Algonquin Park has my heart, and always will. My first interior multi-day canoe adventure took place here. I’ve now spent more than a full year of my life in Algonquin’s interior - camping, paddling, killing my body on canoe marathons - running whitewater, star gazing, baking, singing, laughing, swimming and dancing while surrounded by some of the most glorious nature in the world. If you want classic canoe tripping in Canada, there might be no better place than Algonquin. Over the years it has also become one of my favourite locations for photography. With picture perfect night skies, majestic pine forests, rocky shorelines, quiet lake waters, and rushing waterfalls, it has everything a landscape photographer could dream of.
Among my favourite trips in the park are classic Canoe lake to Opeongo lake routes, Opeongo loop routes, and of course, traveling the incredible Petawawa River from Cedar Lake to McManus Lake. I absolutely love camping on Lake Lavielle, in the east arm of Opeongo, the single site on Big Thunder Lake, the sandy beach sites of Big Crow, the rocky sites of Proulx lake. There isn’t a campsite in Algonquin that’s not worth a visit, nary a lake to be found that will disappoint even the fussiest of admirers.
I’ve destroyed my body twice now running the Brent & Back canoe marathon, a 165km canoe trip completed non-stop in pursuit of…. something? Glory? Fame? Nope, not sure what we really do it for. Though in my case, my companions and I raised some dollars for the Friends of Outreach - a charitable organization that helps to send underprivileged students on wilderness trips. I also managed to navigate through the night, learned the true meaning of fatigue, and laughed maniacally at nothing for hours on end.
Some of my favourite memories are from the park. My first realization that these places felt as much like home to me as anywhere else. The time we spent 5 days in non-stop pouring rain, only to have a perfect sunny day on our 6th day of trip which we had always planned to spend in camp swimming and relaxing - one of those trips where everything works out for the best. The time I assisted a group from an outdoor centre in executing an emergency evacuation by float plane during a solar eclipse. Staying up late to watch the stars and marvelling at how bright the milky way is far from the city lights. Pranking a fellow group by hiding smiley face ping pong balls in their gear each day. The look on their faces when we met up for lunch and they found one in their jam container. Enjoying a camp sauna made with hot rocks and a tarp in the middle of a punishing thunder storm. Carrying a fellow camper with a busted knee by piggyback on the Boni-Die portage - 5.3km of pain and suffering, for the both of us. Arriving in camp at midnight after a long day puddle hopping and paddling against current on the Crow River. Sleeping under a tarp on the edge of Lake Lavielle after paddling through a head wind when the lake was green and unsafe to drink or swim in due to a toxic algae bloom. Witnessing the brightest meteor I’ve ever seen after completing an all day evacuation just as we were returning to camp. Singing Bohemian Rhapsody for hours on end. Making up silly games, songs, pirate voices, words… The list goes on. There is nothing like the experiences found on wilderness journey’s with like minded souls in natures greatest playground. I will cherish them always, and Algonquin… you will always have my heart.
