And then there were three! #IntoTheWoods, #Algonquin, #canoetime

Susan

One way or another, I’ve been heading into Algonquin for 20 years with a variety of friends, family, lovers and dogs. To say it is a sacred and integral part of my life is to understate what it means. The four years I’ve been away from it have been achy (not just because of the lack of Park, there’s been plenty to ache my heart). Yet, every summer that ended without me spending time in a tent on a lake with a canoe parked under a tree and a loon calling just around the corner, was another piece of grief. So this summer, as I reorganized my life, again, after so many losses, again, I messaged Sam and Sarah to see if they would have me on their trip with them. 

In part, my failure to plan trips was due to my increasing trepidation about my body. Pandemic, menopause, auto-immune conditions all conspired to rob me of confidence that I could still endure and do this thing. So going with people who never gave it up, who knew they could adapt themselves, was heartening. I was very surprised at what I found out about my capacity.

First of all, the things that hurt while I’m not on a trip barely hurt while I was on the trip. Other things hurt of course, but I was so happy to feel tiredness in my shoulders and quads, knowing it was because I was moving, rather than the vague ache of. . .pick the poison. . .sedentariness, grief, age, decline, despair. . .it all adds up. In fact, there were ways I was stronger somehow. I have never given up yoga and Pilates and always focused on balance. I have this notion that I am no longer agile and that my core isn’t what it used to be but I was wrong. I think the last number of years I have spent in meditative stillness have conditioned something I never had before that practice became a huge part of my life. There is a core conditioning and balance along with a softness and awareness that means my body knows where it is and what it is doing. It knows what hurts in the way of “discomfort” and what hurts in the way of “don’t do that”. Discomfort is far more prevalent and discomfort I can handle.

I can feel that I’m at another crossroad, I could just stop pushing and drift to a customary decline or I could keep brushing up against my limits and seeing what beauty I can find. The verdant beauty of the earth expressed in Algonquin park is worth pushing for. I was so happy and confident about how this trip went that I booked more vacation and decided to bring friend of the Blog, Kim, on the trip she’s been pestering me for since we met. We will report back on Older Women In The Park, Susan and Kim edition, after Labour Day!

Sam

Like Susan, I love love love canoe camping. There’s something very special about it and no other sort of holiday scractches the same itch.

It’s effort and natural beauty, yes. It’s also no phones and hammock naps. I love swimming after a hard paddle. I love eating food that’s been cooked over the samp stove. I love basking on rocks. And I know it’s a minority view, but I love sleeping in tents.

I go at least once every summer, sometimes more. This summer this was our first trip but we have two more planned.

It’s the vacation that packs the most bang for buck in terms of rest and relaxation and the feeling of really getting away. Three or four days in the woods isn’t that much time, but it feels like a real holiday.

I also love that I’m still learning new things. This trip, for the first time, I carried my pack and my canoe. I learned that in some ways that’s easier. Yes, it’s a lot more weight but it felt better on my shoulders.

It was lovely to get out there again with Susan since that’s really how our friendship began, on a canoe trip in the woods.

She had the uncomfortable middle spot in our canoe but this inspired us to get a third removable seat.

Sarah

Seems like this was a bit of a different trip for everyone this year. Susan returning after a hiatus, and Sam growing in strength and confidence a few years out from knee surgery. 

For me, the biggest hiccup this year wasn’t work, and it wasn’t the dramatic car part failure that meant switching cars and shaving a day off our trip. I’m currently dealing with a frozen left shoulder – not usually hugely painful but the restricted range of motion means I can’t reach up to hold the gunwales when the canoe is on my shoulders. This means that for the first time since we’ve been tripping, I would need to rely entirely on my companions to portage the canoe. 

Fortunately, Susan and Sam were both more than up for the challenge and were more than capable at carrying and manoeuvring Sam’s unwieldy (when it’s not in the water) 17’ canoe. For someone who’s used to being self-reliant in the backcountry, it was a wonderful experience to be able to literally share the load this trip.