Catching Up
Last night I met up with my friend, Sarah Creen (Benn), whom I have not seen in several years. I think the last time we hung out was at Laura P's wedding back in 2006.
It was really great to catch up!
I'm home for the weekend in OS since mom and dad are doing a presentation at the church on their trip to Nicaragua. Sarah is home visiting her parents since it is her father's 60th birthday. I dropped by their house for a visit, and what a great visit it was.
Why did I enjoy it so much?
- It really is great to catch up with old friends
- Although Sarah and I have gone totally separate ways, it's neat to see how we are still connected and can relate on some common ground
- I got to spend more time with Sarah's husband, Michael, and learned that he is a very cool guy (the first and only time I had met him previously was at their wedding in 2003)
- I got to chat more with Sarah's dad (my childhood minister) and her mom, and together, the five of us, shared some pretty interesting discussion on life and religion and more
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Canoe Trip in Killarney
I finally got the collection of pictures taken on our 6-day canoe trip in Killarney. I think they turned out pretty fab. There were soooo many great pictures that it's hard to choose which ones to post here. I will see if I can consolidate below...
After dropping mom and dad off at the church at 5:15am where they would ride the yellow school bus to Pearson airport where they would begin their trip to Nicaragua, I was on the road and headed towards Barrie.
Since it was such an early morning, I got the pleasure of witnessing glowingly beautiful early morning sunrise.
After meeting up with Amanda, Brandon, Andrew, and Tasha who had come from Toronto, we carpooled up to Killarney Provincial Park just in time for the rain to pour down while we unloaded and set off.
Despite the fog that surrounded us, I was very quickly mesmerized by my surroundings - a new part of Ontario that I had not yet seen.
Spotting the first loon of the trip - the first of many
Arriving at our site after navigating our way through an unmarked portage onto Sandy Lake
Hanging the food
After an awesome dinner of steak, garlic bread, green beans, and mashed potatoes, Brandon surprised us with some creme brule, complete with melted sugar thanks to his handy butane torch.
Waking up the next morning to a beautiful sunset burning away the fog hanging over the lake, I sat and enjoyed the moment before starting the fire.
Oleg also enjoyed the serene setting
A few shots from around the campsite...
A beautiful morning for a paddle...
Gliding through the trail of lilly pads...
Taking a break and enjoying the afternoon sun...
Andrew shows us the secret to his power on the portages
Yet another loon (one of my favourite parts about Northern Ontario!)
A "small" beaver dam that we had to maneuver around
Arriving at our second campsite on Little Bell Lake
After a leisurely morning around camp (and some yummy yummy pancakes to start our day) we set off for an easy day of paddling
We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon on a sweet campsite where we enjoyed cheddar smokies and baked beans over the fire, and an afternoon of sun on the rocks
After stashing our canoes in the bush, we hiked up to the top of Silver Peak where we (illegally) planned to spend the night since there were no available campsites on that lake at the time of booking our trip
The hike up was a refreshing change to paddling as it was a pretty good incline and really got the legs working. I was oh so pleasantly surprised to discover that the hike also offered some pretty spectacular views - something I was definitely missing after getting spoiled by all of the alpine hiking that I had spent the past year and a half of my life taking for granted...
Following the cairns along the way
To the very top where we quickly found ourselves in the middle of an oncoming storm with thick fog blowing up and over the mountain-top and completely blocking out our view
I think that this picture from the next morning completely summarizes how gloomy things were (ah well, so much for a better view - will have to come back next year and check it out!)
After hiking back down to the bottom, the sun came out and we hopped in our canoes and stopped off at this wonderful campsite to enjoy a morning swim and a delicious oatmeal breakfast
Later that day we stumbled upon some pretty fantastic cliffs
The daredevils in the group opted to check them out a bit more than the ladies did
I took the opportunity to soak up the experience in a slightly more relaxing manner
After the next portage, we found ourselves having to drag the canoes for a while
And after catching site of a snapping turtle in the mirky waters, we opted to change up our strategic approach
I was LOVING it!
After some really yum KD for dinner...
We enjoyed a very chillin' evening around the campfire
I was thrilled to get up early the next morning to enjoy a gorgeous sunrise over the lake
I also discovered that it is only certain times of the day when you get to witness beautiful reflective moments like this one on the water
Paddling back down the shallow stream
And returning to the magnificent cliffs once again
This time Tasha decided to give it a "go" too
After finishing up at the cliffs we portaged onto another lake to be mesmerized by some even more magnificent cliffs
Another short portage took us onto this spectacular blue lake
And yet another portage brought us onto this narrow stream that was not a stranger to beaver dams
This section of the paddle turned ominous as we paddled by this ginormous boulders amongst the several mini portages that were interspersed throughout
It was a slow paddle and we found ourselves finally back onto the open water as the day was coming to an end
After paddling the length of Three Narrows Lake, we found ourselves back at the very first campsite that we saw since it was the only one unoccupied
We had just enough time to set up camp and start dinner before having to finish eating it in the dark. I think this picture of my feet summarizes how tough the day had been.
