/tags/winter-camping.rss en-us For many Canadians, winter is a time of hibernation. Although Canadians are deemed a hearty bunch from the land of ice and snow, most have a natural inclination to hide indoors while waiting for spring. Torontonians in particular are often relieved when their plans are suddenly cancelled on a bitterly cold January night, giving them the ultimate excuse to imprint themselves on the couch instead of schlepping across the city. It is for all these reasons that if you mention you are going winter camping for the weekend, you are given a look as though you have three heads. In Toronto, winter lovers are rare. Fortunately I have been lucky to find my pack of five fellow winter adventurists, whom in a city of 2.5 million, are among the few. For two years, we have made the trek to Silent Lake Provincial Park where our accommodation is nothing more than a yurt with two bunk beds, sleeping six in total, a woodstove, plywood flooring and an outdoor barbecue. What is a yurt, you may ask? Traditionally, a yurt is a portable tent-like home used by nomadic Mongolians. For the purposes of Silent Lake, these shelters are made of canvas and sit on a wooden platform approximately two feet above the ground. There are six Silent Lake yurts available in this campground just outside of Bancroft, Ontario. We are not the only three-headed people who do this; site reservations for Silent Lake Provincial Park begin in September, and the entire winter is booked within weeks. If you are lucky enough to make it to Silent Lake by 6 p.m., the very kind and laid-back park wardens will load up your gear in a trailer and drive you in a sled to your yurt, which, depending on your fellow passengers, can be an amusing ride. Should you miss this convenient shuttle, you will have to ski or snowshoe in with all of your stuff in the dark. This seems most inconvenient. The Silent Lake yurts come equipped with water and firewood, but waking up at 3 a.m. feeling like you’re next in line for the Polar Bear dip will remind you that the woodstove needs to be fed constantly. While most people grumble about venturing out for a pint on a cold winter’s night, we have been known to winter camp in -35°C temperatures when snow has actually been frozen to the inside walls of our weekend home at Silent Lake Provincial Park. Concerned about my digits in such conditions, I have burned several pairs of socks by placing my icy feet a little too far into the woodstove. The most common question that people ask about winter camping at Silent Lake Provincial Park is what to do to pass the time. Negative winter temperatures are not conducive to swilling beer, lingering over S'mores and singing around the campfire. If you are to embrace being outside for an entire weekend at Silent Lake Provincial Park, you absolutely MUST be a winter enthusiast, as there is very little else to do. There are incredible cross-country ski trails that range from six to nineteen kilometres, covering spectacular lake and forest terrain. Snowshoeing is also popular at Silent Lake with infinite bushwhacking opportunities and trails. There is no running water, there are some outhouses, and you will have to cook and do a few household chores to keep the yurt manageable. This is winter in a yurt at Silent Lake. Thu, 17 Mar 2011 03:23:16 +0000 http://www.thecircumference.org/experiences/silent-lake-yurt http://www.thecircumference.org/experiences/silent-lake-yurt