Hey guys,
Thanks again for the advice, appreciated as always, for closure's sake I thought I'd share the results of my hiking trip.
Friday morning, we headed out to Algonquin Park
[ Park Information ] My Serratus Ibex 55 (long pack) was filled to the gills. In the parking lot, before hitting the trail, I unloaded a few extra articles of clothes, and some other light gear that was deemed "non-essential", while maintaining a healthy variety of lashing materials (leather shoelace, nylon fasteners, zip ties, etc) and a large assortment of zip-lock and other plastic bags for waterproofing my gear

(should have got the Ibex 70 pack instead...) I picked up a Therma Rest pad at the last minute, and even though it was a little pricey ($100 CDN) it was worth several times its weight in gold. We loaded our water bags/bottles with gatorade and kool-aid, topped up the fuel bottles (for a MSR Whisperlite Int'l) tightened the boots and hit the trail. Temperature seemed about 85 degrees Fahrenheit, still air, and fairly humid, we had a decent sweat building within 15 minutes, and the trail was level ground at this point.
Although we did not weigh our packs, I would estimate my pack was hovering around the 65->70 lbs mark. A little on the heavy side, in hindsight, but I was carrying most of the cookware, the stove, fuel, and similiar accessories.
Our first day was about 13km over some fairly even ground with some mild elevation changes. This took us to the Maggie Lake campsite. All water procurement had to come from natural sources. We had a few varieties of purification available. I used mostly iodine tables to sterilize my water, my buddies used a chlorine solution and we boiled for cooking and cleaning. I found the iodine to be the easiest method to purify, and as I learned rather quickly, weight is
VERY important when covering 55 km in 4 days... I carried 3 L of water, with Kool-Aid to help cover the iodine taste (which I didn't find too offensive, but...) We had just enough time to setup our camp and enjoy a nice sunset on the lake, then cook our steaks (some nice t-bones we knew would be gone the first night

) We hit the hay and got up the next morning.
Day two consisted of another 13km distance, over much more unfriendly terrain. The forecast for our trip was partly cloudy, then sunny, sunny, sunny. Well, on our first sunny forcast it rained, and rained and rained halfway through our hike. We walked about 4 hours in a steady rain across increasingly difficult terrain (a large portion of this trail was over wet rock :grumpy: which gets mighty slippery). I learned good boots are VERY IMPORTANT. The Doc Martens, although they held up and I didn't twist or sprain my ankles, are pisspoor at water resistant, even when treated. After 4 hours of trekking with sopping wet feet, I resolved myself to acquire good boots before my next trip. On the bright side, it stopped raining just as we approched our next campsite. A nearby fallen birch tree and some camp gas helped us get a good fire going, and we progressively dried enough wood to have a great fire. It was a Mac and Cheese dinner with some trail mix and crackers. It went down very well.
Day three started out with a very nice sunrise, but most of our gear was still wet, and the blisters on the feet were...ummmm..noticeable. Luckily the moleskin helped save the day, and a considerable portion was used up. Morning coffee helped perk us up and we packed up and began our hike. We had decided to overshoot our campsite and get as far as possible (I had a train to catch on the 4th day, and wasn't prepared to miss it). During this time my pack was loaded up with additional equipment, as one of our party had partially twisted an ankle, and could no longer keep pace with the weight. At this time (because my pack consisted almost entirely of unperishables, and damp clothes) I believe my pack weighed in at about 75lbs. It was very heavy. Well, wet feet and clothes strapped every which way to the open air in an attempt to dry them, we trekked on. Heavy exertion caused a mighty nosebleed. Some of the terrain seemed damnright vertical, and in fact required scrambling uphill more than walking for great distances. At this point I had a spectacular wipeout. I skidded a few feet down a muddy hill tripped up over my own feet and sailed into the air

I twisted my right knee and just sort of lay there bleeding while I tried to get my bearings. It was a good rest...
At about the 15km mark, we assessed our situation and decided to overshoot even farther. Well, luck was not with us, the first campsite we reached was occupied. The next was intolerable. And on our way to next one (at about 16km now) it began to rain. And rain. And rain. We setup camp in the rain, there was no shelter for a fire (and cooking in your tent or vestibule in bear country ain't wise...). We had snackfood, and hit the hay early. It rained all night, and was still raining in the morning when got up to break down our campsite. The stoves came out and we had a cup of coffee, and then hit the trail (after applying more moleskins and popping a few tylenol...)
Day 4 consisted of only a 10km jaunt (roughly). Concerned I wouldn't catch my train, I vowed to buy lunch if we could get there in time.... We covered 10km in 3 hours and 6 minutes!

McD's for everyone! (I normally hate McD's, but that 1/4 pounder tasted like heaven, and sent me into a mild euphoric food coma).
All in all, it was an interesting trip. I believe we bit off a bit more than we could comfortably chew, and there are some things I would definately change for a future trip, but I know this for sure : Algonquin is a beautiful place, Weathermen don't know jacksh!t, and 75lbs is a bit too heavy for vertical terrain
But I'm alive, and my knee feels almost better, and I'm sure the bruises will heal. Take care all.
Regards,
Shaun.