It was time to explore a part of Algonquin that was new to me. I had never started a trip from the Smoke Lake access point. This was a quick weekend trip – only one portage to get to our destination. As you can tell from the photographs, we had a lot of rain mixed …
In the fall of 2013, a friend and I set out to canoe the lakes of Killarney Provincial Park, for the first time during the cooler months of the year. We had only been in the park during the summer months. I also had a vision of creating a short film on the essence of …
In preparation for a season of canoe trips, my two sons and I signed up for a paddle making workshop. I have always been interested in building my own canoe. I thought I should start small and carve a canoe paddle first. We met up my fellow camping and canoeing enthusiast Scott Jordan in the …
Spending a few days snowshoeing in Algonquin Provincial Park is a great place to be at Christmas! Staying in a yurt at the Mew Lake Campground has started to become a tradition in our family. This kind of winter shelter allows us to winter camp with toddlers, who refuse to stay inside of their sleeping …
One of my favourite aspects of wilderness camping is standing on shore, looking out across the lake and enjoying the stillness and beauty of the Killlarney landscape. Out here, you rarely encounter other campers. Based on how hard it is to reserve sites in Killarney, I know that we are not the only campers in …
This was our first experience at winter camping! Well, maybe we cheated a little. Pulling our truck up to a heated octagonal, heated tent on a wooden platform with bunk beds is probably not exactly winter camping. We did have to consider the fact that our daughter was only 9 months old! We drove up …
“Let freedom ring from the mountain tops…” was part of the speech made by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Washington, D.C. fifty years ago now. I had just returned from our annual canoe trip in Killarney Provincial Park and was driving home from work one day. I heard on the radio that it was …
When does a boy become a man? After a few canoe trips? When society says he is old enough to drive or old enough to drink? I’ve heard many answers to this questions, but the most common one is “I’m not sure!” The summer canoe trip is an annual event in our family. With great …
I have always exposed my kids to the great outdoors since… well, since the chord was cut. We played in the streams that flowed over the Niagara Escarpment, swam in the frigid waters of western Georgian Bay and the warmer waters of Lake Huron, canoed in the local town river (pictured below), snowshoed in the …
There is nothing quite like the experience of wilderness camping. To fully enjoy this kind of adventure you must: leave behind all that is not essential, enjoy your own company, abandon looking perfect, cooperate with your fellow travellers and have a healthy appreciation for God’s creation. In wilderness, you will discover who you are – …