The Lookout Trail, located in Algonquin Provincial Park, is a moderate to difficult 2.1 km loop that features a sweeping scenic lookout, large rock outcrop, and well-maintained forested path. Despite its relatively short length, this trail can pose a challenge for some due to its steep incline, and elevation gain. At a moderate pace, the hike can be completed in less than 1 hour.
Flat, forested section of the path, just past the trailhead
Shortly past this point, the trail gives way to a relatively steepincline
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What do you need to know?
Hikers will be rewarded with one of the best views in the entire area and a fantastic place to stop, catch your breath, and take an unhealthy amount of photos. Just be warned though, this trail is one of the most accessible in Algonquin Park, and as such will be one of the busiest. It’s best to hike the Lookout Trail earlier in the morning, or later in the afternoon to avoid the lunchtime and evening rushes.
If you’re planning on visiting during the Fall colours season, particularly on the weekend, know that the parking lot reaches over-capacity quickly, and the path becomes nearly unusable due to the congestion. To maximize your enjoyment, consider coming during the week, or visiting the park at a time of year when the crowds aren’t as numerous.
A bench at the top is the perfect place rest, or take photosA small lake is visible in the distance
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How to get here:
From Toronto:
Hwy 400 –> Hwy 11 –> Hwy 60 –> Algonquin Park West Gate –> km marker 39.7
*Be sure to stop in at the West Gate to pick up your day pass*
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This week’s photo comes from the Canada – United States Border between the Province ofBritish Columbia and Washington State.
Much of the border between Canada and the United States looks just like the area in photo below: a ditch beside the road, or a long clearing of trees. The border between these two nations is not only the longest international border in the world, (8,890 km, 5524 mi) but it’s also the longest undefended one. The only way to actually tell you’re entering an entirely different country is by the colour difference of the pavement, and the white pillars which mark the exact boundary line.
Still though, much of the border is under constant 24/7 surveillance from both sides, so crossing here without repercussions isn’t as easy as it seems. However, it fascinates me just how different the United States’ northern border is with Canada in contrast to the one with Mexico in the south; walls, fences and all.
See you next week!
Canada – United States Border Marker, British Columbia/Washington State (ca. November 2019)
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To mark the end of the year, I put together a brief overview of 2020: what I did, where I went, my top posts, and the overall statistics of the website and blog. You’ll also find a list of my favourite blogs and channels of the year, and links to their respective pages.
2020 was a memorable year for a lot of reasons. While it started out relatively normal, the global COVID-19 pandemic quickly changed how the rest of the year would unravel; for all of us. I was lucky enough to do some international travelling before the world shut down, and then explore some of my own home country once Canada loosened some of it’s internal restrictions over the summer months.
But perhaps the most memorable part of 2020 for me happened on May 1st, when I finally took the plunge and started this website and blog, Seeking Saudades. As I said in my last post, I’ve really enjoyed writing, reading, and interacting with all of you, and I’m extremely grateful for those who have taken the time out of their day to visit, like, share and follow.
I’m excited to keep growing, learning, and posting new material, but for now, let’s take a look back at the year that was. Here is the 2020 year in review.
See you in 2021!
| Travel Recap
1. Thailand
I travelled to Thailand in late February, just before the global shutdown due to COVID-19. The first part of the trip was a short stint in Bangkok, followed by a week-long stay on the island of Phuket. It was my first time in Thailand, and I really enjoyed what I saw. I’ll definitely be making the effort to return one day.
| Bangkok
| Phuket
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2. Japan
This marked my second time in Japan. My first was a near 2-week stay in 2018 travelling through Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima. This trip however, was simply a 2-day layover in Tokyo on the way back home from Thailand in late February. I love Japan, and any excuse to visit is one worth taking. There are plans in the works to go back again in the near future; exactly how near is up to COVID-19.
| Tokyo
3. Canada (Notable Destinations)
I did more exploring of my home Province of Ontario this year than ever before. While there were a ton of destinations on the itinerary this summer, I narrowed the list down to a few notable places. I went to Chutes Provincial Parkin early September as part of a larger road trip to Manitoulin Island. While I was impressed by both, my favourite destination this summer was Algonquin Provincial Park. I might be a little biased as I worked there, but nonetheless it’s still a breathtaking area, and one I highly recommend you visit if you haven’t been before.
| Algonquin Provincial Park
| Chutes Provincial Park
| Manitoulin Island
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| Overall Website Statistics
*Statistics are from May 1st – December 30th, 2020*
Where You’re Reading:
In 2020, Seeking Saudades was viewed in 42 countries from around the world. Here is a map and list of where, and a breakdown of each location’s total percentage of views.
