Algonquin Canoe Trip '06

Before this past weekend, it had been almost ten years since I went on a canoe trip in Algonquin Park, and yes that means canoeing all day with portages between lakes and rivers and then camping in the park interior at night.
I had planned this trip with my friend Gosh and my sister about a month ago but things didn't seem to fully come together until last week, hence the no blogging because we were all stressed out trying to figure out canoe rentals, park permits, meal plans, trip route, weather, etc.
Anyways to get back to the story here, it was probably one of the best camping experiences I've had in ages. The weather was actually quite brutal (there was always some form of precipitation falling on us, even snow at times) but there was no real way to predict that since it seemed to blanket all of Southern Ontario unexpectedly.
It was so cold that fishermen out in the park didn't catch many fish even though their sophisticated GPS fishing radar told them that the fish were out and about, and we saw virtually no wildlife except for the ubiquitous loons who were wailing just as loudly as the wind. However, I didn't mind because I always find loons haunting. Others find them annoying but I have a capacity to just block them out if need be, so that's what I do when the crying gets a little frenetic.
I think the things I enjoyed most about this weekend were the solitude and the feeling that I was completely removed from the stresses of life in the city. I completely put my life here aside, drove up to the park with the girls, and then after much debate over whether to go through with it all, we just did it. Got in that damn canoe and paddled for hours. And the trip was great even with it's challenges and frustrations. I wore 3 or 4 layers of clothing at all times, but it was just heaven for 3 days. Makes me wonder why it took me ten years to embrace this all over again.
This summer's going to be good, I just have that feeling.