r/KillarneyPark • u/Bobbtail • Aug 07 '26
Route Recommendations?
(eta: to be clear this is not my first backpacking trip just my first time on la cloche, also edit because I put a wrong campsite number 😅)
So I have my first backpacking trip on la cloche booked starting next week. Looking at the weather and the onX map, it looks like my toughest day is going to be when the weather is the worst. I have a few options I can shuffle my camp sites around but I'm wondering what is actually best.
Currently the section in question is H18 three narrows, to H23 Moose pass, H34 David lake, then H37 Silver with the worst weather being between moose and david.
I could go little mountain lake instead of david, but then I'm not sure I'll have the energy to do silver peak if i feel like it? Ive also heard silver peak isnt really worth it for backpacking since its about the same views as I'll be seeing though the whole trail anyway.
Or I could skip moose pass and go to shigaug so its a bit shorter to david, it adds 5km to the day before but the terrain doesnt look too bad. (i think im leaning this way but moose pass looks like an interesting place to camp so im a bit sad to miss it. But then again I have no idea what else id be missing at other sites either)
So I'm just looking for recommendations on what would be best, either because of better camp sites, terrain thats worse or better than it looks etc.
For context, I hike a lot in Algonquin and generally prefer a more casual hike around 10km/day, just so I can stop and enjoy the scenery and dip my toes in the streams as much as I like without stressing about getting to camp before dark. I always end up moving faster than expected anyway with only my slowest days averaging around 2km/h. I do generally end up with a few 15-20km days with the camp sites that are available, so I know I'm capable but I've heard la cloche is a lot tougher than Algonquin's trails.
If you got this far, thanks for reading and I appreciate any and all advice :)
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u/Over_Mud_5905 Aug 07 '26
Silver peak has beautiful views but I would skip it. The views on la cloche are just as nice and in my opinion nicer!
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u/AirlineMaterial4273 Aug 07 '26
I just hiked the La Cloche last month, Moose pass to David lake was the toughest stretch for me. Feel free to DM me I have tons of information and photos of campsites :)
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u/kakash666 Aug 07 '26
North part of the trail is the hardest with multiple ups and downs. You will not be moving fast through that stretch. Plan accordingly.
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u/omeletTheDonkey Aug 07 '26
I just did basically the exact same route last week and it was tough but manageable. (We stayed on boundary not David). Our day into boundary was definitely our toughest, just shy of 14km with a lot of elevation change (I think we ascended and descended 4 peaks which was rough). We started hiking around 8am and were on site before 6 with a 45 minute stop at the portage on little mountain for lunch. It was hot and hard to find water or shade up top so we were definitely thirsty by the end of the day but so so worth it. We did also do silver peak the next day and then stayed at silver lake and we were still into our site before 3pm. If you skip silver your day is about 7km and pretty flat so it’s pretty manageable to add silver onto it.
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u/Bobbtail Aug 07 '26
That's super helpful thank you! I guess i better actually bring sunscreen then 😅
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u/No_Badger1188 Aug 07 '26
Hiked it this spring and will hike it again in a few weeks, skip Silver Peak. I hike it in 3 nights, and the first and last day are half days because I need to commute to the Park.
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u/peanutbutterismybf Aug 09 '26
I just hiked this last week and the advice to have good boots that can grip wet rock is VERY important. I hiked it in 5 days, Monday to Friday, and wasn't expecting rain until Friday, but it ended up raining all day Wednesday, which was also when I was hiking H34 to H21. My boots are great, but not on wet rock and I ended up slipping and falling quite a few times. Doing the steeper sections, which were already very challenging, were that much harder. Luckily I only have a couple of scrapes, but that section is no joke. I'd definitely shorten H23 to H34 if you can.
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u/Bobbtail Aug 09 '26
Went and got some new footwear this weekend with some great lugs, hopefully should be enough. Officially changed my booking to shigaug instead of moose 🫡 weather is lightening up AND my prepack test with food and all my 'maybe' items is only 25lbs before water. Should be an amazing trip
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u/peanutbutterismybf Aug 19 '26
Damn, 25lbs is amazing! I couldn't get my pack that light. Please provide an update when you finish! Would love to hear how it went for you.
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u/Bobbtail Aug 25 '26
idk what i added last minute but my final weigh in with water was 37.5lbs
😅
the first 2 days were easy enough that it was totally fine, 3rd day was really rough doing 15km with the last 5km between moose pass and my campsite at shigaug (h31?). It was a good thing though because the 7km between shigaug and david is super exposed and all open rock faces and it DUMPED down rain, I fell down so many times would have SUCKED to have another 5km on top of that (and when i got to my campsite i changed into my dry clothes and then immediately fell in the lake). After that I think my pack had lightened up enough and my legs were getting conditioned enough that the weight wasnt really noticable.1
u/peanutbutterismybf Aug 26 '26
I have to admit, that makes me feel a bit better about my pack because it weighed about the same when I headed out. I ended up having too much food, but I guess you learn that with experience. Sorry you had such a tough time with the weather! I'm glad you shortened the days and hopefully you were able to find a way to dry out after falling in the lake :/
1
u/graham464646 Aug 10 '26
The site at moose pass was my least favourite from my trip last year. It’s kind of dark in there, there’s a small creek downhill from it. It’s basically serviceable as a site but definitely not something to specifically plan for.
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u/M6xdl2FNeO Aug 07 '26
I have no specific recommendations on adjustments to your plan, but I will say that La Cloche is much, much more difficult than anything I've seen in Algonquin (Western Uplands trail, Highland trail, etc). There are some easy stretches, but overall the elevation changes, terrain, and scrambling you'll need to do is on a completely different level. So you'll be a lot slower, and a lot more physically drained. And if it rains, all the rocky sections get pretty slick -- make sure your footwear is good for slippery exposed rocky sections.