In A Cabin, In The Woods

   I have never once spent a night in a cabin in any of the provincial parks. So, when my sister, Heather, suggested that I join her and my brother-in-law, and nephew for a couple of nights in one at Arrowhead Park, I figured "why not?". 

   They arrived a day earlier than I did and were all settled in by the time I got there. I didn't get there until I was done work and by that time it was already dark.  Normally we have snow on the ground by this time of year, but we were fortunate enough to have a relatively warm November and no snow so far. So when I arrived, they had the fire going and chairs all around.  The cabin comes with a couple of Adirondack chairs, but we didn't know that at the time so we brought some folding camping chairs with us too. 

The campfire was warm and cozy and the coals were burning bright. After throwing all my luggage into the cabin we spent the next few hours just sitting by the fire, talking and laughing. 

​Eventually the fire burnt down and we decided to go in.

 Our cabin was number 206. For $125 a night you get a nice little cabin. With a 5 person maximum occupancy, it works out to $25 per person per night. So, you can't go wrong on the price. The only downfall is that you can't get the cabin until 5 pm and on the day you leave you have to be out by 10 am. It used to be noon but ever since Covid-19 they changed the time. Not sure why because it sure does not take 7 hours to clean all the cabins. Heather watched them cleaning one day and it only took them 20 minutes per cabin and there are only about 8 cabins. So, having to get up early to pack up on the day we leave will be a bit disappointing. 

   Regardless, we were happy with the place now and I took a moment to survey my surroundings. To the right was a bunk bed with a double on the bottom and a single on the top. All the walls and furniture were a beautiful pine. There was a chest at the foot of the bed to put things in.   

On the left was another double bed and an end table between the two sets of beds.

The cabin is one big open space so, the dining table was situated just in front of the beds. It wasn't a huge table but it was big enough to do the trick. 

On the left was a little bar fridge, a microwave, some shelves, some cabinets and a small garbage can. 

To the right was a mirror, some coat hooks and a little wood stove. We didn't use the wood stove. the place has electric base board heaters so we used those to keep the place warm instead. 

There was a ceiling fan overhead ad the pine board ceiling was stained in a white wash stain which made a nice contrast to the walls. Just over the door was a print of a painting done by Tom Thompson who was one of the Group of Seven. It was fitting considering that the Group of Seven used to paint in these provincial parks. We actually have the same print in the living room of our house. 

Right outside the door is a little porch. The porch had an Adirondack on either side and big wide windows so that you can sit in there and drink a coffee or hot chocolate on a cold or rainy day if you wanted to. We didn't use this area much. ​ It was a useful space though. There wasn't enough room for all of our food in the fridge and since it was cold outside but not freezing yet, I was able to store my bags of food in the corner and not worry about anything going bad. 

There are no bathrooms in the cabins. You have your choice of two places for that. One choice is the vault toilets that are closer by but have no heat,no electricity, and no running water. However, we opted to walk a little further away for our bathroom needs to get to the ones with flush toilets, heat, running water, electric lights, warm air hand dryer, and a mirror. We may be at a campground but since we weren't truly roughing it this time we decided to take the perks where we could get them. Heather did mention to me before I got there that the toilet paper here was very thin. The see through kind of thin. She suggested that I bring some of my own, which I did. So, we used the toilet paper that I brought for the rest of our stay. 

The next morning we got up late and went outside to a nice sunny day. It was nice and quiet in the park. There were only a few other people in the park, staying at a couple of the cabins. There was even one camper who was tough enough to stay in a tent down the road. That must have been chilly! 

  Heather and my nephew, Devin, had the campfire going again in no time.  We had discussed the night before which trail that we were going to hike today. We decided on doing a 5 km hike on the Arrowhead Lake Trail. Steve was still in bed and had indicated that he didn't want to go on a hike with us today so we let him sleep in some more and didn't  wake him up.

But before we went, Heather made us a delicious breakfast of French Toast and syrup which we ate outside. 

The chickadees decided breakfast was a good idea too when they discovered a piece of bread that we had left behind on the table. 

That is until a Blue Jay decided that he deserved breakfast more than the Chickadees did and he chased them all away. 

