Women Rule in Algonquin

• Posted on August 1, 2008 at 12:02 PM
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In May I was on an Algonquin canoe trip with some male friends and while we were struggling back on the infamous 5 kilomter Dickson/Bonfield portage, a couple of young women past us, going at great speed. When I met up with them at the put-in they took some time to show me their route which they jhad ust completed, and then told me their plans of taking their boyfriends (soon to be husbands) on a trip in the park later in the season, who by the way new nothing about canoe tripping. I was not only amazed and impressed on thier previous route (way to go girl) but also thought how fresh of an idea it was that it would be women showing men for once how to paddle in the park. So, I asked them to send me a story of bh trips, and here ya go:

Women Rule

Alexis Danic Desjardins, 32 - tripper since childhood. About 15 trips under her belt Mia Guilló, 32 - tripper since 2003 - 7 trips under her belt Met while working at Taylor Statten Camps (Canoe Lake, Algonquin) in 1995 Best friends ...13 years and counting... 2nd Annual May "2/4" Trip – May 16-19, 2008

The Route We put in and took out of access point #17 (shall lake). It was easy for both of us to get to with one coming from Toronto and the other, from Ottawa. Day 1) Farm, Kitty, Booth, Chipmunk, Presto, Marshy, Mountain, Round, Dickson = 10.1 km of portaging alone. We had planned to stay on Round, but felt good enough to complete the 4.8km portage into Dickson. Glad we did - it was a great lake to stay on. We were exhausted but looking forward to conquering our 5.4km portage the next morning  Day 2) Dickson, Bonfield, Wright, Openongo East Arm, Annie Bay = 5.9 km of portaging. We planned to stay on Opeongo but it was so windy (white caps). We nicknamed Annie Bay "Angry" Bay because the wind would just not stop! We took cover, put up the tent and went to bed at 2pm for 3 hours – exhausted from paddling. Didn’t help that it was raining/hailing/snowing all morning. Tough break. We survived the night  Day 3) Annie Bay, Openongo River, Booth, Kitty, Farm = 2.9 km of portaging and a very long paddling day. Woke up with the rain and snow so we decided to skip breakfast and hit the lake at about 6:30 am. We thought it would be a lazier day with less portages but it was still very windy and the paddling tired us out quickly. It snowed as we paddled but we weren’t surprised, given the time of year. On our first portage on the river, we took the road and ended up missing the path back to the river. We walked an extra kilometre or more before we turned around and went back. By this point our hands and feet were a little numb from being cold and wet, but we still had energy and persevered – we were lucky enough to have a massive tail wind on Booth and we completed the trip by 1:30pm! The best part of this trip was the minimal amount of bugs around. Due to the cold, they weren’t out in full effect yet. The park is also extremely quiet during this time of year. No tourists = Happy trippers  We only bumped into 2 groups of men on Day 2 on Bonfield Lake after having passed them on our 5.4km portage. What a great group of guys 

Tripping Goals 1) To never have to back track on a portage. This saves time and energy and if you pack light enough, it shouldn’t be an issue. We like to call the other way of portaging…”double-backing” – its no longer in our vocabulary. 2) To not dump in the middle of the lake. We now try to remember to strap our packs onto the gunnels in case we were to ever tip. We always review safety and what we would do in an emergency situation…however we never discuss this while paddling – only when we are safely on land  3) Most importantly, the biggest goal is to make it home safe and sound with minimal scars and bruises.

Long Term Goals - To stay fit enough to be able to do a trip every May together; challenging ourselves more and more every year. - To be able to bring our kids one day – and introduce them to tripping at an early age. Eventually to do 1 family trip a year and one ‘mommy only’ trip a year (followed closely by a spa weekend).

