That flight I was talking about in my Potter post? That was for a visit back to Ontario to go on a camping trip put together by my good friend Dave. This would be my first encounter with portaging, long canoe paddling, and wilderness camping. This could only be great.
Killarney Provincial Park is a geological marvel, straddling several types of rock formations and types, formerly housing mountains taller than the Rockies that were ground down during successive ice ages, also straddling the line between the Boreal north and the great lakes lowlands. The lakes within the park are high and clear compared to the boggier ones surrounding it. The rugged white rock, the pine trees jutting up and the clear lakes inspired even several artists from the Group of Seven, one of whom was the driving force behind the foundation of what would become the park. Put succinctly, the above is a long way of saying the landscape is one of beauty. It's different than the jutting mountains of the Wudang region of China, different than the great granite cliffs of Yosemite. The La Cloche mountains may be much shorter (shorter than even the hills around the SF Bay area), but they have a quality and a texture that of strong beauty and of impressiveness that is all their own.
The weather could not have been planned for any better. It rained only twice, and each for only a short time (which we spent under a hung tarp). Otherwise it was pretty much clear all the way, with very little wind. Dave had arranged the trip to land during the full moon, and with the clear skies the moon shone brightly our entire trip. We took several moonlight paddles, silently gliding across the perfectly still water under the lunar light was like paddling across deep glass. Very ethereal, very evocative. We also hiked to the top of one of the hills on the night of the full moon proper, casting our eyes over the gently illuminated valleys and lake. During the day the water reflected the surroundings for beautiful tableau after tableau.
Yes, we took pictures -- how could we not, with this beauty surrounding us? Find them here at this link.
I totally enjoyed the paddling (I sat mostly in the front, not yet being familiar with the J-corrective-stroke of the rear paddler), especially as I played with it, trying to find an 'internal' style of paddling, one that felt tai chi-ish. And the portaging was something else I took to -- apparently I like to start things with a bang -- my first portage was a 1400m hike up some of the steepest sections of trail in the park. I ended up doing the following two other portages as well, at 2000m and 1700m respectively.
We took many a swim, both short and swimming out from shore to shore or island, both during the day and even under the moon's light (sans vestments for that one). We saw turtles, snakes, chipmunks, squirrels, mice, (the big game eluded us). We hiked, canoed and camped out in the wilderness. I did tai chi by the water's edge early in the tranquil morning as the mist rose from the lake. I came away with nearly a beard.
In climbing up the rocky ridge one afternoon, I had a remarkable experience: as soon as I began I brought into being a space of peace and assuredness. It was really amazing: every footfall was perfect and sure, and I nearly floated up the hill, and back down again. It was such an amazing state of being that I ran up and down a rock pile several times once I returned to near-water's edge, with no loss of balance, no rock going astray, just revelling in the calm that was there (with likely a big grin on my face).
As for my prediction that black/horse/deer flies and mosquitoes do not come to get me, well... that is apparently no longer accurate.
It was, it goes without saying, an amazing trip. Thanks Dave for making it happen.
More! There is a day-by-day trip diary posted by Averyl here, and if you have Google Earth, you can download this file and follow our trail (double click on the first name, then go under Tools --> Play tour).