‘Like heaven’: Residents fleeing COVID cramped city life to Hamilton-area winter camping site
Thirty kilometres west of Hamilton, Nick Cameron is perched over a fire, flipping half-burnt sausages on a worn grill as thin smoke whiffs into a cool, winter breeze.
He is at peace.
Ah, they're still good," says the gloveless Cameron, 42, setting the meat aside. With COVID, coming here has been our sanity."
The here" Cameron speaks of is one of 225 campsites at the Valens Lake Conservation Area.
Every other weekend, he comes to it with his wife, eight-year-old daughter and dog - no matter the weather.
An L-shaped enclosure, the site has been winter-proofed to the family's liking. Tarps wrap around a fire pit to block wind and Christmas lights hang from trees to give it a cosy feel. There's a picnic table with blankets and, next to it, a portable shed replete with logs and extra kitchen supplies. When it gets too cold, a heated trailer gives them warmth.
We booked the site for 20 nights, from December to March, and we can leave the trailer here," says Cameron. Sometimes if it's cold my daughter goes in there and just watches Netflix. It's like home."
The family are rookies at winter camping - but they won't stop any time soon.
Once you try it you don't want to stop," he says. It'll be our new tradition."
Such is the case for plenty of people who have been the drivers behind a winter camping boom this year.
It's never been busier," says Gord Costie, director of conservation area services at the Hamilton Conservation Authority.
At Valens Lake, there's been a 100 per cent year-to-year increase in seasonal demand for camp sites since December.
Most campers bring in trailers and hook them up to built-in hydro, Costie says, while others stay in tents and brace the conditions.
He believes the enthusiasm is in part attributable to the pandemic: cities are quiet and closed, and there's not many places to venture to during lockdown.
Like snowbirds," says Costie. They can't leave now and come and stay here instead."
For Rob LeBlanc and Jessica Maud - second-year winter campers - the appeal is in the convenience of it.
We're from downtown Hamilton, so to come here, it's like heaven," says Maud, grabbing a blanket from a supply tent and placing it over a table.
It's just a 20-to-25-minute drive and you're away from all the noise," chimes in LeBlanc as he chops kindling with a homemade splitter.
The couple was at Valens Lake last March when COVID first hit. Restrictions forced them out as the park developed a public health response plan for visitors. They couldn't wait to get back.
It's a different world here," says Maud, pointing to a trailer. We've got this - our cat's in there right now sleeping on a heated bed." The tent next to it, she adds, is for daytime stuff, like for the kids to hang out or for food and supplies."
Campers here are the authors of their own weekends. They can be self-guides and head out for hike. They can skate and ice fish. If none of that fancies them, they can simply hang out.
Have a fire," says LeBlanc. Play cards. You can do whatever."
While most who reserve campsites at Valens Lake during the winter bring a trailer, others come with just a tent and a propane stove - and some of them without any experience.
Angelo Morgante, owner of the travel and outdoor lifestyle shop Adventure Attic in Dundas, says business for winter gear from new customers has exploded during COVID.
Sales for winter tents - which are made with a specific pole structure to withstand strong winds - dried food, pots, pans, cross country skis and sleeping bags have more than doubled since the summer.
I've been owner here for 34 years and I've never seen it like this," says Morgante of the demand.
Gordon and Krista Nash had never used a winter tent until Saturday.
It's got a thermometer on the outside flap - he likes to keep track of the weather," says Krista - and a fully functioning wood burning stove on the inside.
The stove keeps the tent really warm," says Gordon, explaining pellets are used to heat it up. The stove top extends through the top flap of the tent, like a chimney.
It's safe, too," adds Krista of the tent. It's got a smoke detector, a carbon monoxide detector."
While avid summer campers, the couple is new to the experience in cold conditions. They say it's quieter in the woods and the air is crisper, purer.
It's good to get back to the basics," says Gordon, starting up a propane stove on a picnic table. The work week can be long, and for us - being outside with nature and fresh air - it's like recharging your batteries."
Sebastian Bron is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sbron@thespec.com