Canoeing and kayaking have become something of a way of life for many folks in Northern Ontario. When driving long distances across the North, it is common to note how many good places there are where you can "put in" for some easy paddling in lakes and rivers.
After growing up in Southern Ontario, Tori Baird who is now a Magnetawan resident, said it was a surprising and enjoyable experience for her when she did her first canoe trip with a girlfriend and without her husband.
That was three years ago. It was a five-day canoe trip in Algonquin Park. Tori had been on some trips with her husband — Jim Baird, a well-known canoeing adventurer — but after a long winter of looking after her baby, she knew it was a good time to get out on her own
"So that was like my first trip by myself like without Jim, completely you know, taking control of it and planning and packing and doing everything on my own. It was really empowering. So, basically I kind of felt so empowered that I felt I needed to share it with other women," said Baird.
"Yeah so it was definitely a life-changing experience," Baird said.
She figured she might consider becoming a canoeing guide, but she did not have the right certifications for that back then. She said living out in the country on the Magnetawan River gave her another idea.
"So, I scaled it all back and just decided, well, why don't I just introduce women to paddling. You know, do introductory paddling workshops here on our property, because we have this beautiful property on the Magnetawan," she said. And so the new venture was created.
"So that's kind of what started it. I felt like it was specifically for women, because I know women don't really get the opportunity to go out and do things just for themselves, especially when they have kids. And so, you know, canoe tripping is just such an incredible way of connecting with nature and doing something for yourself," Baird said.
Paddle Like A Girl now offers canoeing workshops for women in most of southern and central Ontario, and this includes events for mothers and daughters, and women over 50.
"This year will be my third year, running the workshops, and I've been sold out for the past two years. And this year, I've added a few more to my schedule, and I'm actually driving down and bringing the canoes down to Toronto, to run workshops down there for women who can't make it all the way up to my house or who want just a shorter workshop," Baird said.
She added that most customers prefer the Magnetawan venue, where many women find it fun to get out of town and experience a getaway weekend with their friends.
"They get to meet other women. They get to learn about backcountry camping. It's more than just learning how to paddle. It's more of actually the whole experience of the weekend," she said.
Baird said other women enjoy the convenience of having shorter workshops done near their homes. Baird said she will be visiting the North in the fall to offer workshops in Parry Sound and Sudbury.
She added that the workshops have created a new group of adventurers who keep in touch with each other.
"Well, what I love the most is probably just like the community that I feel like we're building. So, you know the group of women that came to my workshops in the first year I offered for them to go on the actual backcountry trip the following year. So we hired the Temagami Outfitting Company to guide a group of women that came to my workshops in the previous year," Baird said.
Baird said that women find the idea attractive because they can learn canoeing without any intimidation.
"You know someone's asking you to lift up the canoe, and if the men are there they're just, they can lift the canoe no problem because they're maybe bigger or stronger. Whatever it is, it's a little bit more intimidating. So this is just kind of a safe place to ask whatever questions you'd want to ask and try something that maybe you might not be successful in," Baird said.
"It's the ability to try it without judgment. I just feel like in general it's definitely a male dominated sport. So I just like the idea of getting more women out onto the water."
Len Gillis is a reporter at Sudbury.com. Bold is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.