1. Breakdown by Map
Shaded countries represent where Seeking Saudades was viewed
Rich and Kirsten are Canadian couple who started off the year travelling the world, but were ultimately forced back home due to the pandemic. They spent the summer living and driving across Canada in a minivan, and loved it so much they decided to convert a cargo van to live in on the road full time.
2. Abroad in Japan
Chris Broad is originally from England, but moved to Japan full time to teach English. Since his arrival years ago, he’s made a career out of making videos about his experiences, notable destinations, and cultural differences. If you’re interested in learning more about Japan, his channel is where to go first. His latest series was a 1,000 km road trip to Mount Fuji.
3. Joe Robinet
Joe Robinet films extended length outdoor adventure and bushcraft videos. If you’re a fan of Les Stroud – Survivorman, you’ll love Joe’s content. I spent the summer binge-watching his collection of canoe expeditions through the wilderness of Ontario.
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Thank you so much for reading, and if you’ve made it this far please consider liking the post, sharing it with your friends, and hitting the follow button so you don’t miss any of my upcoming material!And don’t forget to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!
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Recently, Seeking Saudadessurpassed 1000 total views! I’m incredibly grateful to all those who have taken the time out of their day to stop by to read, like, comment, share or follow this website and blog. It has been a pleasure writing, and interacting with all of you and I’m excited to keep building and creating more in the future to come.
For the first time, I’ve decided on keeping a consistent schedule for all of my posts, so make sure to keep an eye out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for new material!
Thank you so much for reading, and if you’ve made it this far please consider liking the post, sharing it with your friends, and hitting the follow button so you don’t miss any of my upcoming material!And don’t forget to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!
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Welcome back to Photo Friday, and Merry Christmas!
This week I’ve chosen a picture that was taken from an unmarked trail and lookout in the Algonquin Highlands, located just south of Algonquin Provincial Parkin central Ontario, Canada in July of 2020.
For those looking to get out and explore next year, this region of Ontario offers some of the best hiking, swimming, camping, sight seeing, boating and more in the entire province. The best part: it’s within close proximity to Toronto, about a 3 hour drive, so you can easily make a day trip out of it. This area is one of my favourite places on Earth, and the photo below might just help illustrate why.
See you next week!
Algonquin Highlands, Ontario, Canada (ca. July 2020)
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Lately, I’ve realized that I’ve been sitting on a lot of pictures that I’ve taken over the past couple of years, and instead of letting them go to waste on my computer I thought that it would be a good idea share them here for others to enjoy.
This week’s photo was taken at Alnwick Castle, England in May of 2019.
Harry Potter fans may recognize this castle the best, as it was used for many of the outdoor filming locations for Hogwarts Castle in the first two films in the series, most notably broomstick training.
Alnwick Castle, England (ca. May 2019)
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In May of 2018, I was invited on a 17-hour, 1500 km road trip from southern Ontario to Beresford, New Brunswick with my friend Sam and his family. In order to help pass the time, and in an effort to remember the experience I posted a story on my snapchat account every hour of the car ride, plus a little extra. What follows are the pictures documenting the journey:
We had to leave bright and early in the morning in order to make it in time for dinner later that day. The 3:30 a.m. wake up call also insured we would be driving through the dense forests of New Brunswick in the day-light. Crucial in avoiding a deadly collision with a Moose.
If you’ve ever driven through Toronto, you would understand the extra benefit of driving through the city in the middle of the night. Highway 401, which runs right through the heart of the city is the busiest highway in all of North America, carrying upwards of half a million people per day. No traffic meant we saved upwards of an hour and a half on our trip.
At this point we had been driving for quite a while, and seeing as none of us had eaten yet, Tim Horton’s was always going to be our first stop. Double Doubles, Timbits, and some bacon breakfast sandwiches were just what we needed.
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After picking up refreshments, we got back on the road. Now, if you’re not from Canada then it’s important to know that we tend to make fun of the French province of Quebec. The English – French rivalry in Canada has it’s roots in the formation of the country, which was dominated by settlers from the United Kingdom, and France battling for control of the land surrounding the St. Lawrence river, and the fertile great lakes region.
