Photo Friday: Sunset From A Kayak

"If you want to see sunset from your kayak," DW explained to me, "we'll have to stay overnight."

For years, DW has wanted to paddle Barron Canyon, in Algonquin Provincial Park. Originally, she wanted to do it in a canoe, especially after we had rented a canoe and paddled from Kingston to Ottawa, in 2013. From Ottawa, you can make a day trip to Barron Canyon, but if you wanted to catch the morning or evening light, driving there and back in one day is not practical.

In 2014, after touring France, where we camped for a week in Normandy, Bretagne, the Loire, and Dordogne, I ended that leg of our trip by informing DW and our daughters that my days of camping had come to finale. I never wanted to sleep on the ground with only a thin layer of material between me, the elements, and insects.

Last month, when DW and I bought a couple of kayaks, I stressed that I was up for any day trip that she wanted to take but that if we were to go for a longer period, we needed to be near a hotel, motel, B&B, or other reasonable lodging. With the pandemic, I figured we wouldn't do any overnight stays this year.

DW talked some more about the Barron Canyon, and I told her that a day trip was acceptable, she began showing me images of early morning light and pre-sunset light (golden-hour shots). She then showed me photos of other lakes and waterfalls in the area, a bit past Barron Canyon, and I began to appreciate the idea of capturing images under this kind of light.

"The only way we can swing a trip to these areas would be if we camped," she said.

I grunted.

Because our anniversary was coming up, I thought I would do this one more time, for her. Worst case was that I still didn't like camping, and it was only one night: best case scenario would be that I would re-discover my appreciation for the great outdoors and want to go camping again.

We decided that we would camp at Achray, on Grand Lake, in Algonquin Park. We would spend our first day paddling from our site to Carcajou Bay and Falls, and back. On the second day, we would take our kayaks from Grand Lake to Stratton Lake, portage to St. Andrews Lake, and paddle to the end to see High Falls, before turning back.

In the evening of our first day, we ate dinner and then went out in our kayaks to watch sunset. During the day, Grand Lake was fairly choppy with a steady wind blowing to the east. As the sun sank on the horizon, the wind died down and the lake became like glass.

We paddled out into the middle and then sat still. The only sound was the bullfrogs by the shores, the birds in the trees, the loons on the lake, and the occasional splash as a fish jumped to catch a bug.

Out on the water, I was at complete peace. For me, it was the highlight of our trip.

I took several photos as I watched the sun sink toward the horizon and then dip behind a distant cloud, but my favourite one was captured as I made my way to shore.

I still don't like camping, but that sunset from a kayak made it bearable. Almost.

Happy Friday!