THE BASICS
ACTIVITY: canoeing
WHERE: Charleston Lake Provincial Park ( 2 hours-ish south west of Ottawa)
WHEN: July 2011
HOW LONG: day trip
GROUP: 1 mama, 3 kids (ages 2, 4, and 5)
THE EXTRAS
DETAILS: I planned to go on an overnight trip with the boys but thunder storms were frequent that summer. The forecast was good so I felt comfortable taking on the wilderness site trip (with a 20 minute paddle in) but the boys were especially frightened of thunder so I decided to let them sleep at home. (It was a good call- we had a doozy that night.)
Instead of an overnight we did a day trip instead. We hit the road before 8am and were on the water by 10:30 (I think. Something like that.) The park has a separate put-in for motor and non-motor craft. Charleston Lake is huge so I guess there are many fishing boats out. I appreciated putting in with the boys in a place that was quieter and less busy- it even had a short trail so felt like a bit of a wilderness portage (albeit a very short one, which suited me fine).
The Friends of Charleston Lake provide a map on their website, which I printed up and followed. With the boys being so young I decided to paddle across to where the network of hiking trails and campsites run near the shoreline so that we could get out of the boat and wander whenever we needed to. The boys are great about paddling but sometimes they need to move around more than they can in the boat. After about 45 minutes exploring the shoreline and zig-zagging about we found a flat spot near a campsite where we could take out to have snacks and explore. We happened upon a mama turtle digging her hole to lay eggs. That was pure magic.
We were able to connect to the trail network and wander up and down over very rocky terrain for a while. The forest was lush from all of the rain, and there were mosses, lichen, and other greenery everywhere. it was also pretty slippery, but we managed alright. The bugs kept us from wandering too long in the forest so we paddled further around a point and discovered a dilapidated foot bridge that we could paddle under. It was quite special for the kids.
The wind started blowing more clouds our way, so I chose to be safe rather sorry. We paddled back across to the put-in side of the lake. We spent some time meandering amongst the bullrushes, investigating dragonfly nymph exoskeletons all over the place, and playing tag with a loon. When the rain started we were close to the take out and had an easy time of it.
RECOMMENDATIONS
We were on the water for maybe 4 hours total, but it felt like a real adventure. This trip taught me that a change in circumstances (the weather) does not necessarily mean that all plans need to be cancelled. Getting out for a short time is better than not getting out at all.
After loading our gear we took the short drive to one of the beaches where the boys found some other kids to play with. We also had a chance to swim which was great after wearing rain gear and PFDs in the buggy forest. Even without the kids I like to go for a swim after doing the sweaty work of loading up.
Charleston Lake Provincial Park is big, and it books up early. (I know becausu I asked.) It has hundreds of car-camping sites and a few paddle in sites and making reservations is required to be certain to get a spot in the summer. Just showing up for the day, though, was easy-peasy. We had an Ontario Parks Pass so didn't even have to pay the $12ish day fee to go in.
We will definitely go back. The shoreline is gorgeous and the campsites are easy to access with kids. Motor boats are a downer for me when I'm camping, but there is a section of the lake where there are wilderness sites where motor boats are not permitted. That would be worth checking out.
THE BASICS
ACTIVITY: Canoe camping
WHERE: Frontenac Provincial Park (north of Kingston, Ontario; 2 hours-ish from Ottawa)
WHEN: April 2012
HOW LONG: 3 days, 2 nights
GROUP: 1 mama, 3 kids (ages 3, 5, and 7)
THE EXTRAS
DETAILS: I chose to go to Frontenac because I was the only adult on the trip. I knew schlepping gear and the boat and keeping an eye on the boys would be tough on unmarked, unfamiliar, or gated roads or trails, so I went with the only provincial park in our area (we were based in Ottawa) that was open in early April.
We left right after school on Friday and arrived in time to sign in, put in, park, and paddle in to our site with plenty of daylight left for setting up and making a fire. (I brought dinner for us to eat on the drive so that hunger would not be an issue when paddling in and setting up. It worked well- I'll do it next time, too.) Frontenac has only wilderness campsites (so no car camping) and is open all year long, so as long as the ice is off the lakes we can paddle in to camp. The weather was perfect for us- below zero at night but warm enough for light clothing during the heat of the day. This trip was a beautiful way to welcome springtime.
We camped at Cluster 3 on Big Salmon Lake (check the Friends of Frontenac site for more campsite info). It was a 20 minute paddle past typical Shield and mixed forest. We had our cluster, probably the whole lake, to ourselves. The park has a network of hiking trails that run along the edges of many of the lakes, as well as some doubling as portage trails.
