Lately I’ve been going over older posts and cleaning up old media files, if you noticed some pictures missing that’s why. So, while I’m in the process of fixing all that up I noticed that it’s been a couple months since I posted some kind of travel entry. While my latest posts get plenty of views, I get a lot of comments about where I’ve been or where our next adventure will take me (us).. With the speaking events and conferences in the rear view mirror for now, I’m hoping there will still be more to come. I get some time to getaway and enjoy the great outdoors again. I had a couple early spring trips that I have yet to post about here and they were full of adventure, wildlife and reflection. I will post about those, but I have video to go through that I would like to incorporate into the blog, maybe some posted on YouTube, we’ll see. Doing video while solo trekking is an art in itself, something else new to conquer.
Killarney August 2021
So, when I looked back through my posts I noticed that for some reason I never wrote a post about this five day getaway almost two years ago. It’s never too late to go back and write about a great time, right? If you’ve never been up to the Killarney region in Ontario it’s 100% worth the time. Our trip came about, by Tracy winning an online contest that gave her a two night, choose where you want to stay prize. For that we picked Killarney Mountain Lodge, which is located in the village of Killarney which sits on a peninsula and to the east is Georgian Bay, to the west is Lake Huron. Our first stop on the way up highway 69 was at Killbear provincial park, a beautiful but very busy park located just north of Parry Sound. We car camped there for one night, enjoyed a quick swim and a roaring campfire, it was a little step up in the type of camping I usually do. We didn’t get much time to explore the park, but took an early morning hike that brought us to the shores of Georgian Bay and yes the water was still as cold as I remember being a young boy at my Grandparents cottage many, many years ago. That helped to spark old memories of some very good times spent with my Grandparents, which I didn’t see much as a boy just based basically on logistics, much of their lives were lived in Florida. But happy memories are just that and bring warm feelings of love and time well spent, something I am much more aware about in life now.
After the short visit to Killbear we packed up and headed a little further north to the town of Killarney, specifically Killarney Mountain Lodge a beautiful and rustic spot to stay if you enjoy the outdoors or simply hang out and relax. We didn’t stay at the main lodge, but instead bunked in the hostel that was in walking distance, we did have our own room which was spacious enough for the two of us and shared a well kept communal washroom, a lot of Covid cleaning protocols were still in place, therefore everything was extra clean. One of the perks to our stay was we had a meal plan, so two dinners and two breakfasts were included in the stay. Now I did keep a journal of our time there however I can’t remember what we ate, but remember no complaints. Or first night consisted of a quick paddle out to the Bay then a pit stop at the LCBO, which we could canoe up to, pretty sweet. Spent the rest of the night at the bar in the lodge enjoying a few drinks.
During breakfast Tracy and I discussed which hike we’d take that day, there is many in that that area including the very well known “Crack“. We ended up deciding to take the Lighthouse Trail, which was a bit more challenging and lengthy than we thought, it starts not far from the lodge and passes the worlds largest paddle. The trailhead starts off in a forested area and starts to gain some elevation as you continue. The trail eventual opens up as it nears the bay, the day we hiked it was overcast and very windy and listening to the waves crashing into shore was awesome. The hike was full of great spots to stop and take some pictures and also just to sit and stare out into the vast open bay and check out the rock shoreline washed smooth from the constant pounding of the surf, amazing views. The hike itself is about five kilometres, Tracy and I took our time out there and by the time we made it to the lighthouse and back to the lodge it was about five hours and at the end of the day we capped it off with a great dinner and a few beers, to replace the calories of course.
Killarney Backcountry
After our two fun filled days at the lodge it was time to enter the backcountry of Killarney Provincial Park. Our morning started with some good rain showers, but by mid-morning we were at the launch and ready to be on our way for a planned three night outing. Now while I could continue on and write about the experience I’d thought maybe I could shake things up here on this blog and attach a travel vlog. This is one of my first attempts making a video like this and let me tell ya, those guys who video all their trips, bravo! This is no easy task. So, with that being said here is the video and I hope you like it and if so consider subscribing not only to this blog, but also my new YouTube channel (under the same name). I hope to add more in the future and improve along the way. Cheers, Steve. Feel free to leave a comment, like and vote. Thanks
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