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The Sylvania Wilderness area offers a limited hiking experience,
but one that is quite special due to the substantial old growth
forest. You will notice an immediate difference between hiking
this trail and most of the other trails in the Ottawa National
Forest. There are around 25 miles of hiking trails in the park,
with a substantial portion of those miles being canoe portages
between lakes. The most famous trail in the park is the Clark
Lake Trail, which is 9.2 miles. There are several campsites along
this trail as well as spur routes to other
lakes. Sylvania is definitely one of those places where you want
to make sure you have lots of bug spray. The area can be filled
with thick swarms of mosquitos and black flies in early summer
well into late summer. In some cases, even a head neat may be
a good idea. Those wearing hairspray or perfume will attract the
pests at an even higher rate. If car camping, having a bug candle
will go a long way for preparing food in the evening and hanging
around camp.
Another benefit of the older forest in Sylvania is less frequency
of ticks which seem to prefer grassy newer growth areas. You should
still take precautions though especially in spring. Wear long
pants and tuck them into your boots.
Equipment checklist:
sturdy and lightweight tent
comfortable backpack or daypack
enough water for your hike or a quality water purifier/filter
rain gear
a sleeping bag rated properly for the time of the year
comfortable, already broken in hiking boots to avoid blisters
matches or lighter
hat and gloves in crisp conditions
quality windbreaker and liner
proper amount of food
sunblock
a hat
sunglasses
camera
bear spray
cooking utensils
knife
scrub pad
20 feet of light rope
insect repellent
sleeping bag
cooking stove
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