We chose the absolute easiest possible trip, and it was marvelous. Big motors are not allowed on Big Salmon so even during the summer the lake is free of noisy boats.
I can't remember if we bought wood or just scrounged for it. We had plenty, whichever it was.
We were there on the clean-up weekend so happened upon a few hikers and paddlers on Saturday. It was fun to encounter them and chat. My kids like to do that. Works for me.
We wandered, paddled, and sunk ourselves into the just-beginning-to-wake-up forest. Once we started to notice the wildflowers, they were everywhere. It was lovely. I asked the warden at sign-in how busy Frontenac gets in the summer. He told me that most weekend require reservations, but there are lots of openings even during the week. I would still check ahead, but I was happy to hear that there is a wilderness park so close to cities that is not completely booked up all summer long.
RECOMMENDATIONS
If I had another adult with me I would choose to try one of the shorter portages into an even more isolated lake. Big Salmon was easy to get to but we were fortunate and thrilled to be the only ones there. Visiting Frontenac in the early spring may become a tradition for us. I strongly recommend checking into it.
I went to the Canadian Women's Wilderness Network (CWWN) Weekend last year. It's been going on for a number of years and while I've known about it for a while I just attended for the first time 2 years ago. Check out their website, our website, your website (!) to learn more.
You see, anyone can be a member, almost. As long as you are female and interested in spending time outdoors (and pay your one-time-only lifetime membership fee)you are in. (Assistance is available for the fee too, in case that makes a difference,which for many women it does.) The network exists as a forum to be together, to share experiences, as a place to get questions answered, and as a well of inspiration. The depth and extent of any member's involvement depends completely on them.
My whole experience has been to take part in the weekends. (There is a fee involved there too, which can also be subsidized, just so you know.) I do not intend to take on the task of describing the deep and vast beauty that happens at these weekends (though I do feel certain that will happen here quite soon) but I will say that even when I took part in a rather minimal way I felt included, valued, interested, and inspired, which brings us to the reason why I am writing.
After my first wilderness weekend gathering I was inspired. I had spent time getting to know women from all across a few provinces who are making deliberate choices about how they spend their time and money with regard to the planet and the wilderness. I talked trips and careers, hopes and dreams all weekend and returned home energized and ready to take on a bit more with my boys in the woods.
It was about this time that an idea started swirling around in my head. I walked into the next gathering a year later with some deliberate questions on my mind- I was hoping to pick some brains about how to better load and unload my wonderful, well-loved, spacious pig of a boat by myself; and I was hoping for more ideas of where to take my boys. What better place to gather information and ideas than at a gathering of like-minded, similarly (or more!) experienced people, many of whom are mothers. I spent my time at the weekend reconnecting with some good friends, forging a couple of new friendships, and collecting information. As we were all gathered to begin to close up the weekend, assigning jobs and making announcements, I felt the need to present my still swirling, almost-fully-formed idea to the group. I felt surrounded by tripping- hiking, paddling, camping, skiing, climbing, biking, experience in that room. I wished for the chance to sit for hours with everyone who had ever tripped anywhere, or dreamed of doing so, so that I could add their knowledge, their experiences and wonder, to my own. Would anyone else, I wondered aloud, be interested in being able to do so? What if, instead of actually sitting down together, we created an online forum where trip information could be shared. Would anyone be interested in accessing or contributing to such a thing? The answer was a resounding yes.
So here we are.
Welcome to The Canadian Wilderness Women's Trip Inspiration Blog.
What we are is an online forum to share tripping information. The specifics? Where we went, when, for how long with what size group. The level of experience that we have is helpful to share too- and however much more detail we are interested in writing down, like how much food you brought, where the freshwater is, how much you paid for parking, how busy the put-in was. You name it, you think of it, you write it.
This is meant to be an Inspiration Board, NOT a guidebook, so please use it accordingly. You know how much you can take on, what you have done before and what you are comfortable with. Keep yourself safe and our site operating happily by getting inspiration here and then gathering the necessary details, buying your maps and calling the parks and checking the weather, road conditions, and water levels yourself.
We are looking for contributors. I want to fill up this site with photos and ideas from across the country, across our experience level, across the seasons, and across activities.
Are you looking for some trip inspiration? Great! Check out the links on the sidebar or at the top of this page and click your way around.
Are you interested in contributing? Great! Click on the link at the top of the page and follow the guidelines.
The more contributors we have the better.
I look forward to your input, your trip experiences and your inspiration. Welcome!
Sonja