The closer we got to Quebec, the more vocal my jabs at the French became. The only problem – Sam and his family have French heritage (hence the road trip to partly French New Brunswick) so they were having none of it. It was all in fun, but deep down I knew it ever so slightly got to them. Thus, in order to prevent a civil war in the car, some ground rules had to be established:
There shall be no French slander of any kind; and
If said rule is broken I will be spending the remaining 10 hours of the drive sitting in the trunk.
We continued.
For those that don’t know, Canada is a bilingual nation. This means that our two official languages are French and English. The school system is mandated to teach both, but this doesn’t mean they do a good job.
This trip was the first time that I had been to another Canadian province other than my home of Ontario. It was a long time in the making, and I thought Quebec and New Brunswick were well worth the wait.
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Most of this trip was spent on the road in 5 hours blocks, and there was no exception to this rule. You had better use the washroom when we were filling up on gas because otherwise you’d be peeing in a water bottle in the backseat.
The legal drinking age in Quebec is 18 years old, which is one year lower than Ontario, so you better believe we took this opportunity to buy some beer. To our surprise, we didn’t get ID’d by the gas station attendant and made it out without issue. Don’t worry, we didn’t open the beverages until we got to our final destination. It was a well deserved cold one.
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By this time in the road trip my brain had turned to mush, my legs were practically falling off, and we were all getting pretty irritable. Luckily we didn’t have relatively far left to go and so, we pushed on.
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Let me tell you, when we finally pulled off the highway and saw our first glimpse of the Atlantic Ocean, well, that was a fantastic feeling. We were itching to get out of the car and be greeted by a nice home cooked meal, and a couple drinks by the fire.
Although long, the journey was well worth it. I was grateful to see more of my home country and gained a new appreciation for the diversity such a large nation offers. We stayed in New Brunswick for a week, before cramming in the back of the car for the 17-hour return journey.
Thank you so much for reading, and if you’ve made it this far please consider liking the post, sharing it with your friends, and hitting the follow button so you don’t miss any of my upcoming material!And don’t forget to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!
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The Cup and Saucer trail is a 14 kilometer hiking trail located on Manitoulin Island, just west of Little Current, Ontario. It navigates an extension of the of the Niagara Escarpment, and features 70-meter sheer cliffs, large forested areas, narrow rock-lined footpaths, and several awe-inspiring lookouts over the island’s many lakes, including the largest lake on an island on a lake in the world, Lake Manitou.
About a 6-hour drive from Toronto and 2 hours west of Sudbury, the Cup and Saucer trail is no day trip for many. However, it makes for a great opportunity to camp overnight and take in the sites of beautiful Northern Ontario. Personally, I recommend staying at Chutes Provincial Park, a small yet picturesque park located about an hour drive away in Massey, Ontario, which offers its own scenic trails, a raging river, and a large waterfall.
The parking lot at the trailhead of the Cup and Saucer is split into 2 parts: an upper and lower level. The lots are small; when I arrived at around 11 a.m. the upper lot was already jam packed, and the lower lot was quickly filling up, so I recommend getting there early. Each level has convenient access to a porta potty, and considering this is a longer hike I would make use of their availability (although make sure to bring your own toilet paper!).
The trailhead map of the Cup and Saucer Trail
The hike consists of 3 sections: the Main Trail (4 km), the South Loop (5 km), and the Adventure Trail (500m). If your looking to keep it short, 3 of the 4 marked lookouts are located on the Main Trail and they alone make the trip worth the effort. This is as far as I went when I did the hike and I was very content with not going any further. However, if you’re looking for more, the South Loop and Adventure Trail are both excellent additions with the latter being relatively more difficult.
The hike along the Main Trail took me just under 2 hours, totaling 5.62 km according to my Samsung Galaxy Fit. Although the parking lot was full, the trail congestion itself was fairly spaced out, making for quite an enjoyable experience. There are several steep and rocky sections that may be more difficult for some than others, but in general the Cup and Saucer can be enjoyed by anyone. (I saw quite a few people that brought their small children, and even dogs along with them!)
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All in all, the Cup and Saucer is well worth the stop. The hike can be challenging at times, but what it asks from you, it gives twice as much back. Manitoulin Island itself is a fantastic destination to visit on its own, offering memorable scenery, quaint communities, and rich Indigenous culture and history which I implore you take the time to discover yourself.
Thank you so much for reading, and if you’ve made it this far please consider liking the post, sharing it with your friends, and hitting the follow button so you don’t miss any of my upcoming material!And don’t forget to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!
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Seeking Saudades 