Hiking In The Kipwaw Lodge or Alwaki lodge area

[crackers42]

We see them swimming from point to point in the open water down our way when the bugs in the bush are really bad

Usually once every three years or so same for moose

One of the camps near us almost saved a bear one time in open water we figure it got so exhausted from swimming all it wanted was ride have heard about this deer in parts

[Fort Wisers]

I would tend to agree with the suggestions on this board that hiking in the area is not likely the best idea.
There are some spots but nothing is marked and pretty much every trail has many other trails off it, making the potential of getting lost fairly significant.
Also, most of the trails in this area tend to be built for function (ATV trails for accessing camps and lakes etc) and not as hiking trails.
So, as T-Bone mentioned, they may find that walking these trails tends to get a bit dull after a while, depends on what they expect from the hike I guess.....

As for bears, this one hits close to home right now as our girls literally came face to face with a young black bear last week at camp while walking along an ATV trail going to our woodshed, it was less than 50 feet away from them according to their account of the run in.
Luckily the bear was likely more scared of them than they were of it and ran off in a hurry opposite of their direction.
About 15 minutes later I took the girls to go look for any signs and we found it again hunkered down in some brush off a different ATV trail on our land, we walked right past it the first time but while walking back it spooked and again ran, no signs since.
The bears in general are pretty quick to turn and run but all it takes is an aggressive young male bear or a mama with cubs and a nice hike through the bush can quickly turn ugly.
Bear spray and a whistle are for sure items to carry if the hikers are not accustomed to seeing bears face to face.

Crackers note is not to be taken lightly either, while I'm sure (or hope anyhow) that everyone on this board has come to enjoy the general good nature of people in the area, like anywhere in the world, there are some rougher customers out there occasionally.
Being alone in the bush only gives the criminal element one more advantage to exploit.


If they do decide to go:
A good compass / map / GPS etc and ability to use them will help avoid getting too far away from camp and not knowing how to return.
Even some basic first aid / survival gear may not be a bad idea if they plan to spend some time and distance out there, people have gotten lost here before, both on and off the lake and the outcome is not always good.

As an alternative, perhaps canoeing?
That being said, Kipawa can got from dead calm to stormy and rough in a hurry so if you went this route be sure they stick close to shore and are comfortable with spending time on a larger lake in a canoe.
If they stick close to shore and away from larger open sections of the lake a canoe trip for the family can be a nice adventure that is similar in nature to hiking.

Just trying to think of ideas for you, I know the feeling of trying to find activities to keep all parties happy!

Good luck:
Brent

[Hodgey1]

Thanks @Fort Wisers and all of you for your advice and details.

After all of your input, I will scratch the Hiking idea. The last thing I’d want is for a nice family outing to turn into a disaster. I think if I decide to get them a week at Alwaki, it will be focused on fishing, camp fires, exploring the lake and peace & tranquilty.

I watched a documentary once years ago about the number of people attacked and some eaten by bears in the Algonquin Park. What I’ll never forget was One story of a family that went missing there, search party found each member dead, partially eaten, then partially buried.  Geez, we’ll stick to the water thank you 

[Greg]

Hey Hodgey, good conclusion I think... my 2 cents...with recent live experience...

Last Monday - we visited the church and walked into the forest to see the old school house, etc. - bugs were incredible - we ended up running back through the trail to get to the boat swatting and waving our hats... it was nuts in the forest compared to on the water.

Friday (2 days ago) - we were setting up to lake trout troll over in front of Whispering Pines and saw something moving in the water near shore... watched it, and idled over closer (but not within 200 yards close) and a young black bear (not a cub, but not full grown either) got out of the water at shore and saw us and RAN up the hill, like I mean RAAAANNNN full tilt up this hill with big rocks and a steep degree - it was young and could still move fast... imagine what it will be like when it gets a larger!  Very powerful.

Greg