Summer 2025 Part 2: Toronto, Niagara Falls, and Algonquin Provincial Park
I landed in Toronto on July 2nd and took a taxi to my apartment style hotel, Urban Explore.
For my first night in town I visited a dispensary, walked around town, and visited the Toronto CN Tower.
After my walk around town I returned to my hotel and went to bed.
I took a day trip to Niagara Falls on July 3rd. I traveled there via bus and spent the entire day there. I walked from the bus station to the falls at table rock where I got lunch. Then I continued my walk to just past the Niagara Power Station. On my walk back I visited Skylon Tower for some great panoramic views of the falls. Then I went to a mosaiculture exhibit at the floral showroom, took a nap in Oakes Garden Theater, and walked back to the bus stop where I had a short wait for my bus.
I took the bus back to Toronto where I walked around for a bit before getting some drinks and going to bed.
After breakfast on July 4th I checked out and took a taxi to the enterprise rental car agency near the airport. I picked up my rental and started my drive to Algonquin Provincial Park. I stopped along the way in Barrie to pick up some supplies, get some lunch (poutine from a food truck) and re-stock my stash.
I also stopped on the way for a smoke at a lake appropriately named Smoke Lake.
I arrived at the Raccoon Lake campsite in the late afternoon. I set up my campsite and then spent the rest of the day relaxing, walking around, eating, and preparing for my hike/swim adventure the next day.
That night I went down to the Raccoon Lake beach. The sky was so clear that I could see the faint glow of the milky way. I took a couple long exposure pictures but with an exposure of only 10 seconds I was not able to catch it in all of its glory. The stars were just so stunning I could have fallen asleep there but I started to catch a chill and went back to my campsite for some sleep.
After a quick breakfast on the morning of the 5th and taking care of my morning routine I hopped in my car and drove a couple kilometers to Rock Lake Campground where I took up the Booth's Rock Trailhead which would lead me to the starting point of my planned distance swim.
Here is an approximation of my route made on google maps.
I had brought with me a neon orange inflatable swimming buoy/dry bag. So, I packed that with some essential items like a water filter and plastic pouch, my phone in a waterproof case, some grass and a lighter, a vape, some snus, a snack, a rescue whistle/compass/thermometer/mirror/magnifying glass, bug repellant, a towel, and a merino wool shirt. I left behind another towel and my shoes. I donned my ear plugs, cap, goggles, and go-pro and plunged in.
The water was chilly but not terribly so. According to my thermometer it was about 24C at the surface but quickly got cold any more than 30cm below the surface. I quickly acclimated to it and was generating plenty of my own warmth with my activity. It felt fantastic. Open water swimming is so liberating.
The first 600meter swim took me from the coast to Rose Island. I came ashore, stood up, and immediately slipped on a rock and fell in the water. I wasn't hurt but I dropped my go-pro. Fortunately I realized this and found it fairly quickly among the aquatic foliage. When I resurfaced, it dawned on me that I had swam into someone's backwoods campsite. So I apologized to the campers for disturbing their peace. They were not to concerned or bothered, just curious and friendly enough. I did not linger. I walked barefoot to the west side of the island and faced my next destination, Jean Island. Before setting off I filtered some water and drank, had a smoke, and assessed my best route.
The second swim was much shorter. I walked 75% of the way through waist high water. It was only the last 25% of the distance that I actually needed to swim.
When I landed at Jean Island the first thing that was abundantly clear was that this island was much more natural than the last. There was almost no evidence that people even went to the island. I saw no litter. There were also no trails and no campsites so navigating this island bar foot was a bit more challenging. The shore on the far side was too high above the water to safely get in, so I walked to the southern end of the island and set off from there to Third Island.
It turns out Third Island is privatized (in a provincial park surprised me). I spoke with one of the three owners who was very nice. He did not mind me coming ashore to rest, and assured me that the other tenants on the island wouldn't mind if a swimmer rested on their dock, but also told me that the island was not easily navigable (especially barefoot). I thanked him and he was on his way. I set off shortly after our chat but not before picking and eating a couple blueberries growing on the shore.
I swam between Jean and Third Islands to an un-nammed island on the northern tip of Jean Island. The island was small and rocky with some scrubby plants and trees. There were quite a few birds nests, and scattered around them were lots of sharp fish bones which were hell on my feet, so for environmental protection and the safety of my own feet I did not linger there very long. Just long enough to take some pictures and have another toke.
Then I set off back to shore.
My shoes, towel, and other minor belongings where right where I had left them. I enjoyed another blaze on the bench before changing into my shorts and dry clothing and walking back to my car.
All in all the hike/swim was about 5.1miles (8.21km) in total. I set out at around half past noon and finished at 6pm.
I drove back to my campsite and went to the lake of two rivers store for a beer and a quick re-supply.
Then I went back to my campsite, prepared a nice meal, and prepped for bed. After the day's activities I slept so well that night in my hammock.
The next day I woke up early, and after morning routines, I decided to take another swim. This time I swam across Raccoon Lake. The distance was less than 500m each way so it was an easy swim. I did not take go-pro footage because the battery had died. It was a refreshing way to start the day.
I spent a lot of time hanging around my campsite. I took an afternoon hike on the Lookout Trail and enjoyed a nice view.
I checked the weather and saw that rain was expected. So I took some time to reinforce my campsite by setting up a second tarp over my hammock.
It rained a LOT harder than expected. While I managed to stay mostly dry, the set-up was insufficient, the tarp was too high and the hammock to low. Thus part of the hammock was exposed to some dripping and when the rain switched from downpour to torrential downpour with wind I started to get wet and quickly switched to sleeping in my rental car. Fortunately, I had planned for this contingency and the switch was quick and easy. I slept for a couple hours in the car. When the rain had died down a bit I started to pack up my campsite. Then I left.
I stopped at the Lake of Two Rivers Store again and got some French toast for breakfast. Then I started the journey back to Toronto to return the rental car.
I spent the rest of the day drying out my camping gear by hanging it on a luggage cart by my hotel window. I slept soundly that night in anticipation of the 15hr flight ahead of me.
At last on July 8th I checked out of my hotel and went to the airport. I was planning to take the airport shuttle but it was suspended until 1:30pm and I did not have time to wait so the hotel comped me a taxi ride.
When I got back to Hong Kong I took the bus back to Shenzhen Bay Port then took a taxi home.
When I got home I had a nice warm reunion with Faye.
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