2019: a couple of little jaunts

Camping continues to be a tad sporadic this summer. We headed out to Perth in August, to check out a municipal park called Last Duel. It got this name as it was the location of an actual duel between two fellows who were vying for the affections of a local woman. Unfortunately for one of them, his days of flirting with the ladies were soon over.

Last Duel Park was certainly handy, as it was within walking distance of downtown Perth, but the park had an odd vibe to it. The Park was pretty much filled with seasonals, and very few overnighters. In talking with a some campers, it turns out that most of the them are actually from Perth and the surrounding area, and this sort of explained the continual gatherings of people at the sites. One evening there was a raucous party, which drew the attention of the police in the middle of the night, but as we were in the far corner of the campground, we were unaware this little melee was happening.

Our site backed onto the Tay River, and we were able to kayak into Perth, which was a different little treat. The river is narrow and quite suitable for paddling. Heading in the other direction you will pass through a conservation area, and it could take you all the way to the Big Rideau Lake, if your arms hung in that long.

Stewart Park, right in the heart of Perth

a swing bridge

a really nice little river

All said though, we think Last Duel may only be an occasional weekend jaunt for us, the vibe being just a little heavy on the sketchy side of things.

Our next outing was Dale’s girls weekend at Bonnechere. This meant it was a boys weekend for Barley and I. The weather was a tad off, but at least it was not pouring the whole time. There was a lot of flooding in the spring, in fact, the entire beach, treed picnic area, and the parking lot behind the camp store, were well submerged. This is a very well run park, so it was not surprising that there was little evidence left over from the flood, the beach area looked great.

the sand is like crushed pink granite

The highlight for me was actually before arriving at the park.  Dale was driving up with one of her girlfriends, and we met her at the Antrim Truck Stop. As they headed on their way, I spied the big CAT scale, and decided it was time to weigh our rig. This is something I have wanted to do for a long time, but for some reason or other, it never managed to happen.

Pulled onto the scale, got the axles all lined up on the correct pads, and made the first reading. I then pulled off, unhitched the Alto, and weighed just the Santa Fe. It was a good time to do this, as our weights were probably close to the max we might travel with, given that the kayaks and gear were on board, and the bikes were on the tongue of the trailer. The Alto topped out at 2360 lbs, the Santa Fe at 5000 lbs while hitched. The unhitched weight was 4700 lbs, which puts our tongue weight at around 300 lbs. Certainly within the recommended 10-15% of the trailer weight.

Looking at the various numbers, all are well below any manufacturer limits, which is reassuring. These get even better when the kayaks and bikes are not along for the journey, which is perhaps half of the time. In my mind I always figured we were around 2400 lbs overall for the Alto and our inside cargo, so I was pleased my guess was not that far off. Those scales were definitely the highlight of the weekend!

Our next foray is to the Arrowhead AltoGather, and we are really keen about that trip.