Lessons Learned from the Mantario Trail

July 15, 2020

Looking to embark on the Mantario trail? It is a fun adventure that doesn’t take too much prep or planning because you don’t need to book any accommodations. However, before you go, read over the lessons I learned from lack of planning and experience so you make better choices.

It is harder than you think
For a bunch of canoe guides, we thought the Mantario would be a walk in the park since we have all done multi-week challenging canoe trips. As one of my friends said he thought we would be day drinking. HA. We were not. Every day was a push. Probably because of the weather, but also hiking and portaging is not the same thing. As one is done in like 30 min – an hour and the other takes all day. There are lots of elevation changes as well.
Your feet will probably get beat up
I assumed since my hiking boots were broken in, I wouldn’t have to worry about blisters. Another lie. By the end of day 2, I started to develop hot spots/blisters and feet were throbbing. By the end of the trip, my feet were so swollen none of my shoes fit, hah. I felt physically capable on the trail but my feet really made it tough to keep pushing.
Bring two water bottles
There are long stretches without water and some with no shade from the sun if it’s nice out! The first day, it was 38 degrees and my boyfriend got heat exhaustion and almost had to drink from a swampy puddle. Luckily we did not have to sink that low since we found a stream nearby. Two water bottles would have saved us from him getting so ill and weak. My dad asked if I was bringing an extra and I laughed at him. Look who was wrong now. Never thought access to water would be an issue. Boy was I wrong.
Pack light
Due to coronavirus we had to bring 3 tents so everyone staying in a different household would have their own tent and we would distance. In any other situation, we would all have stayed in one tent. Make sure before you leave you talk with whoever you are going with and make sure you don’t have too many duplicates of gear!
Unless you do it in 6-8 days, it will not be a chill trip with friends
Again, overconfident canoe guides thought this would be a chill trip with friends. It could have been. If we did it in 6-8 days and only did 3-4 hours of hiking a day. There is a lot of campsites along the way so you can really plan your trip however you want for the pace of your group.
Hiking poles are a luxury
These are one of those things I thought I was too advanced for. I am a fit 23-year-old and I do not need hiking poles to go on a lil hike. Okay, true, I could do it without, but they were so so nice to have. Like I mentioned, there are a lot of up and downs on rocks, and it is super helpful having something to lean on/push on when climbing up and down. Especially when it just rained and the rocks are slippery. You can prevent a few falls this way.
Check the forecast before you go
We ended up starting off the trail on a day that had a heat warning in effect: 38 plus humidex, also no tree cover, followed by a thunderstorm and massive rainfall the last day. You can still hike, but our experience may have been better if we checked the weather first.
It is probably further than you think…
Not sure if we don’t know how to estimate a kilometer, but it was always further than we thought. ALSO there is a point in the first leg (if starting at south trailhead) where you reach a fork with signs, one leading to the east campsite, the other continuing on the trail to the west campsite. It says 2.5km to the site. This must be to the east campsite because it was probably double to get to the west campsite. It was the longest 2.5km I ever walked. Meaning it was probably 5.1km as the map said and we read it wrong.
Bring a first aid kit
You’ll need it, trust.
Bring bug lotion
The mosquitos were really bad because there are lots of forests and swampy sections. I frequently applied bug lotion and felt pretty fine while my friends got destroyed by bugs. Don’t be proud, save yourself, wear the lotion.
If you don’t see blaze tape or a sign in 400-500 meters, turn around and go back to where you saw the last one.
The path is pretty well marked so you shouldn’t be walking for a long period of time without seeing one. There are a lot of “fake” trails where many people probably got misled and walked down it, so it looks like the right way. Rely on the signs, your compass, and the map descriptions to double-check.