Advice - Pack well, pack light, leave your makeup, deodorant and pride at home - Always wear socks with sandals – even in the summer. The sliding without socks on can cause painful blisters at the bottom of your feet. You do NOT want blisters after day 1 (trust me, I learnt the hard way). - Organize yourself in advance. Write lists out. Plan good meals, pack everything separately and pack one lighter pack (to carry with the canoe) and a heavier one (to carry with the paddles and life jacket) - We rarely bring watches. The fun is in guessing what time it is all weekend and playing the time guessing game at the end of the trip. The loser has to buy the winner (closest guess to the time) a Dairy Queen Blizzard. Also, if a cold beer is available at the end of the trip - its a must! - No crying on trip. Save it for the car ride home. - In 2007, we took 2 girlfriends out. One, had never been in a tent before. The other, had been car camping but was 4 months pregnant. We planned the trip – lots of paddling ( What we learn - every time... How to pack as LIGHT as possible while still bringing the essentials to keep warm (especially in May)

Future Plans We were thinking of starting a trip up yearly, for women who have never paddled before but who are willing to pull their weight. We would teach the essentials of tripping, how to stern, how to portage etc…. For women who possibly have men who love the outdoors but who have themselves, never been introduced to it and are a bit intimidated. We would love for our girlfriends to equate canoe trips with fun ….. a way to bond, an exercise in strength training etc. There is nothing more enjoyable than spending 3 nights alone in the heart of Algonquin Park with your best friend. Nothing tops it - except of course, arriving home into the arms of your loving men ;) Our 3rd annual May trip is scheduled for 2009.

Alexis & Mia – May 2008 The Route with the Boys – June 12-15, 2008

We were so gung ho about our May trip, that we planned a route for our husband/boyfriend team to celebrate their 30th birthdays (which are 2 weeks apart).

The original plan was to paddle Opeongo - now, we are glad we didnt due to the wind, however - we could have used more paddling and less poraging on this trip due to the bugs.

The boys were good sports about the whole thing. We encountered a few issues with a few portages either seeming like they ended at a certain point and then finding ourselves in the middle of a marsh up to our thighs in muddy water (not to mention the hundreds of bugs swarming around). The best part is now looking back and feeling proud of ourselves that we did it no matter how tough some parts were.

The Route

Day 1) Crotch, Shirley, Ryan, Big Red, Shrew, Dove, McKaskill, Hidden, Fairy, Animoosh, Dickson = 11 km of portaging alone. Our plan had been to stay on Animoosh. When we got there, we realized that the lake was too small and therefore, too buggy. Since Lex and I had stayed on Dickson, I persuaded them all to trudge forward an additional 1220m into Dickson. I think we are all glad we did that, we ended up with a great campsite and were able to set up shelter before the lightening storm – possibly the worst storm any of us had experienced in all our lives!!

Day 2) Dickson, Round, Mountain, Marshy, Presto, Chipmunk, Booth = 9.5 km P Another long day and a tougher day. It was a hot one and we persevered through the worst of portages covered head to toe in rain gear and bug nets to try to dissuade the bugs from biting. There was such a sigh of relief when we got to booth. We stayed at the campsite right off the portage. It was a beautiful night with a great sunset and a wonderful dip in the warmth of Booth Lake. Black flies were bad but we were so happy we had less than a km of portaging to do the next day, that we didn’t care.

Day 3) Booth, Kitty, Farm = 575 m P A beautiful sunny day. We spent the morning at the site and then paddled slowly to Farm. We planned our next trip as were paddling along, this time, wanting to all experience a river trip –likely next August or September.

Advice - See above from our May trip and…. - Always wear socks with sandals – even in the summer. The sliding without socks on can cause painful blisters at the bottom of your feet. You do NOT want blisters after day 1 (trust me, I learnt the hard way). - Try not to trip in June. The bugs are not worth it. We would all take snow & cold than bugs, ANYDAY!! - Above all, be nice to each other. Certain parts of a canoe trip can be gruelling and stressful – remember to work as a team. You are out there for a min. of 72 hours – and don’t get 1 second alone. - Try not to do more than 10im of portaging in a day. Although we are fans of pushing it for the first 2 days and then relaxing somewhat on the 3rd day – even-ing out the days with some good rest in between helps your body (and mind) out a lot.

Mia & Eli Alexis & Julien June 2008