Bon Echo is a provincial park located by highway 41. We reserved two lots at the Sawmil  campsite, to the left of the park entrance. We were a 5-10mins walk to the closest beach (North Beach) and a 15mins walk to the main beach. The main beach is stretched lengthwise, with just enough sand for people to lay down and play beach volleyball.

When camping or visiting Bon Echo, one will quickly realize how “the rock” will gain a lot of importance. So on the cloudy day, our group decided to take a ferry (~$3,00) across to the rock and embark on a 1 km hike. You can choose to canoe over to the rock or take the ferry. The hike up is relatively easy and accessible for both adults and kids. It provides hikers with a nice view of the lake. Definitely worth it if it’s a cloudy day.

Camping Fire 101

• To start a fire, you need kindle wood and regular wood. The best way is to create a tippie with your wood, where the kindle wood is in the inside and the bigger pieces of wood on the outside. The trick is to light the kindle wood first (using a small piece of wood or paper) so that it then lights up the bigger pieces.
• Kindle wood in simply smaller pieces of the bigger logs. The goal of adding the kindle wood is so that it picks up the fire quicker and then transfer the fire over to the bigger logs.
• When fire is decreasing or not burning properly, take a plate and air it. The oxygen will boost the fire.

Roasting Marshmallows

Going camping without marshmallow is a no-no! I’m personally not a fan of smores but I found my own coup de Coeur this weekend!

• Find a stick in the woods and clean the tip of it using a knife. Then put your stick close to the coals in the fire to disinfect your stick.
• Place a marshmallow at the tip of your stick and put it in the fire. The trick is not to place your marshmallow directly on the fire but at the bottom of the coals. Make sure not to place it too close because it will start to burn after a few seconds.
• Once your marshmallow is ready, place a macaroon (coconut chocolate) inside your melting marshmallow and enjoy!!!!

When most people hear the word “camping”, they think about mosquitoes, lack of bathrooms, dirt, etc. That would probably be a good description for rustic camping but provincial parks in Canada are well equipped. So the camping we’re referring to is with nearby bathroom facilities, electricity and water. I’ll save the rustic camping occasions when I’m backpacking somewhere exotic. With only a few days away from leaving on a camping trip, I need to think of items to pack.

1. Tent, sleeping bags, mattresses and tarp: These are pretty much the basic necessities for camping. Putting up the tent will be an interesting task of its own but we should be able to put it up without too much difficulty. Tarp is always useful when it rains. I normally put one over the tent and keep an extra one in the car to put over the table if it rains.
2. Hammer, machete knife, flashlight and lantern: These items will also come in very useful. We’ll need a hammer to put up the tent. The knife is always useful, either to cut food or difficult items to cut with a regular knife. The flashlight and lanterns will be handy once it’s dark.
3. Camping/portable stove and grill for campfire: The portable stove is not a necessary item because you can easily cook using the fire and a grill. But, since I mentioned that I’m going on a slightly more luxurious camping trip, the portable stove is coming with up. I plan to make the eggs or boil water or tea or even make some coffee.
4. Plastic plates, garbage bags, cloths, dish soap and pan: While trying to use plastic plates and utensils to eat, we’ll still need to bring a pan for whatever we need to cook on the stove. It’s always to have a back-up plan. For example, I normally cook eggs in the pan but if it’s windy one night and we’re having trouble keeping the fire going, at least I can cook the food in a pan. Which then needs to be washed in dried so we need to make sure to bring cloths and dish soap. Garbage bags always come in handy for your garbage, of course.
5. Food and cooler: The best part of it all is the food of course! To keep things simple, I normally bring burgers, brochettes, corn on the cob and vegetables. They are simple to cook and so tasty when cooked on a fire. I can’t forget to bring other necessities such as spices and oils to marinate the food. The cooler should be filled with ice to keep meats and dairy products cold at all time.
6. Personal items: This is where you personal items comes in such as clothes, bathing suit, mosquito repellant, sun screen, soap, shampoo, towels. Most camping grounds do have showers that you can enjoy. If not, you can always stay stinky for a few days. Do avoid bringing perfume based products because it will attract the mosquitoes!

All in all, camping is fun and relaxing! To ensure a good trip, do be sure to leave your food in the car at night and tie your garbage back high up to avoid unexpected surprises at night. Enjoy!