Withsomuch toseeanddo
along
theEscarpmentand throughoutSouthernGeorgian
Bay, youdon’t oftenneed to lookoutsideour area
foradventure.There isoneactivityhowever, thatyou
have to look furthernorth toexperience—theclassic
Canadianacanoe trip. Surewehavegreat canoe-
ingandkayaking, but to include ruggedportaging
andbackcountycamping,one reallyneeds to travel
northwards to theCanadianShield. Hereglaciers
from thePleistoceneera scoured thehardbedrock
surface,pluckingaway loosematerialandcreating
large,deepdepressions.Rushingmeltwater further
eroded the landscapeas theglaciers retreated,cre-
atingchannelsand filling thebasinswith their frigid
waters.
The end result is a landscape dotted with lakes,
streamsand rivers surroundedbydenseboreal for-
est.A landscapeso fullof fishandwildlife, that ithas
supported indigenouspeople formillennia.A land-
scape sobeautiful andmajestic that it hascaptured
theaweand imaginationofwriters,poetsandartists
for decades. A landscape sopristine, sensitiveand
ecologicallydiverse that even121yearsagopeo-
ple recognized theneed toprotect it.So in1893 the
OntarioGovernmentcordoneda largeswathof the
wilderness, creating the largest Provincial Park in
Canada.Apark that hasbecome synonymouswith
theCanadian identity.Theworld famousAlgonquin
Park.
I discoveredAlgonquin later in life, but I suppose
that’s relative to the reader’sage. Lackingany form
ofcanoeorcampingequipment, save fora tentand
sleepingbag, my first trip into the interior required
us to rentall thenecessarysupplies;canoe,drysacs,
trippingpacks,andcookingpots.We travelled light,
hoping tocoverasmuchdistanceaspossible,know-
ing that everyouncewe shavedoff our loadmeant
lessweight tocarryonourportages.Measuringout
theexactamountofcondimentsweexpected touse,
and replacing jars and cans with ziplock bags.
Clothingwas limited toonedaytimeoutfit andone
evening.We didn’t even bring sleepingpads.Of
course therewasnoway Iwasgoingon the tripwith-
outmycamera, but even that bag had tobedown-
sized—no tripodandonly two lenses.
As soon as the canoe hit thewater I was hooked,
and the tripwent offwithout ahitch.Almost.Due to
previous injuries,mybackwas killingme. Paddling
and portaging all day is strenuous exercise. Al-
though I reveled in thechallenge, sitting in the same
position forhoursandall theheavy liftingquicklyag-
gravatedmy lower back. I was happywepacked
as lightaswedid,butwhenwesettleddown for the
evening I quickly realized a major mistake. No
sleeping pads. Rookie move. Needless to say I
didn’t getmuch sleepon that trip.
Onourwayhome Iwasalreadyplanningournext
excursion. Iwanted tobecomemoreself reliant,and
set about acquiring the necessary equipment. I
found twopaddles inmybasement fromanOsler
BluffMen’sDay. I don’t knowhow I endedupwith
those, but I was off to a good start. Next was the
majorpurchase, acanoe. Searching theclassifieds
and online, I had my eyes peeled for something
used. I cameacrossaSwift rental sale inGuelph. It
was during homecoming weekend, and as a
GryphonFootball alumnus I saw theopportunity to
get twobirdsstonedatonce. I spent themorning test-
ing out different boats onGuelph Lake. I wanted
something lightweight, butworkingwithinmyprice
range meant choices were limited. With kickoff
quicklyapproaching I knew I had tomakeadeci-
sion. Finally I choseoneof themore“well used”ca-
noes. It wasn’t theprettiest, but it wasmadeout of
Kevlar, lightweight andperfect for canoe tripping.
Over thenext several canoe trips I slowlyadded to
myequipment collection. Includinga sleepingpad.
The typesof routeswedidalsoevolved.At first itwas
all about coveringasmuchground, andexploring
asmuchof theparkaspossible. This stillmeant trav-
eling light, althoughwe took a few extra niceties.
(Camping tip: if youwant to lightenyour load, hide
some of the heaver items in your partner’s pack.)
Thenwedida shorter trip,and stayedatonecamp-
site for severaldays. Thisallowedus today tripwith
only our lunch andmy camera. It’s amazing how
muchquickeryoucan travelwithout yourbigpacks
and foodbarrel. Itwason that trip that that I hada
breakthrough.Sinceweweren’tportaging far, Ide-
cided tobringacoupleof foldingcampchairs. Eu-
reka!Afteraharddayof tripping,allyouwant todo
is sit andbecomfortable. Previouslywehad settled
for logs,or rocks.Neitherwereveryergonomic.But
the chairs changedeverything. Combinedwith the
sleeping pad, I no longer had back issues and
campingbecamemuchmoreenjoyable.
☛
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