ravinerat Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Provincial Park is a non operating PP in Southern Ontario. It is the 2nd largest South of Algonquin Park. The Park is 33,505 hectares and was created in 2002. The early years the area was logged and then a forest fire the area suffered huge erosion filling in lakes with sediment turning them into Marshes. The area is filled with lakes, marshes, creeks high cliffs and barren rock. The park soon became know as The Burnt Lands. This is an area I explored last March and had wanted to plan a trip in to do more exploring through the area. There is no organized snowmobiling in the area and it is a true wilderness experience. Four of us headed in on 2 Snowmobiles to do some camping and explore the area. The temps the week before were in the above freezing but susposed to drop back down to -9C through the day and -15 C and night. My research showed that there were three lakes in a row with one having Rainbow Trout, one Lakers and Splake. We would try to camp on one of these lakes. Most of the lakes have high rock edges and lots had cliffs. We found what looked to be a great spot but soon found it was very windy. We got the tents set up and started to collect firewood for the long night ahead. We got enough wood split for the evening and started to boil water and get some dinner on the go. The next day we got up at the crack of 0800 hr. Took a bit to get breakfast going since I do not do anything until I have my two cups of coffee. We went through most of our wood so the job of the day was collecting wood. We found a large Oak tree down and figured we would harvest some wood from it. Now the snow is deep once off the trail but hey I have a Tundra. Pulling the toboggan and a second person on the Tundra it sunk fast. There was no way we could lift it so we had to dig down just to see what was going on . The ski had caught a buried branch pulling the Tundra to the right and the track landed on a buried Log and spun. We were stuck. I decided we need to dig out the side so we could push it over on it’s side and pack snow down under the track. Once the snow was piled under the track the Tundra walked out. We headed back to camp for a coffee and some lunch. It was a quiet afternoon for us. The wind was really high and standing on a lake being blown around didn’t sound as good as sitting in a warm tent having a cold beer. That evening we sat around and had a great dinner. The next morning we got up and had some breakfast and planned the day. Well it looks like it is another wood day. It has been so windy we thought the tents were going to blow down but they held fast with no additional anchoring. WE headed off to locate a new source of wood. I travelled across several beaver ponds and could see some great wood for fire. We all know Tundras can’t get stuck. WE it happened again. I had a fully loaded toboggan with wood and started off, tried to turn a bit up hill and it sunk. Well there was no way I could lift it so I took some logs we had cut and made a lever. WE dug down to the track as I didn’t want to pry off the tunnel. Well it was a bit of a chore to get it out. The first time it spit the wood out. We got my buddy to lift the sled with the leaver and I pulled the rear end over. I was then able to walk it out fairly easy. I made it back to base with a good load of wood. We were all exausted so we hung around camp then decided to go for a rip on the sleds and explore. Now this was the most impressive find on our trip. A brand new out house in the middle of no where. It was complete with water proofed toilet paper. Of course I had to test it out. . That night we hung around the tents drinking wine and talking. We decided we have been over eating and just had snacks for dinner instead of cooking another big dinner. So the next morning we broke camp and headed home. Sure takes a long time to pack the toboggans, make two trips each and load the vehicles. It was a great trip and had lots of positive experiences. I talked to a trapper I ran into who told me there didn”t seem to be any trout in the lakes I was asking about. I kind of figured since the locals were only fishing the first two lakes coming in to the park. We next year we will have a better idea of the area. RR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPK Racing Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 Awesome adventure. Good for you guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kahshe Rider Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Great story RR, Interesting to read the history of that area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Looks like fun but I'm still wrestling with 'water proofed toilet paper'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blake G Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Don, thank you for sharing the story of that adventure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildbill Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Looks like fun but I'm still wrestling with 'water proofed toilet paper'. it is called a squeegee ! It sounds like an interesting trip but not for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whiskywizard Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Fantastic travel log. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blakesnowcrest Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Man, Thats Awesome! I would love to do that! We Might try and run the Power line to Minden this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Great report. How far off the beaten path is it? How many kilometres from where you stage to where you camp? Looks like quite the adventure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravinerat Posted March 25, 2014 Author Share Posted March 25, 2014 Man, Thats Awesome! I would love to do that! We Might try and run the Power line to Minden this weekend. I hear you can run the lakes we were on and hook up with the power line. I'm not sure how to do it. A trapper we met mentioned it. Be nice to go for a run to Tim's. RR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravinerat Posted March 25, 2014 Author Share Posted March 25, 2014 Great report. How far off the beaten