Algonquin Park

Algonquin Park

Algonquin Park is the oldest and most famous provincial park in Ontario and one of the largest in Canada. It stretches across 7,725 kilometers of wild and beautiful lakes and forests, bogs and rivers, cliffs and beaches. This is why Algonquin is also known as a canoeist's and camper's paradise as far as the eye can see.

From August 27th to September 5th a group of university students mainly ranging between the ages of 22 to 25 will be experiencing the park first-hand. As far as the weather, this is an ideal time to experience Algonquin Park because "there are only a few lingering misquotes, the days are warm and the nights are cool" (Friends…, 1998). Within the group of approximately 60 people, the diversity of the individual's outdoor recreation experience is varied. Some have camped, canoed and portaged a great deal while some will be experiencing "the great outdoors" for the first time. Although there will be both rookies and veterans the physical fitness level of all is fairly descent. Therefore, it was only up to the individual to do some informal physical training before the trip if they feel training was needed. However, formal training took place at Northern Edge Algonquin before the group headed into Algonquins interior. Activities such as paddling, orienteering, and first aid were addressed for the first two days of the trip.

ORIENTEERING

One of the first aspects of canoeing that must be addressed when finding one's way through the wild is called orienteering. Orienteering is definitely essential when exploring Algonquin Park. The most important aids used in orienteering are a compass and map. "Compasses are useful for taking bearings and for orienting the map so that it is aligned ...

... middle of paper ...

...ng the stick does not impair the accuracy of the shadow tip method, thus you can use it on sloping ground.

(Darman, 1996)

Index 2.2: Determining Direction with a Watch:

· Point hour hands towards the sun.

· A south line can be found midway between the hour hand and 1200 hours. If in doubt as to which end of the line is north always remember that the sun is in the east before noon and in the west in the afternoon.

(Darman, 1996)

REFERENCES

Darman, P. (1996). The Survival Handbook. Stoddart Publishing Co.: Toronto.

Friends of Algonquin. (Brochure). Algonquin Park Canoe Routes. (1998).

McNeill, C. Cory-Wright, J, Renfrew, T. (1998). Teaching Orienteering. Human Kinetic

Publishers: Windsor.

Williams, H. (1998). What is Orienteering. Available at: www.williams.edu.