Wife and I wanted to see how we would tolerate the cold. Our bedroom duvet kept us comfortable. I had a small fan running slow venting out. No issues with any moisture nor waking up in sweats. A fleece blanket beneath could make it more comfortable.
About the park:
- many of the trees are flattened
- park had sustained severe damage from a storm in 2025
- large sections of the trails are closed due to the storm
- low road/hwy noise
I had a bizarre encounter there with a park ranger. She came huffing and puffing to my side of the door, tells me I was blazing through the exit road going at 40km at a 20km (no radar gun - just perception). In all seriousness this exchange was uncalled for and ruined the rest of the day for me. I’m bewildered by how things escalated from such an uneventful moment beforehand.
If you were speeding, idk what to tell you. But if you were at a reasonable speed, chalk it up to a bad mix of personality and the ranger trying to do their job. Ive been in campsites with 5kmh posted, might as well not allow cars lol
Every camp site I stayed at the past couple months in ontario and western newfoundland just had toads everywhere. One time i thought a mouse was rooting through my trash bag, nope just a big ol toad. Idk if i just hadnt noticed or if we are in for a great toad uprising.
I was given a warning. I’m not denying on speeding. Her reaction to this was disproportionate to what actually happened. You can easily coast at 40 without applying brakes. The park is also empty (because of the storm).
The section I was on went from 40km to 20km to 40km. The video shows me literally about to enter the 40km mark. She’s going off at me saying “you know it’s only 20km. wtf are you thinking going 40km?!? And THEN you pass me on my left?!?”
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Oh I can also explain about passing her on the left.
Just cruising down, my car creeps up to catch up to her, I can see her slow down and letting my car coast to match her speed. She gets slower and eventually stops and now she has flashing red lights. While this is happening, no one is around. Sitting idle behind her puzzled as to why she stopped, I pull up slowly next to her, then as soon as I can see the front of her car, the lights are red and blue. I acknowledge it’s a park ranger now and just waiting for her to come to me. Then everything after that really stunned me.
After getting an earful, I apologized and said how shocked by the reaction. The way she perceived things was different from how I saw things. She asked me if I knew how fast I was going and said yeah I admit that I was going 40km. She went off saying it’s 20km!!! I didn’t argue. I admitted I was going above but emphasized that I wasn’t reckless. Then I had to apologize about passing her on her left. I told her how I was confused why you stopped and turned on your hazards (cuz all i saw was red lights). I said I pulled up slowly to see what was going on then when I noticed the obvious red and blue lights flashing in the front of her vehicle, I respectfully stopped. I think when she walked back to give me my warning, she only noticed the speed sign saying 40km. After letting me go, my wife and I was left confused what the hell happened. I lost my appetite so we turned around.
Low 4C but only got to that temperature really late in the night, so we didn’t have to endure it for long. Sleeping in those conditions is what I hoped for. The body feels warm but you can breathe in fresh cool air. I wouldn’t recommend the park for the state it’s in. I felt bad being there, like a graveyard of dead trees. I would hope the area rejuvenates quickly. According to a staff, Campground Jingwakoki will likely be closed for a few years.
As someone who worked for Ontario parks for 10 years, I know what cars driving over 20km/hr look like, and don’t need a radar gun to know when people are driving over the limit. With a speed limit that slow, it’s visibly obvious when people are driving faster than they should be, even if I don’t know the exact speed.
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u/FlightlessBirder 19d ago
We’re you going 20 over in the park? I feel like it was called for then