One day I hiked along the portage trail to Pine Tree Lake. This is one of the treats of winter in Algonquin: you can easily reach and walk along portage trails to reach many lakes. Whereas in the summer a canoe is required to reach most of them.

Along the way it started to pour snow. It is extremely beautiful in the forest when it's pouring snow!

A young Eastern Hemlock tree.

It was also very windy today, whipping the freshly fallen snow high up into the air.

I had a nice campfire for lunch break. Note how deep the snow is. I started the fire almost on top of the snow, on some larger branches, and it gradually burned down into the snow to the ground.

It's important to thoroughly put out fires even in the winter, as they can sometimes burn down into roots and smolder there for weeks.

On the way back through the snowy woods.

This photo is not on the Pine Tree Lake portage trail, but I wanted to use it to illustrate one of the dangers of winter travel.

Note the darker area in the middle of the photo. This is a small area of thin ice, perhaps where a spring wells up from beneath, or where boggy decay is more active, warming the water slightly.

Imagine now that this area is slightly less open, and is covered with a layer of snow. And you are walking innocently along the lake or creek when you hit this soft spot. Down you go! Even the most experienced winter traveler could get caught by this kind of "trap". And there could be absolutely no clue to the pitfall that awaits you.

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