It was probably around noon or 1 pm when we finally got started on our hike. We could have drove to the trail head but we decided that it wasn't too far of a walk to get there, so we just walked down the road to get there instead. 

To get to the trail, we had to walk around back of the Visitor Center. 

I had never been around to the back of the Visitor Center before so I had never noticed that there is a patio with picnic tables back there. We will have to go check that out one of these days. 

Across the road, in behind the Visitor Center is a post with direction signs and a map. 

The Arrowhead Lake Trail is actually a cycling trail as well as a hiking trail. It joins up with the Beaver Meadow Trail part way through, but we figured that would be a bit too long for us. So, we would be just following the trail around the lake in a big circle back to where we started. We would start at the bottom of the lake and travel to the right and all the way back around. 

Although there are trail signs to mark the way, there are quite a few side trails that are not marked very well and it did get confusing from time to time; especially at the beginning. But we managed to figure it out. 

Since the trail was a cycling trail too, it was always wide and well packed. It wasn't without some roots sometimes though. So, cyclists would have to watch out for those. 

   We came to a hill at one point that was steep enough for Devin and Heather to try out a trick they had learned. Instead of going straight down the hill, they zig-zagged  down it to keep themselves steady. They had fun and were laughing as they tried not to bump into each other since they were zigging and zagging in opposite directions. 
   When I caught up with them again, Heather mentioned that this section of the trail reminded her of the roads where our grandmother (Farmor) used to live. I told her that I had just been thinking the exact same thing! 

We picked a beautiful day for a hike! The sun was shining, it wasn't too cold and the view across the lake was beautiful. 

To see the trees without any leaves made it look like they were covered in frost, even though they weren't . 

There wasn't much to see in the way of wildlife. However, one little squirrel did start yelling at us from a nearby tree. 

Despite there not being any green of summer or red, orange or yellow of fall, there was still beauty to be seen everywhere if you too the time to really look. The sun shining through some old thistle down was a pretty sight. 

We came to a rock at the side of the trail that was perfect for taking a rest on. 

Eventually we came to where Arrowhead Lake Trail meets up with Beaver Meadow Trail. After reading the sign we realized that you could drive to the entrance of Beaver Meadow Trail. We didn't know this before hand and thought that you had to do the two trails combined, which was too long for us. So now we know that we can do Beaver Meadow Trail on its own the next time we come. 

Nearby was another sign with a map on it. Heather and Devin took a moment to study it. 

It wasn't far from the signs that we discovered a little picnic area tucked away to the left of the trail. It was a bit hidden and if we hadn't been paying attention we might have missed it. 

Not only did it have a picnic table, but it also had an old, rectangular fire pit. This looked like a great place to come have lunch sometime. The only thing that seemed to be missing was a place to swim. So I started to look for paths down to the lake. 

At this time of year, with no leaves on the trees or bushes, it was easier to see the some paths. They did not lead right down to the lake though. However, some beaver were still able to use them to get to and from the lake. 

I followed the path that I found as far as I could. Instead of getting to the lake I got to an old party place. There were old cans and bottles all over the place! None of the cans or bottles were new and no one had been down here in years and years. 

The cans and bottles were so old that they don't even make these kinds of cans anymore. They seemed to be circa 1970s or 1980s. None of them were worth anything. They were all too rusted and full of holes. Heather had a backpack with her so we carried out a bunch of them to throw in the garbage. But we couldn't clean up all of them. There were way too many. Maybe one day we will go back with a garbage bag and clean it up better. But at least we did what we could. 

We left the picnic area and continued on down the trail. At the next bend we found a side trail that went off to the right. Devin and I decided to follow it for a bit to see where it went. Heather decided to stay behind on the main trail and wait for us. As we separated, Heather called out "This is how horror movies begin, you know!" 

The side trail led to a big open area with a couple of stacks of lumber sitting in the middle of it. In behind that was another trail. Then Devin figured it out. The other trail was the Beaver Meadow Trail and the side trail that we were on was just a link between the two trails. 

I knew he was right when we came to an informational sign that described the area. The sign explained that there used to be an old farm here and that cows used to graze here, which was why the area was so flat. 

So we turned around and headed back to Heather across the wide open area that used to be a farm. 

