We live very close to one of the natural wonders of Ontario, Canada, the Barron Canyon. Crazy thing is I have only been there twice in the past nineteen years, once on the top, and now by canoe on the river.
Funny story, we talked about paddling the canyon (or any where) many times. I had loved canoeing when I was younger, but Tim had this friend that he had taken canoeing and let’s just say, she wasn’t the most stable person to ride with. A long time passed with no canoe trips. I lived in the shadow of a memory of another girl, lol.
Well I have finally broke free of the memory. We packed up a picnic, our friends, some towels, and the fishing gear and set off on a bright Saturday morning.
We arrived at Squirrel Rapids and got our flotilla unloaded and launched. We meandered along on the still waters, casting a line here and there and just enjoying life.
We came to the portage fairly quickly, but took our time exploring the little waterfall and catching and releasing a few bass and white fish.
The portage went fairly smoothly considering both Tim and I are struggling with pain.
Some of the kids took the opportunity to jump in a cool off before we continued on.
We had to take extra care here as the river is strewn with deadheads and rocks, still very navigable though.
We found we were not the only ones enjoying the fine September day, as we were delighted to see many painted turtles practicing their yoga poses and sunning themselves.
We decided to join up our flotilla and share a snack and some chat. The kids thought this was great. All to soon we continued on.
Sometimes we would playfully race each other, there was laughter and joy. My son Fred would greet almost everyone he met along the way.
We found a camp just on the edge of the canyon. We pulled into shore, stretched, used the rustic facilities, ate our lunch. The kids loved diving and jumping off the underwater ledge into the deep beyond. Tim enjoyed catching some little small mouth. I think all the kids cast a line here to “fight a bass”.
We surrendered our site to a family that wanted to camp over night. Packed up and launched off to continue our adventure.
I find it very hard to find words to describe the beauty and magnitude of the rock walls that surrounded us. There is something awe inspiring about the size of those cliffs and how tiny we are. I spent a lot of time trying and failing to capture it with my camera.
Soon we were to the other end and at the encouragement of my friend turned around and started our journey home. Funny thing was she thought it was later than it was, because she forgot she was wearing her sunglasses. Lol.
She was right though as after a long day paddling, the trip back was more challenging.
When we got back to the portage we learned what great friends we had. After a trip or two across the portage, Tim’s hip slipped and our friends helped carry across the last canoe. (I was not much help all day beyond carrying “stuff”, as my foot is still a mess.) Luckily lots of hands help. Team work at it’s best!
The last bit of the trip we were taking our time. The flotilla was stretched out quite far. Then the rain started and we hurried hard, dug in, made it to the landing.
I was sad to see the end of the day, but was certainly looking forward to falling into my bed after our adventure.
Beautiful Remade 