Our Candian Wilderness Adventure
It was with great excitement and perhaps a little trepidation that we arrived at Algonquin outfitters at the end of August 2019, at this time of year the days were already shortening and the evenings were getting chilly.
This was planned as the highlight of a 2 week holiday to New England and Ontario. We had spent the previous week visiting my husband’s family and were dovetailing it with a Toronto city breakafterwards. Most of our family holidays involve at least some time away from civilisation where we can spend time with our 2 children, Theo (15) and Lottie (12), without the distractions of cities, technology and so on. We have been sailing a few times have been on a cycling holiday and taken ourselves off on an extended camper van trip. This time it was to be 4 days canoeing in Algonquin Park.
As with everything in Canada the distances were greater than we had anticipated so we arrived later than we had hoped and before we could collect our equipment we had to buy our car parking and camping permits. The lake (Opeongo) is divided in to 3 areas or “arms” and we had to commit to which arm we would be staying in each night, there by also committing to covering certain distances each day. As complete rookies we had no idea what was a realistic itinary but the park ranger was very knowledgable and helped us formulate a plan.
Similarly the staff at Algonquin outfitters were incredibly friendly and informative. They took us through the equipment and supplies efficiently, but in great detail, including procedures such as purifying lake water to drink and hanging our food in tree to protect us from bears at night. This was totally alien to a city girl like me and her two digitaly native teens.
We spent 3 days and 3 nights on the lake, with no phones and no money. Cooking was done on a campfire for which we had to chop the wood or a small camping stove. We had no running water and no toilet facilities. Strangely no one complained and everyone mucked in. The children demonstrated talents I didn’t know they had, pitching tents, laying fires and displaying inventive cooking skills when the supplies ran low.
The scenery and wildlife were absolutely stunning. The quietness is something we have only rarely experienced and certainly not for such a prolonged period before. The lakes are incredibly beautiful and over the course of the 4 days we had the freedom to stop wherever we liked to take a swim, have lunch or just take a break. The park rangers and visitors are clearly very respectful of the park so whilst there are strict rules, one rarely sees any evidence of other visitors. Camp sites are organised so that each group on the lakes has their own site, with the next nearest site some considerable distance away. Over our visit we only came across a small handful of other visitors.
The children were nearly 13 and 15 and these really were the perfect ages to try something like this. They were old enough to be useful and strong enough to help and on day 3 we really needed them to be strong to paddle against the wind on the journey back, they didn’t let us down. They were also young enough to delight in splashing about in the lake together, playing on a rope swing and having a game of cards with their folks in the evening.
On the last morning we woke up with the sun and watched the dawn while waiting for the water wehad drawn from the lake to boil for coffee. We reflected that our time on the lake had brought us closer as a family but looked forward to reaching Toronto and having a slap up meal.
As with all these things it left us wanting to return, perhaps for a longer trip maybe with a “portage”,carrying the Canoes on our heads to find more remote spots.