Stubbornness drove me to a local camping trip even though the forecast called for light rain all of Saturday and sporadic showers on Sunday. As the G20 summit violence began to escalate, three of us headed down into the Glen Rouge Campground (the only city campground in Toronto) Saturday morning to do an overnight tent camping trip.

It was raining when we arrived, and just at the point when one of the tent poles broke (it was bent previously), the rain started to come down harder. Thank the camping gods for electrical tape, as it was the only thing that enabled us to get the tent erected, saving our trip. Miraculously, my quick fix idea for the tent worked like a charm, but I think my eight-man Escort tent has seen its last outing. I’ve been looking for an excuse to buy a new tent, and I believe I’ve finally found one.

With the tent finally up, we spent most of the day sitting under the tent’s awning as the rain soaked everything in sight (including us at times). For a day that was supposed to have light rain off and on through the day, it turned out to be more on than off. In fact, the rain was mostly continuous until we finally crashed at 11:30.

Sunday, on the other hand, was beautiful in the morning. It was sunny and warm, which made teardown easy, quick and mostly enjoyable.

The Glen Rouge Campground isn’t likely to be one I’ll revisit, with the exception of going on a hot summer day to walk the hiking trail. Privacy is unheard of. The campground is fairly open, and it’s clearly meant to be used more for trailers than tents.

Overall, the weekend was good fun, and if you’re looking for a quick camping trip without having to travel outside the city limits, go check out Glen Rouge.