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OT: The News Thread

I live near Port Credit and while there was a storm, it was really nothing. Couldn't even really tell it had rained afterwards.
 
Was out near Peterborough at a friend's trailer and that area got hit pretty hard. Lotta downed trees and power lines.

A large tree took out half a trailer. Everyone was okay at least.
 
hockeylover said:
Was out near Peterborough at a friend's trailer and that area got hit pretty hard. Lotta downed trees and power lines.

A large tree took out half a trailer. Everyone was okay at least.
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Yeah my wife’s parents and grandma are out that way and they’ve been told it will be a few days for power. Sounds like a heck of a storm.
 
Ms. Wayward's family in Ottawa do not have power yet. And her sister has no power or water. Expecting it will be 'days' before its restored...
 
I was on a canoe trip through Algonquin when this storm rolled through.

Though the spot where we were at on Saturday must have just been hit by a trailing edge of the storm or a completely different one, since for us it was just an evening and overnight of consistently strong but not overly crazy winds. Which was actually pretty welcome, since it kept the blackflies away. Then we had an hour or two of constant loud thunder, sheet lighting and a heavy downpour of rain overnight.

Since we had no cell coverage all weekend, none of us even had any idea the storm was anything out of the ordinary until we started driving home yesterday afternoon and getting pinged with a bunch of notifications.
 
LeafGm said:
I was on a canoe trip through Algonquin when this storm rolled through.

Though the spot where we were at on Saturday must have just been hit by a trailing edge of the storm or a completely different one, since for us it was just an evening and overnight of consistently strong but not overly crazy winds. Which was actually pretty welcome, since it kept the blackflies away. Then we had an hour or two of constant loud thunder, sheet lighting and a heavy downpour of rain overnight.

Since we had no cell coverage all weekend, none of us even had any idea the storm was anything out of the ordinary until we started driving home yesterday afternoon and getting pinged with a bunch of notifications.
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Do you usually go up in bug season? I always wait until at least July.
 
LeafGm said:
I was on a canoe trip through Algonquin when this storm rolled through.

Though the spot where we were at on Saturday must have just been hit by a trailing edge of the storm or a completely different one, since for us it was just an evening and overnight of consistently strong but not overly crazy winds. Which was actually pretty welcome, since it kept the blackflies away. Then we had an hour or two of constant loud thunder, sheet lighting and a heavy downpour of rain overnight.

Since we had no cell coverage all weekend, none of us even had any idea the storm was anything out of the ordinary until we started driving home yesterday afternoon and getting pinged with a bunch of notifications.
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I was in the woods during the big 'blackout' storm of a decade plus ago... was quite the shock when we returned to society.
 
zeke said:
Do you usually go up in bug season? I always wait until at least July.
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I go on a canoe trip on or around the May 24 weekend every year, though the May 24 trip is usually in the Muskoka area. This was my first time being in Algonquin this early in the season. Later summer & fall is usually my favourite time of year for camping north of Muskoka.

And the bugs actually weren't too bad this time. There was one longer portage where the blackflies got intolerably bad and I had to throw on a bug jacket & gloves. But aside from that they were only a minor nuisance or not around at all for the rest of the time.
 
LeafGm said:
I go on a canoe trip on or around the May 24 weekend every year, though the May 24 trip is usually in the Muskoka area. This was my first time being in Algonquin this early in the season. Later summer & fall is usually my favourite time of year for camping north of Muskoka.

And the bugs actually weren't too bad this time. There was one longer portage where the blackflies got intolerably bad and I had to throw on a bug jacket & gloves. But aside from that they were only a minor nuisance or not around at all for the rest of the time.
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man it's been a rough start to blackfly season out here. the one day we were out at the crag recently all was good so long as the breeze kept up, and as soon as it died down things immediately went up to like a 5-6/10 (10/10 is when you inhale blackflies with every breath). and this was at one of the coastal options, we don't even go to the inland ones much right now.

gimme skeeters over blackflies any day though.

and in my experience on a canoe trip it's not so bad as when you're hiking. save for the occasional unbearable portage of course...
 
