bag is ready. i cannot say enough good things about this bag. it's this one. kept my stuff really dry - i wish there were some different compartments but it generally did the trick.
weather on the drive there:
oh great.
that's the last photo i took for that whole afternoon and night. why? well, because it FUCKING POURED WITH RAIN.
we got soaked. we got lost. well, not lost - we knew what general direction we were going in, but when the rain is obscuring your view, and campsites are marked with a faded sign the size of your fist, it is pretty difficult to get your bearings. this is compounded by the fact that there are tons of little rock-islands making it confusing because you can't tell what is mainland and what's not connected.
anyway, we made it to the first campsite within a few hours, and it was a gem. tucked into a sheltered bay. ate dinner (pre-packed burritos) hung all the clothes we were wearing out to dry and campfired past dark. and then we heard it.
coyotes. packs of them, varying distances away, having a good old howl. some really far, some too close for comfort. such an eerie noise but so beautiful. i lay awake for a long time, expecting a howl to suddenly burst out right next to the tent.
the next morning:
all morning it looked like it was going to rain again.
so beautiful, with the colours just starting to turn.
not foreboding at all. oh yeah i totally want to canoe for four hours out into this.
clothing stayed wet. would not dry.
map hung out, coffee mid-sip. some jerks burned that huge log there. a log that could have otherwise been used to sit on. burn dead wood, not furniture. and what's with the inukshuks EVERYWHERE. actually they were kind of helpful because as mentioned, the signs for the sites were rarely visible at all, you had to just guess then explore on foot to find the sign. oh they'll be getting a phone call. maybe they'll pay me to spend a summer camping and putting up better signs, clearing up the sites etc. WOULD.
the rocks. unbelievable. everywhere you look.
it cleared up.
we paddled down to georgian bay, and settled on an island just at the mouth of the river. sabine island:
View Larger Map
had the whole thing to ourselves.
hello, i am your new inhabitant.
there is a lot of evidence of old industry, such as huge rings drilled into high points on rocks. also log dragging machinery etc.
spent the night there, and i made the case to stay camped at the same site for another day. this site was amazing. we explored the whole island, got to know it. there were several tent options all over the place, multiple fire pits. some more sheltered than others. kind of creepy walking through the woods and finding a fire pit.
spent the day on sunday sunbathing, reading and collecting firewood. there were no animals other than mice on the island (that i saw) and i like to imagine that the mice were descendants of mice that were stowaways on the voyageurs canoes (actually a total possibility). where else would they come from? could not have swum.
just lounged around on rocks a lot. bathed. my very own clothing-optional island.
this is facing towards "the other side". it was really windy on that side, but still nice to walk around. i have other pictures on my camera. lots of them.
i'm going to burn you.
part of what was great about the site: a "table". (not our grills, they were there). such a luxury. makes filtering water and cooking way easier.
woke up before dawn to get cracking on monday. we had to go all the way back up to the outfitters in one shot.
i adjusted the white balance so you could see the steam from the coffee. it was CHILLY. it was kind of an epic trip back. it took about five hours, but about half of that was spent in very heavy winds, trying to keep the canoe from tipping. imagine frantically digging a hole for three hours and being nervous the whole time. luckily the wind was at our back so we weren't fighting it, but there were sections where waves were coming from all directions, making it impossible to stay straight.
we made it though. i would go back to that campsite for sure. you can stay up to 16 days, that would be pretty fun. you could just pretend it's your cottage. you'd have to bring a lot of food, but dry food packs so small and is actually really good these days. also, the area is famous for it's fish so if you had someone who knew how to catch and clean one (and had a permit obv) you'd be in good shape. i smell a commune!
weather on the drive there:
oh great.
that's the last photo i took for that whole afternoon and night. why? well, because it FUCKING POURED WITH RAIN.
we got soaked. we got lost. well, not lost - we knew what general direction we were going in, but when the rain is obscuring your view, and campsites are marked with a faded sign the size of your fist, it is pretty difficult to get your bearings. this is compounded by the fact that there are tons of little rock-islands making it confusing because you can't tell what is mainland and what's not connected.
anyway, we made it to the first campsite within a few hours, and it was a gem. tucked into a sheltered bay. ate dinner (pre-packed burritos) hung all the clothes we were wearing out to dry and campfired past dark. and then we heard it.
coyotes. packs of them, varying distances away, having a good old howl. some really far, some too close for comfort. such an eerie noise but so beautiful. i lay awake for a long time, expecting a howl to suddenly burst out right next to the tent.
the next morning:
all morning it looked like it was going to rain again.
so beautiful, with the colours just starting to turn.
not foreboding at all. oh yeah i totally want to canoe for four hours out into this.
clothing stayed wet. would not dry.
map hung out, coffee mid-sip. some jerks burned that huge log there. a log that could have otherwise been used to sit on. burn dead wood, not furniture. and what's with the inukshuks EVERYWHERE. actually they were kind of helpful because as mentioned, the signs for the sites were rarely visible at all, you had to just guess then explore on foot to find the sign. oh they'll be getting a phone call. maybe they'll pay me to spend a summer camping and putting up better signs, clearing up the sites etc. WOULD.
the rocks. unbelievable. everywhere you look.
it cleared up.
we paddled down to georgian bay, and settled on an island just at the mouth of the river. sabine island:
View Larger Map
had the whole thing to ourselves.
hello, i am your new inhabitant.
there is a lot of evidence of old industry, such as huge rings drilled into high points on rocks. also log dragging machinery etc.
spent the night there, and i made the case to stay camped at the same site for another day. this site was amazing. we explored the whole island, got to know it. there were several tent options all over the place, multiple fire pits. some more sheltered than others. kind of creepy walking through the woods and finding a fire pit.
spent the day on sunday sunbathing, reading and collecting firewood. there were no animals other than mice on the island (that i saw) and i like to imagine that the mice were descendants of mice that were stowaways on the voyageurs canoes (actually a total possibility). where else would they come from? could not have swum.
just lounged around on rocks a lot. bathed. my very own clothing-optional island.
this is facing towards "the other side". it was really windy on that side, but still nice to walk around. i have other pictures on my camera. lots of them.
i'm going to burn you.
part of what was great about the site: a "table". (not our grills, they were there). such a luxury. makes filtering water and cooking way easier.
woke up before dawn to get cracking on monday. we had to go all the way back up to the outfitters in one shot.
i adjusted the white balance so you could see the steam from the coffee. it was CHILLY. it was kind of an epic trip back. it took about five hours, but about half of that was spent in very heavy winds, trying to keep the canoe from tipping. imagine frantically digging a hole for three hours and being nervous the whole time. luckily the wind was at our back so we weren't fighting it, but there were sections where waves were coming from all directions, making it impossible to stay straight.
we made it though. i would go back to that campsite for sure. you can stay up to 16 days, that would be pretty fun. you could just pretend it's your cottage. you'd have to bring a lot of food, but dry food packs so small and is actually really good these days. also, the area is famous for it's fish so if you had someone who knew how to catch and clean one (and had a permit obv) you'd be in good shape. i smell a commune!
3 comments:
It looks so pretty there, but I could never be the outdoorswoman you are! ;)
oh yes you could. one taste of a fire-toasted pb+j sandwich and you'll never turn back.
You are so pretty in the wild. I would look like a cross between an old woman and ugly man.
Teach me to like camping like you do!
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