BrettDez
Overland Explorer
Niagara Overland's Bobcaygeon Fall Expedition - 60+ Miles of Trail
There were only 3 of us trekking out into the wilderness this time. It was a good trio though as we met up in Niagara falls, NY to begin our trip on Friday. We then hit the road straight for the border, with only a short wait and a friendly canadian border agent, we started our highway trek past Toronto on to the trailhead, our final destination. We stopped for gas in the town of Bobcaygeon, picked up a snack or two, and bought many sacks of wood. At the gas station rumors were abound of crazy cold temperatures and even the potential for heavy snow. I wasn't expecting to need it, but we also filled 2 Rotopax Fuel Packs mounted on my tire carrier just in case.
We arrived at the trailhead with plenty of daylight left in the day. We begun airing down our tires for the trek ahead. We expected to cover between 50 to 70 miles of trail. We started out our trek with a relatively easy stock-level trail, alot of water and mud. The forest was releasing leaves all over fully into the Fall Season. Colors of orange, red, and yellow leaves covered everywhere!
We reached the concession lake trail and continued to power through some of the heavier water and mud we encountered along the way. We stopped along a lake as well to take in the view, take a short break from driving, and finalize our route plan for the evening before we stop to make camp along the trail. We decide to take a loop around the trails that we have maps for in our immediate vicinity and expect this to take another 2 to 3 hours before we stop for camp.
The sunlight started fading and we made it to our planned stop for the night along a lake just before total darkness had started to creep in. We raised the American Flag at our camp and proceeded to light up our charcoal grill and start a fire. The temperatures were already dropping steadily. We didn't know it at the time, but temperatures dropped to 21*F that night. Yes, a healthy 11*F below freezing! We bought the extra wood expecting this and got a large fire going. Those 4-Door Jeep JKs do come in handy for hauling extra wood! We enjoyed burgers and hot dogs and huddled around the fire to keep warm. After enjoying the food and switching gears to beer and marshmellows, the temperatures really dropped. A few steps away from the fire were met with quite the chill. Called it a night late once we used up our allotted firewood for the first night and hit the tents.
Waking up in the morning we were met with frosted tents on both the outside and inside. The lake we had camped along was steaming from the difference in temperatures. It was a great sight. One of the guys got their grill started and made some bacon and bagels for breakfast. We started a small fire as the temperatures were still below freezing. The water on the trial around the campsite had a nice newly formed sheet of ice overtop it.
We cleaned up camp(collecting ALL garbage and waste) and continued on the trail. We explored the trails all over encountering rocks, mud, water crossings, and hillclimbs. Along the way we encountered some amazing scenery from swamps to lakes. It was a great time exploring the forest. We stopped for along along a lake where another spot was clear to be an open camp. Enjoyed some deli sandwiches while relaxing from all the driving.
We continued along exploring and stopping at various sights and obstacles. One of our favorite, if not the favorite, obstacle we encountered was a 300 foot long water crossing. The water wasn't incredibly deep, probably between 2 and 3 feet deep at it's deepest point. The bottom was solid and rocky, so the Jeeps would flex and crawl through the water hiding the submerged rocks we were going over. An enjoyable crossing!
Mother nature started getting angry again by pelting us with rain and ice. For a short while it snowed and then lead to a mix of ice and rain. We then made for another leg of trail known as "Weakest Link." There combined with the rain/ice and now wet leaves, the very tight and narrow offcamber sections of the trail became interesting. We managed through the trail without a single ding though and then turned north to cover final trail sections for the night.
The temperatures started to drop again and the rain kept comming. Sadly it appeared no snow would be falling, and snow would have been much more welcomed than the rain we now had to deal with. The sun had set and we were still on the trail. At one very muddy mucky obstacle, one of the three of us(the 2-Dr) got stuck on some stumps sticking through that were tough to see in the dark. We tried to just position some logs and get him off the stumps, but it became evident we were going to have to break out the hi-lift. Using a Hi-Lift Jack with the Lift-Mate, we lifted his two passenger side tires one at a time and placed logs and rocks under the tires. Once set back down, he got his Jeep clear of the stumps and we continued on after a very wet, cold, and dark recovery.
We made camp finally and parked the jeeps in a group. In the center we set up a tarp tied amongst all the vehicles with a pole stuck up the middle. We now had cover from the rain. next we were starving and cold. Starving won out and we started cooking burgers and sausage with beans for dinner. After enjoying some grub, we then got a fire going on the edge of the tarp. it took some coaxing in the cold and rain, but we got it going. The fire kept us warm and helped dry us out....a little. Food, Shelter, and now warmth was met. We finished setting up our tents and enjoyed the campfire talk with some beer until the wood was used up for the fire. We then headed to sleep.
When we awoke the next morning, we discovered the lake we were alongside of was very foggy. Even though not a crystal clear lake view, the view was still nice. The rain let up just long enough for us to break down camp. Once we were back in the vehicles, the rain restarted in full force! We enjoyed the Jeep's heaters and made for the road. We had covered between 60 and 65 miles of trail! Airing back up, we stopped back in Bobcaygeon for some food and fuel. Now was the highway trek back to the United States and a border crossing with a border agent who was having a bad day. We got back through the border without incident and split off towards home. A cold, but incredibly fun and successful trip!