LeafGm said:
I go on a canoe trip on or around the May 24 weekend every year, though the May 24 trip is usually in the Muskoka area. This was my first time being in Algonquin this early in the season. Later summer & fall is usually my favourite time of year for camping north of Muskoka.

And the bugs actually weren't too bad this time. There was one longer portage where the blackflies got intolerably bad and I had to throw on a bug jacket & gloves. But aside from that they were only a minor nuisance or not around at all for the rest of the time.
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You're braver than I. Love canoe trips but the bugs destroy me - wait until July and there's no bugs at all.
 
Wayward DP said:
man it's been a rough start to blackfly season out here. the one day we were out at the crag recently all was good so long as the breeze kept up, and as soon as it died down things immediately went up to like a 5-6/10 (10/10 is when you inhale blackflies with every breath). and this was at one of the coastal options, we don't even go to the inland ones much right now.

gimme skeeters over blackflies any day though.

and in my experience on a canoe trip it's not so bad as when you're hiking. save for the occasional unbearable portage of course...
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Blackflies are definitely worse than skeeters. Blackfly bites itch worse and last longer than mosquito bites. And then blackflies seem laser focused on getting into your eyes, ears & mouth, which can drive you a little nuts.

And yeah, when you're out on the water, for the most part they don't seem to follow you, unless you're in a narrow/swampy river. And the one portage they really got us bad was a long hike through some dense woods.
 
I am game to be swarmed by mossies most days of the week. over my years attending summer camps in Muskoka I seem to have developed a bit of an immunity to their bites (i.e. they bite me, it gets slightly itchy, I ignore it, then in 20 minutes its gone).

but I will readily admit when the blackflies hit like a 5/10 or more... borderline unbearable. and they fucking love me. last week when we were out, no joke, I was standing right next to a friend. I had a cloud of blackflies around my head, they had not a one.

of course, my 100% refusal to ever use deet adds a further wrinkle...
 
LeafGm said:
Blackflies are definitely worse than skeeters. Blackfly bites itch worse and last longer than mosquito bites. And then blackflies seem laser focused on getting into your eyes, ears & mouth, which can drive you a little nuts.

And yeah, when you're out on the water, for the most part they don't seem to follow you, unless you're in a narrow/swampy river. And the one portage they really got us bad was a long hike through some dense woods.
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after my first year out in Hali we did a 6-day canoe trip through a protected wilderness area basically the week we finished exams in April. no leaves on trees, but also no bugs at all. and the water level at its highest which was basically the only time you could paddle this river.

of course, when the other boat partially capsized buddy was nearly hypothermic after going for a swim. but otherwise, pretty great conditions. think I may try to do more early season trips like this...
 
zeke said:
You're braver than I. Love canoe trips but the bugs destroy me - wait until July and there's no bugs at all.
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I just can't wait that late into the season to get out into the country.

And I can tolerate mosquitos pretty well. I grew up spending entire summers in Muskoka, so they've bit me so much over the years that I'm somewhat immunized to them. I don't get a huge reaction to their bites, and they go away fairly quickly if I don't scratch them.

Blackflies and Deer flies are the two types of bugs that can drive me nuts, though. Probably the combination of painful bites and the fact that they love to swarm your head.
 
LeafGm said:
I just can't wait that late into the season to get out into the country.

And I can tolerate mosquitos pretty well. I grew up spending entire summers in Muskoka, so they've bit me so much over the years that I'm somewhat immunized to them. I don't get a huge reaction to their bites, and they go away fairly quickly if I don't scratch them.

Blackflies and Deer flies are the two types of bugs that can drive me nuts, though. Probably the combination of painful bites and the fact that they love to swarm your head.
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horseflies. those bastards come out later in the summer when it's really hot.
 
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