The sign had also explained that not a lot of certain types of plants can grow here but that milk weed can. We noticed a number of milkweed pods everywhere. This would be a great place for the Monarch butterflies in the summer. 

By this point it was getting later in the day and the sun would be going down in a couple of hours. The air was already starting to get a bit chillier. We were about half way now so we picked up our pace a little. 

This part of the trail became a little more woodsy. The trees felt closer and the trail felt a bit narrower. 

And then all of a sudden, it opened up onto a river with a bridge across it. 

We stopped to look over the rails. There were no fish, birds or frogs to see. Just the water winding its way around the bend. 

The other side was much the same. 

Once again, I noticed the beauty of the sun shining down through the thistle down in the nearby branches. The photos don't do it justice at all. 

We came to a fork in the road. I think to the right leads to the road and parking lot where you can start the Beaver Meadow Trail if you were to drive to it. But we were headed to the left. 

As we were walking I noticed a little side trail down a hill that led to the shore of the lake. I was curious if it would be a good place to swim in the summer so I went down the hill. On my way down I came to a muddy patch and started to slide. I didn't slide as badly as Heather did on our backpacking trail in Pukaskwa Park, but we both laughed about it just the same. 

After regaining my balance and my composure, I reached the bottom of the hill. There actually was a place that would probably be good for swimming at the bottom of the hill. And the view of the lake here was pretty nice too. 

I climbed back up the hill and Heather and I went to catch up with Devin. We found him near a place where the trail seemed to cross over through some campsites. We came to the conclusion that we would never camp on these sites. Who wants a bunch of hikers to go trekking along through your site all the time? 

All the picnic tables in the area were leaned up against the trees in preparation for the winter snow that will inevitably come. 

We began to see little creeks running through this area. We had seen some earlier but they were more plentiful here. 

The water was cold enough that the edges of the streams and creaks were beginning to for ice crystals along the edges, 

And one large puddle was frozen over completely. The ice rings made interesting designs around the trees. It looked like a little ice maze. 

We knew our hike was nearing the end when we crossed over a road and the trail took us towards the beach.

The lake was still and the bare birch trees reflected in the water. 

Up ahead, in the distance, we could see both the red foot bridge and the cement car bridge that leads from the office to the campgrounds. 

I thought the reflection of the bridges in the water also made for a pretty picture. 

Heather pointed out to me that the beach we had just walked along was actually the dog beach. Half of the beach is people only and the other half is for pets. Looks like the dogs have a nice little area to play in. 

By this time Devin had gone up ahead and went back tot he cabin. Heather and I took it a bit slower and crossed the foot bridge together. 

By the time we got back to the cabin it was dusk and we were ready for a rest. I went in to the cabin and took a nap while Heather, Devin, and Steve sat around the campfire outside. 

Later on that night, when it got dark out, Steve cooked us burgers and hot dogs on the BBQ.  (The BBQ is provided with the cabin, which it great). 

The campfire was burning hot and the wood was dry. So dry in fact that there were a whole lot of sparks jumping out at us. Every once in awhile it would shower us with sparks and we would have to put them out when they landed on our clothes. And these sparks would travel quite far when they exploded with a pop.

Unfortunately, one spark landed on one of our fold up chairs. It ignited the chair on fire and there was nothing we could do but watch it burn. It burnt up really fast!  We were more concerned with the pine needles and old dried leaves on the ground burning than we were the chair.  Heather and Devin set about stomping on the sparks and flames to put out the tiny fires erupting beneath the chair. Luckily the ground was fairly wet so it did not travel and they were able to put it out pretty quickly.  But wow.... it was totally unexpected and for a brief moment, gave us some cause for concern!  We have had sparks burn holes in clothes before, but never have we had them set a chair on fire, until now. Luckily no one was sitting in it at the time. 

A few hours later, after the excitement was over, we went inside to play board games. Then it was time to get ready for bed. As I walked down the trail towards the bathrooms, I noticed the moon was glowing a bright orange through the trees. 

I stood in the moonlight and looked up at the starry sky. Such a beautiful, peaceful night. Spending a few quiet nights in a cabin, in the woods is great for the soul.