Winter Trips to Pathfinder

What Are Winter Trips Like?
Winter trips are ideal for Campers age 11+! Ride up to the Park with your buddies in the Camp van with the staff men. Park at the old museum and load up to snowshoe down the camp road and across a solid Source Lake to set up camp in the wood stove heated cabins at Pathfinder. We use the PX, the Doll House, and Lodge III. Drive time 5-6 hours, walking time about 2 hours.

Next day, trek with the staff around the Source lake neighborhood to enjoy the solitude and silence of the Algonquin winter. Look for evidence of wolf pack hunts for deer and moose. Learn to make a snow shelter, and how to stay safe and comfortable in the Algonquin winter climate. Explore evidence of the old railroad that once was the only link to Source Lake. Try a bush walk with map and compass. Eat hearty meals by the warmth of the stove in the evening. Listen to the CBC for news and entertainment the way our grandfathers' generation did at Camp. Venture out in the evenings to see the stars and Northern Lights, to howl for the wolves, and maybe play a little broom hockey by moonlight on the lake. Write your impressions in the Camp journal before trekking for home.

How to Sign Up
Call Sladds (585)-249-0716 to inquire about plans for weekend trips. Maybe call your Pathfinder buddies and get a small group of friends together. The cost for a Pathfinder winter weekend is $200 USD including transportation to and from Rochester, Buffalo or Toronto.

Gear
When you sign up you'll receive a complete gear list for the trip. Snowshoes and all food and safety gear is provided by Camp. Boys bring warm winter layers, outer shells for jacket and pants, good quality hat and gloves, and winter snow boots that are snug and comfortable with heavy socks. Try to use boots with felt liners.

Itinerary
The Camp vans depart Rochester or Buffalo early on the first morning, and arrive at the Source Lake Road in Algonquin by early afternoon. We pack up and layer up, leaving the vehicles at the Algonquin Gallery lot. Snowshoes are donned, and gear is divided onto haul sleds and small packs. There is a new winter trail as of 2008, which bee-lines it through beautiful forest and beaver meadows, before the Source Lake crossing. The whole walk takes under 2 hours in normal conditions. On departure day, we leave Camp in the morning and arrive back in town by late afternoon. We'll phone parents from the road so you can meet us on arrival.

Lake Ice Travel
Sladds checks the ice conditions ahead of trip departure with the Park office and with local friends working in the Park. The trips only go if the ice is reported good. Once at the lakeside, we check the ice again in person and follow our safety procedures all the way across the lake to the Island. In general, ice travel is excellent on Source Lake.

Days and Nights at Pathfinder in Winter
We use three cabins on the Island that are insulated, heated by wood stove, and equipped for the winter season with beds and all the necessities and comforts of home. Most boys bring a summer sleeping bag because it's normal room temp in the cabins. Outside the weather can be anything from calm and above zero F, to blustery and well below zero.