Keep the rubber side down out there!
There were only 3 of us trekking out into the wilderness this time. It was a good trio though as we met up in Niagara falls, NY to begin our trip on Friday. We then hit the road straight for the border, with only a short wait and a friendly canadian border agent, we started our highway trek past Toronto on to the trailhead, our final destination. We stopped for gas in the town of Bobcaygeon, picked up a snack or two, and bought many sacks of wood. At the gas station rumors were abound of crazy cold temperatures and even the potential for heavy snow. I wasn't expecting to need it, but we also filled 2 Rotopax Fuel Packs mounted on my tire carrier just in case.
We arrived at the trailhead with plenty of daylight left in the day. We begun airing down our tires for the trek ahead. We expected to cover between 50 to 70 miles of trail. We started out our trek with a relatively easy stock-level trail, alot of water and mud. The forest was releasing leaves all over fully into the Fall Season. Colors of orange, red, and yellow leaves covered everywhere!
We reached the concession lake trail and continued to power through some of the heavier water and mud we encountered along the way. We stopped along a lake as well to take in the view, take a short break from driving, and finalize our route plan for the evening before we stop to make camp along the trail. We decide to take a loop around the trails that we have maps for in our immediate vicinity and expect this to take another 2 to 3 hours before we stop for camp.
The sunlight started fading and we made it to our planned stop for the night along a lake just before total darkness had started to creep in. We raised the American Flag at our camp and proceeded to light up our charcoal grill and start a fire. The temperatures were already dropping steadily. We didn't know it at the time, but temperatures dropped to 21*F that night. Yes, a healthy 11*F below freezing! We bought the extra wood expecting this and got a large fire going. Those 4-Door Jeep JKs do come in handy for hauling extra wood! We enjoyed burgers and hot dogs and huddled around the fire to keep warm. After enjoying the food and switching gears to beer and marshmellows, the temperatures really dropped. A few steps away from the fire were met with quite the chill. Called it a night late once we used up our allotted firewood for the first night and hit the tents.
Waking up in the morning we were met with frosted tents on both the outside and inside. The lake we had camped along was steaming from the difference in temperatures. It was a great sight. One of the guys got their grill started and made some bacon and bagels for breakfast. We started a small fire as the temperatures were still below freezing. The water on the trial around the campsite had a nice newly formed sheet of ice overtop it.
We cleaned up camp(collecting ALL garbage and waste) and continued on the trail. We explored the trails all over encountering rocks, mud, water crossings, and hillclimbs. Along the way we encountered some amazing scenery from swamps to lakes. It was a great time exploring the forest. We stopped for along along a lake where another spot was clear to be an open camp. Enjoyed some deli sandwiches while relaxing from all the driving.
We continued along exploring and stopping at various sights and obstacles. One of our favorite, if not the favorite, obstacle we encountered was a 300 foot long water crossing. The water wasn't incredibly deep, probably between 2 and 3 feet deep at it's deepest point. The bottom was solid and rocky, so the Jeeps would flex and crawl through the water hiding the submerged rocks we were going over. An enjoyable crossing!
Mother nature started getting angry again by pelting us with rain and ice. For a short while it snowed and then lead to a mix of ice and rain. We then made for another leg of trail known as "Weakest Link." There combined with the rain/ice and now wet leaves, the very tight and narrow offcamber sections of the trail became interesting. We managed through the trail without a single ding though and then turned north to cover final trail sections for the night.
The temperatures started to drop again and the rain kept comming. Sadly it appeared no snow would be falling, and snow would have been much more welcomed than the rain we now had to deal with. The sun had set and we were still on the trail. At one very muddy mucky obstacle, one of the three of us(the 2-Dr) got stuck on some stumps sticking through that were tough to see in the dark. We tried to just position some logs and get him off the stumps, but it became evident we were going to have to break out the hi-lift. Using a Hi-Lift Jack with the Lift-Mate, we lifted his two passenger side tires one at a time and placed logs and rocks under the tires. Once set back down, he got his Jeep clear of the stumps and we continued on after a very wet, cold, and dark recovery.
We made camp finally and parked the jeeps in a group. In the center we set up a tarp tied amongst all the vehicles with a pole stuck up the middle. We now had cover from the rain. next we were starving and cold. Starving won out and we started cooking burgers and sausage with beans for dinner. After enjoying some grub, we then got a fire going on the edge of the tarp. it took some coaxing in the cold and rain, but we got it going. The fire kept us warm and helped dry us out....a little. Food, Shelter, and now warmth was met. We finished setting up our tents and enjoyed the campfire talk with some beer until the wood was used up for the fire. We then headed to sleep.
When we awoke the next morning, we discovered the lake we were alongside of was very foggy. Even though not a crystal clear lake view, the view was still nice. The rain let up just long enough for us to break down camp. Once we were back in the vehicles, the rain restarted in full force! We enjoyed the Jeep's heaters and made for the road. We had covered between 60 and 65 miles of trail! Airing back up, we stopped back in Bobcaygeon for some food and fuel. Now was the highway trek back to the United States and a border crossing with a border agent who was having a bad day. We got back through the border without incident and split off towards home. A cold, but incredibly fun and successful trip!
Keep the rubber side down out there!
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