Summer Camping Trip

1 - 3 August 2009

It was a 3D2N camping trip. A total of 20 people & 1 puppy, in 5 cars, carrying tons of food and camping equipment, and drove more than xxx kilometres. It was the beginning of a unbelieveable trip to the wilderness of fun and adventure!

Bet everyone was excited about the trip, especially during the initial phase of preparation. For me, just thinking about it makes me excited all over!!! :) My first real camping trip! We were fortunate that there were some experienced people who had the time and connections to organize the itinerary, buy food and stuff, and gather the camping equipment together. It was a great start! *thumbs up*


Our fleet of cars and SUVs...bloated with stuff...from the inside to the top of the cars... :D

We started early! But set off late! hehe!! We gathered at 6am to pack things into the cars. Supposed to set off at 730am but don't think we were that efficient afterall...Finally we took off about 830ish I think...


Our first destination is the Scenic Caves, located near to the town of Blue Mountains.

The Blue Mountains, the highest part of the Niagara Escarpment were created by ice movement in the glacier age. Scenic Caves and caverns were formed over millions of years by blocks of dolomite limestones easing away from the main mass of the escarpment. This shifting was caused either by the settling of softer underlying shale or by disturbance of the shale during the advance and retreat of glaciers. Movement has been so slight that it is not noticeable even through the centuries.

At one time in history, the whole area was under water. This fact is proven by the many different fossils found in the rocks on top of the mountain. The area around the Scenic Caves and the Blue Mountains was home of the Petun Tribe or "tobacco nation". The main product for trade was the tobacco they grew.


The suspension bridge and its surrounding scenary...


In and around the Scenic Caves...

We hit the roads again at about noon, heading towards the real thing now! The Fairbank Provincial Park! yeah! Another 4 to 5 hours drive ahead...

This park is located near to Sudbury. Next to the park is the Fairbank Lake, which is a crater created by a meteorite that hit the earth millions of years ago. The spring-fed lake is so clear it attracts snorkellers and scuba divers. Camp around the rim of the lake and climb to trail lookouts to view it and the Fairbank fault.


Bad hit ~ pouring along the way... :(

Only 4 of us in the car. We chatted about random stuff, any past camping experience and what to avoid, no rain, not dark, so tents can be done up easily. On the contrary, we had exactly the opposite!!! Talk about Murphy's Law, the worst we fear actually happened!

It was pouring cats and dogs, the day was getting dark, we were lost, no road sights, no reception on GPS, weak phone reception, not even a soul in sight to ask for direction!!! WTH! It was about 9ish pm when we arrived, damn we were the last car! By that time, it was pitch dark and muddy wet, and we were angry hungry tired but definitely relieved! ~phew~

Our hotpot for the first night! As eco-friendly citizens, we brought our own containers. While we fed ourselves, the mosquitoes feast on us too!!! >.< ouch!


Good-morning sunshine! Our tents! Well I didn't pitch them...not that we don't want to pitch them, but by the time we arrived that night, they were already done! hehe...


Weather for the 2nd day was superb! Went for a little hike at Wa-Shai-Ga-Mog, took lots of pictures, dropped Mina - our special guest puppy into the water, played beach volley and frisbee by the lake, punished the losers, sunned a little tan, simply having lots of laughter and enjoying everyone's company! 真是一堆可爱又搞笑的大朋友...哈哈哈...


We had BBQ on the 2nd night, also the final night of the camping. There was a BBQ pit, which was also our campfire. I had lots of BBQ marshmellows, yummy! We started playing games around the campfire, intellectual guessing games, with creepy questions and answers. But it was very interesting and I really had fun! Good night! :)

Soon the 3 days were over, the next morning we were all set to go again, now back home to Toronto. It's another many hours of drive ahead. We had the last dinner together before heading home. Overall, I enjoyed myself very much! Camping is exciting, and those bunch of friends are fun!!! Hope there will be more camping trips next year! :)