Ice-fishing Friday: A snowy backcountry trout trip in the Haliburton Forest and Wild Life Reserve

After a sunny, three-hour drive north from Toronto, we arrived at the Haliburton Forest and Wild Life Reserve last Sunday and checked into our comfortable and well-equipped cabin. The forest is a 100,000-acre wilderness reserve that features over 100 lakes, 400 kilometres of snowmobile trails (in red, above) and 10 two- and three-bedroom cabins with two larger log cabins that accommodate up to 10 people. Still a major force in the hardwood lumber industry, Haliburton Forest is probably best known for its tourism and recreation program, which includes snowmobiling, canopy tours, the popular Wolf Centre, camping, mountain biking and hiking. This year, the guided ice-fishing trips are run by Steve on behalf of Yours Outdoors, a local ecotourism company that hosts a suite of outdoor recreational programs in the forest. Steve is also a big wild food enthusiast and leads foraging workshops in the Haliburton Forest and on his own land not too far away.