There were two options: I could either pick up the painting myself, or wait to see if one of the volunteers from my area could bring it back with them sometime in the late winter or spring. After waiting a couple months, I decided I would make the drive myself, making it worthwhile by camping in the park for one night. A few weeks prior to this, I had had my first winter camping experience, jumping right in with a -16°C night in my hammock. Although I lasted the night and was not terribly cold, I realized that the gear I had was not really suited for cold winter camping. However I thought I'd give it another try with a few changes. The overnight forecast was only for -8°C; I used my tent for better wind protection; and I brought an additional, heavy sleeping bag for between me and the ground.
With a later start than planned, I didn't make it to Killarney until about 3pm. One of the staff suggested that the hike to the sites on Lumsden Lake would be reasonable in the time I still had. Upon registering, I packed up my sled and backpack and started hiking clock-wise for the second time along the La Cloche Silhouette Trail. Although the trail is "groomed" in some fashion for snowshoeing, because of several weeks of mild weather the snow was so hard that snowshoes were not really needed on the trail. The sled took a bit to get used to, both in pulling it and tying my gear down to it well. After shedding my coat when I warmed up, I wedged it in the other gear on the sled, but promptly lost it a short ways down the trail. Re-tying the load, I thought all was well, only to discover when I got to camp that the pair of boots I had brought to change into had been separated along the way and I was left with only a single boot of little use to me (I did find the boot back along the way).
The portion of the trail I hiked was primarily in the forest, unfortunately not providing much in the way of scenery. There were a few creeks, dark and cold, but softened by the white snow they cut through. The trail was good most of the way, but in several spots it was muddy, or even flowing with shallow water. Several of these sections were fairly challenging to navigate and my feet did end up getting a little damp. Despite these obstacles, I made it to a site on Lumsden Lake in about an hour and a half. Since the park asks that you camp off the regular summer sites to prevent negative impact, I had to spend a little while scouting for a good spot, but after finding one it didn't take too long to get the tent set up, and my sleep setup ready.
By the time I finished cutting some firewood, getting my food and cooking gear out, and getting a fire started, it was about 6:15pm, and pitch dark outside! While setting up as dusk was falling, I had put on my headlamp and kept it on ever since; once I was able to sit down and relax by the fire, I thought I'd turn off the headlamp and enjoy the light of the fire. I quickly changed my mind when I was completely enveloped by the thick blackness of the night. I wasn't afraid, but it was slightly creepy, especially since my eyes had not had the chance to adjust during dusk - there was the nice glow of the fire and past that there was blackness, nothing between.
Dinner was not as good as expected, especially since for some reason my stomach was unhappy to start with, so I chose to go to bed early. I was able to stay relatively warm, in spite of the wind which picked up. The night was not very comfortable though, reminding me of at least one reason why I've switched to sleeping in a hammock - I don't really have to worry about level ground. When morning arrived, I'm afraid I was mostly just looking forward to getting back to my car. I had some oatmeal for breakfast, packed up my gear, and hiked back along the trail, arriving at the car around noon. Upon collecting the painting I had won, and having an excellent fish lunch at the Sportsman's Inn restaurant/pub in the town of Killarney, I made the drive back home.
After two winter camping experiences, I can't say it's something I'm eager to keep trying. Having another person along would have made the trip more enjoyable, but overall I still think I'll limit my camping to the three warmer seasons. The constant presence of the cold, the amount of extra gear needed to stay warm, the effort of trying to keep snow out of tent, backpack, shoes, etc., the extra care needed to deal with sweat and condensation, and the fact that everything is done with a big jacket and mitts or gloves all adds up to make it seem not worth it for me. However, on this subject - to each his own; I know some people really enjoy winter camping.