Our last morning was definitely a wet one and we set off in some gloomy skies
After a few more wet portages...
We found ourselves back where we started and sad to say goodbye to Killarney
What a fantastic trip. It`s hard to describe the total disconnect from the real world that you get to experience on a multi-day canoe trip like this. We really lucked out with good weather for the most part, and I am grateful for that. Already looking forward to our proposed 2-week adventure in the interior next year!
I finally got the collection of pictures taken on our 6-day canoe trip in Killarney. I think they turned out pretty fab. There were soooo many great pictures that it's hard to choose which ones to post here. I will see if I can consolidate below...
After dropping mom and dad off at the church at 5:15am where they would ride the yellow school bus to Pearson airport where they would begin their trip to Nicaragua, I was on the road and headed towards Barrie.
Since it was such an early morning, I got the pleasure of witnessing glowingly beautiful early morning sunrise.
After meeting up with Amanda, Brandon, Andrew, and Tasha who had come from Toronto, we carpooled up to Killarney Provincial Park just in time for the rain to pour down while we unloaded and set off.
Despite the fog that surrounded us, I was very quickly mesmerized by my surroundings - a new part of Ontario that I had not yet seen.
Spotting the first loon of the trip - the first of many
Arriving at our site after navigating our way through an unmarked portage onto Sandy Lake
Hanging the food
After an awesome dinner of steak, garlic bread, green beans, and mashed potatoes, Brandon surprised us with some creme brule, complete with melted sugar thanks to his handy butane torch.
Waking up the next morning to a beautiful sunset burning away the fog hanging over the lake, I sat and enjoyed the moment before starting the fire.
Oleg also enjoyed the serene setting
A few shots from around the campsite...
A beautiful morning for a paddle...
Gliding through the trail of lilly pads...
Taking a break and enjoying the afternoon sun...
Andrew shows us the secret to his power on the portages
Yet another loon (one of my favourite parts about Northern Ontario!)
A "small" beaver dam that we had to maneuver around
Arriving at our second campsite on Little Bell Lake
After a leisurely morning around camp (and some yummy yummy pancakes to start our day) we set off for an easy day of paddling
We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon on a sweet campsite where we enjoyed cheddar smokies and baked beans over the fire, and an afternoon of sun on the rocks
After stashing our canoes in the bush, we hiked up to the top of Silver Peak where we (illegally) planned to spend the night since there were no available campsites on that lake at the time of booking our trip
The hike up was a refreshing change to paddling as it was a pretty good incline and really got the legs working. I was oh so pleasantly surprised to discover that the hike also offered some pretty spectacular views - something I was definitely missing after getting spoiled by all of the alpine hiking that I had spent the past year and a half of my life taking for granted...
Following the cairns along the way
To the very top where we quickly found ourselves in the middle of an oncoming storm with thick fog blowing up and over the mountain-top and completely blocking out our view
I think that this picture from the next morning completely summarizes how gloomy things were (ah well, so much for a better view - will have to come back next year and check it out!)
After hiking back down to the bottom, the sun came out and we hopped in our canoes and stopped off at this wonderful campsite to enjoy a morning swim and a delicious oatmeal breakfast
Later that day we stumbled upon some pretty fantastic cliffs
The daredevils in the group opted to check them out a bit more than the ladies did
I took the opportunity to soak up the experience in a slightly more relaxing manner
After the next portage, we found ourselves having to drag the canoes for a while
And after catching site of a snapping turtle in the mirky waters, we opted to change up our strategic approach
I was LOVING it!
After some really yum KD for dinner...
We enjoyed a very chillin' evening around the campfire
I was thrilled to get up early the next morning to enjoy a gorgeous sunrise over the lake
I also discovered that it is only certain times of the day when you get to witness beautiful reflective moments like this one on the water
Paddling back down the shallow stream
And returning to the magnificent cliffs once again
This time Tasha decided to give it a "go" too
After finishing up at the cliffs we portaged onto another lake to be mesmerized by some even more magnificent cliffs
Another short portage took us onto this spectacular blue lake
And yet another portage brought us onto this narrow stream that was not a stranger to beaver dams
This section of the paddle turned ominous as we paddled by this ginormous boulders amongst the several mini portages that were interspersed throughout
It was a slow paddle and we found ourselves finally back onto the open water as the day was coming to an end
After paddling the length of Three Narrows Lake, we found ourselves back at the very first campsite that we saw since it was the only one unoccupied
We had just enough time to set up camp and start dinner before having to finish eating it in the dark. I think this picture of my feet summarizes how tough the day had been.
Our last morning was definitely a wet one and we set off in some gloomy skies
After a few more wet portages...
We found ourselves back where we started and sad to say goodbye to Killarney
What a fantastic trip. It`s hard to describe the total disconnect from the real world that you get to experience on a multi-day canoe trip like this. We really lucked out with good weather for the most part, and I am grateful for that. Already looking forward to our proposed 2-week adventure in the interior next year!
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