Idon't know why it takes four hours to pack
for a three-day canoe trip. It is not all that complicated.
Tent, sleeping pad, sleeping bag, maybe a tarp. A change of
clothes, extra socks, first aid kit, kitchen equipment and some
food.
Sometimes I even take along a fishing rod. It
seems to me all this stuff could be pulled together in less
than an hour. Everything fits into a single big pack. A second
small pack carries camera, maps, lunch, a cup, binoculars and a
towel just in case I find an irresistible place to go for a
swim.
At last, when all is ready, I place it in the
canoe. Add paddle and life jacket to the list. And me.
Everything fits into the canoe.
To be back out on my own again feels great. I
wonder why I waited so late in the summer to organize for
my
annual solo trip. Next summer, I'm going to
do this in July-I'm putting it on the calendar now!
The winds were favourable, just a light
breeze at my back. The bugs were gone, just a few lingered on
the portages.
First portage I carry the big pack on my
back, the little one on front, and the paddle and lifejacket in
one hand. I love the portages around here. They are narrow and
close, not like a provincial park with passing lanes.
The only maintenance these portages get is
when someone wandering through takes out a few overhanging
branches or cuts through a fallen tree. I have to walk around
most of the windfalls, making a trail a little longer, a little
more awkward.
At the other end of the portage I took out
the Swede saw (did I mention I had a saw in the big pack?) and
walked back along the half-kilometre trail to get the canoe. I
trimmed back a few of the bigger branches, cut through some of
the smaller logs that crossed the trail. I took a scenic side
trip here and there to look at the waterfalls and the clear,
still pools that lay below them.
You can't easily get to the falls, or the
pool below from the portage. On this trip, I was content to
reminisce on a trip I did here a decade ago when I camped at
the last lake, and spent the day bushwacking along the edge of
this stream, swimming in the pools.
Back to the beginning of the portage, I
secure the saw in the canoe, hoist it above my head and begin
the carry.
This cedar canvas canoe is only 14 feet long
and weighs less than 50 pounds. It's fairly easy to carry as I
wind my
way through the forest. Still, it is a little
awkward to step over the larger logs, or wind my way through
the forest I have to go around.
Four lakes, three portages and one slow
meandering creek I paddle to get to the evening's campsite. I
set up the tent, have fresh veggies from the garden with my
supper and take a swim just before the sun sets. I tuck the
paddle and life jacket under the canoe, along with the fishing
rod and saw. The small food bag I hang in a tree to discourage
the critters.
My sleeping pad and bag spread out in the
tent, everything else I own fits into the tent with me. I set
out my water bottle, look over the maps to see where I've been,
and where I might go tomorrow, make a few notes, and settle in
to watch the stars through the screen of my tent.
Viki Mather lives by a lake near Sudbury.