Sacrifices

When we got serious about kayaking, DW warned me that to paddle some of the most beautiful parts of our country, I'd have to consider overnight camping. And I hated camping.

Stratton Lake, 2022.

I didn't always hate camping. In fact, I used to love being in the great outdoors. From the time that I first slept in a tent, in Algonquin Provincial Park, as a kid, I looked forward to the smell of a campfire and toasting marshmallows. I was calmed at night by the sound of hooting owls and the calls of loons out on the tranquil lakes.

When DW and I first started dating, we camped all the time. She was an avid outdoorsy person and loved to curl up in our tent. The first tent that I bought was with her and we started amassing our own equipment when we moved in together.

It wasn't until we had kids and took them camping that my love of sleeping in a tent quickly waned. The kids would awake at the slightest sound and would, in turn, wake DW and me up. They would toss and turn, and as a result, I would get very little sleep, which turned me into a grouch.

I became very grumpy at the thought of going camping with the family.

In 2014, when we were on our final night of camping in the Dordogne region of France, we celebrated by going to a nice restaurant below the Chateau de Beynac, and in the most-loving, calm voice I asked DW to never invite me to camp again. I was done.

But in 2021, in our second year of kayaking, I agreed to camp in Algonquin Provincial Park once more. I wasn't keen on sleeping on the ground in a small space with thin walls, but the beauty of the park was undeniable. And it was worth sleeping in a tent.

Over the next few years, we would plan a couple of paddling excursions that would involve overnight stays in the woods, and I would grumble but endure. But over time, my grumbling became lighter and I wouldn't object as much to camping.

I was beginning to get my camping mojo back. Not entirely: I still don't enjoy sleeping on the ground, especially in my old age. I don't sleep as well, but then again, I don't sleep well at home because of the pain I experience from the arthritis and tendinosis in my shoulders.

But at least I've stopped grumbling.

This summer, DW and I have decided to take on a kayaking challenge that we've wanted to do ever since we've become proficient in our boats. We've wanted to paddle Lake Superior.

It's the world's biggest freshwater lake and is practically a sea. What better body of water to take our pseudo-sea kayaks (their classified as touring but can handle large water)?

Because Lake Superior is far from home—it takes nearly nine hours just to drive to Sault Ste. Marie—it will take half of a day just to get to our starting point for our trip. And we'll have to camp.

We're planning two excursions for this trip: the first will involve us camping at Lake Superior Provincial Park for a few days, from where we'll paddle out onto the lake and get used to being on a large body of water. The park will be our base to which we return each night.

The second part of our trip will have us driving up to Rossport, on the northern end of the lake, and setting out to explore the islands to the south, where we'll find a place to set up camp each night. This will be the tricky part of our trip, as you're advised to prepare for a couple of extra days in case the weather turns bad and it becomes unsafe to be out in the lake.

Storms can pick up quickly so we'll have to pay close attention to weather reports.

It's been a challenge getting a reservation for Lake Superior Provincial Park. Sites only become available five months before your desired date and many people try to reserve a spot at the same time. DW and I have had to get up at about ten to seven each morning, get online (we each have a computer), and scope out the sites, looking for a green triangle. We then have to watch the system clock count down to exactly 7:00:00 and click the Reserve button, hoping to beat someone who had their finger poised over the same button.

It took us five mornings of trying to finally be successful in snatching up a site. And it's a good one.

There's no issue with the other camping, as it's all crown land and requires no reservation.

Now that we've got our campsite, we need to prepare for the trip. We'll have to start getting our kayaks in the water as soon as the snow melts and the rivers and lakes have thawed out.

We'll choose large bodies of water on which to paddle and as soon as the water gets warm enough, we'll re-practice water rescues. We'll have to get our hands on satellite radios and make sure our emergency kits are stocked up.

Lake Superior will be our biggest kayaking challenge and we want to get it in while we're still in relatively good health and fitness. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to paddle, and luckily my shoulders don't seem affected when paddling.

I've gone from loving camping to hating camping to realizing that it's a sacrifice that I have to make if I'm to enjoy kayaking in remote locations. Wish us luck.