path is it? How many kilometres from where you stage to where you camp? Looks like quite the adventure. Different all the time. This trip we were maybe 10 km or so from the vehicles. Still took us 45 min to get back to the cars where we stored some gas. RR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeBeSleddin Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Thanks ravine rat for the very cool trip report. Haven't been in the qe2 park yet in the winter, except for the little portion of the d/b trail that runs through it. Have done a bunch of research on qe2 over the years, and Have explored the western side of the park in the summer, very marshy, boggy and wet, with some nice lakes, rivers and ridges with great views. According the the snowcrest historian, the ever knowing STG, there used to be ofsc trails that ran through the park in a couple of directions, apparently old signs can still be found. The haliburton club fortunately doesn't like updating their map, so these trails are all visible on the link below. Blake, if you do that run this weekend, please post about it. According to the qe2 web site, snowmobiling is a legal activity, as opposed to Algonquin where it is prohibited I believe. http://www.hcsa.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/HCSA-Map-2014.pdf Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravinerat Posted March 25, 2014 Author Share Posted March 25, 2014 The trails in there were abandoned years ago and I understand it was over a bridge issue. Yes snowmobiling is permitted in the boundaries of the park ans it is a vast area. I have hiked in from the west side in the fall and it is a wet land for sure. Old signs from snowmobile clubs of the past still hang on trees but they are far and few between. It is a pretty cool area to explore. There are several Provincial Parks that trails go through. Awenda, Bigwind are two that come to mind. Thanks for the map. I'm going to try and line some of it up with my GPS. RR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildbill Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 I have ridden many of those trails as well my father hunted in there in the fifties and sixties. He and his hunting friends put a monument up to Buck Lecraw on Anson mountain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravinerat Posted March 25, 2014 Author Share Posted March 25, 2014 That's cool Bill. That would even be Pre OTBA and Trail Alliance days. I was on Anson Mts years ago on an Atv. Before park days. The trails in the park are pretty neat to run. Great shape for not being groomed. RR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgooding Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Man, Thats Awesome! I would love to do that! We Might try and run the Power line to Minden this weekend. Where are you starting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MolsonCanadian Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Nice! I spend a few weekends a year on the property north of there, Longford Reserve. Its private, and patrolled, so just watch when you're wandering around, you can't miss the gates and signs. We ventured into QEII Park a couple weeks ago while out exploring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NiagaraKev Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 great adventure ...great pics ... thanks for sharing .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravinerat Posted March 25, 2014 Author Share Posted March 25, 2014 MC do you own property in Langford? Thought it was owned by Americans? I've been through some of it years ago. Got there own run ways and everything there. That was before I knew it was private. The Trapper said he owned some of it. RR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildbill Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 That's cool Bill. That would even be Pre OTBA and Trail Alliance days. I was on Anson Mts years ago on an Atv. Before park days. The trails in the park are pretty neat to run. Great shape for not being groomed. RR it was maintained till about 89 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo Burgo Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Hey Ravinerat, Where did you get those mountable gas cans from and how much were they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravinerat Posted March 25, 2014 Author Share Posted March 25, 2014 They are RotoPax. The greatest way to carry gas. You can get different mounts depending where you want to mount them. http://rotopax.com They aren't cheap but well worth it. I can transfer them over to my Dual Sport for longer trips come summer. Kolpin makes a cheaper one but the one I saw seemed cheap. RR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cehyoopers Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 awesome,, try and get sledjunk back in there,,,,, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blakesnowcrest Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Where are you starting? Probably Summerland Store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blakesnowcrest Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Thanks ravine rat for the very cool trip report. Haven't been in the qe2 park yet in the winter, except for the little portion of the d/b trail that runs through it. Have done a bunch of research on qe2 over the years, and Have explored the western side of the park in the summer, very marshy, boggy and wet, with some nice lakes, rivers and ridges with great views. According the the snowcrest historian, the ever knowing STG, there used to be ofsc trails that ran through the park in a couple of directions, apparently old signs can still be found. The haliburton club fortunately doesn't like updating their map, so these trails are all visible on the link below. Blake, if you do that run this weekend, please post about it. According to the qe2 web site, snowmobiling is a legal activity, as opposed to Algonquin where it is prohibited I believe. http://www.hcsa.on.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/HCSA-Map-2014.pdf Enjoy! Will do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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