camping are: hikingboots, large backpacks (75-85 liters), light-weight tent (I love my $400 MSRMutha Hubba tent), small gas stove, light-weight sleeping bags and sleepingpads. Also you need to take proper amount of food to last at least 5 servings,as the calories burn fast.So, after one day of preparation, we left Toronto on earlySaturday morning to get to Cyprus Lake Park around 10 am. It took us 4 hours toget there. At Cyprus Lake you pay the fees and register your vehicle forovernight parking.Bruce Peninsula has 2 backcountry campgrounds called HighDump and Stormhaven.There are four main access points: from the south it is north end of Crane Lakeroad (Highway 6 -> Dyers Bay -> Crane Lake), in the middle we haveHalfway Log Dump that is the end of Emmett Lake Rd and Cyprus Lake; and you canaccess the trail from the north at the end of Little Cove Rd.Ideally, you can spend 3 days of hiking starting from CraneLake to High Dump on the first day (8km), then, hiking 12km to Stormhaven onthe second day finishing in Tobermory on the third day with 20 km hike. Butsince we had only 2 days, we decided to hike from Cyprus Lake to Stormhaven andthen hike back on the second day. The backcountry campsite costs around $30 pernight plus you pay $12 for each night of parking.Initially we hiked from Cyprus Lake to Grotto. Grotto is themost popular attraction for all Cyprus Lake campers (hundreds of them), so dontexpect any privacy or piece there on the long weekend. In a summer weekend itreminds a zoo. But once you get away from the Cyprus Lake trail, it is gettingvery quiet and wild. We met only few people during our 1.5 hour hike.The water is very clear therefore it does not get warm evenby the end of the summer. I would assume it was around 15 degrees Celsius, butit was completely worth getting through the chill due to the amazing snorkelingin the blue wonderland.The hike trails gives very good variety of shore line, steeprocks and deep woods. It is marked with very visible white marks that are hardto miss. By the way, the trail is part of the larger Bruce Peninsula trail thatis 863 km long and connects Niagara Falls with Tobermory.Once we arrived to the site, we were impressed with thequality of campsites. Campsites had wood platform for the tent, special ropesfor storing the food away from bears and very fancy composting bathroom thatuses sawdust.Because of few campsites, the community of campers is verysmall and cozy. It consists of hikers and kayakers and most of them are veryexperienced travelers with many interesting stories to share. The sunset wasbreathtaking. In the morning we had our breakfast prepared on gas stove (openfires are prohibited), packed backpacks and hiked back from this smallparadise.There are a lot of great rental cottages atBruce Peninsula and hiking the Bruce Trail can be great one day adventure.
Hiking,Bruce,Peninsula,Normal,