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THE BONNECHERE BUZZ LiveWorkPlay (LWP) Incorporated Tales From The SMILE Camping Trip 2005 |
TRIP SUMMARY
AUGUST 15-17, 2005
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SMILE camping trips started in 2001 at Christie Lake Camp. LWP co-founder Julie Kingstone was involved with Christie Lake for about ten years, and was able to organize for LiveWorkPlay to rent the facility during an off-week in August. The camp had a lot to offer, included a dining hall with a full industrial kitchen, cabins with bunk beds, and more. After four years at Christie Lake it was time for a change in the form of a more rustic camping experience that would bring new challenges. The idea was popular when discussed last fall, but the participants listed some basic essentials. The biggest demand was for a nice beach and good swimming. After examining a number of possibilities this year's camping destination was to be Bonnechere Provincial Park. There were scheduling challenges for some of those who already took time off from work and volunteer commitments for the Miami trip in February. And some were nervous about making the transition from cabins to tents. In the end 8 brave souls decided to take the plunge. In an interesting development, 75% of the registered campers were female. Preparations began many months ago. The SMILE shopping group did lots of research on tents and equipment, and the Things To Do committee did the purchasing. In the couple of days before the trip the LWP staff devoted a lot of their weekend to getting things ready. This included everything from preparing food so everyone could eat well and without too much waiting around, to heading up to the campground the day before the trip to pump up all the air mattresses and put up the tents. This turned out to be very important, but not for the reasons you might expect. It was important because some of the participants brought so much stuff with them that their gear would never would have fit in the vans with the tents and mattresses and food.! On Monday morning 7 of 8 participants had their gear in a pile in the Heartwood House parking lot and were ready to go by 10:00 AM. But where oh where was Paul Hamilton? He'd been a bit unsure about coming on the trip but had sounded pretty determined about it in recent weeks. Did he get cold feet and change his mind? There was no answer at his home phone or cell phone, so after a short meeting to inform all the participants of the agenda for the day, the two-van caravan headed off without him. The first stop was the liquor store near Elgin and the 417. Caroline and Rachel agonized over which type of coolers they wanted to buy. Keenan and a store employee were both helping them by answering questions and making suggestions, and eventually Bacardi Breezers were the choice. But it was a good thing it took so long...when Keenan returned to the van he checked the cell phone in the charger and discovered Maureen from Heartwood had called. Guess who had just shown up there? That's right, Paul Hamilton! In previous years the camping trips had departed at 11:00, and with all the excitement of getting ready, Paul forgot that this year's departure was at 10:00. It was only a short drive to pick him up and get underway, and everyone felt better knowing that he had not been left behind. The drive was straightforward. Take Highway 17 to Pembroke and take the 58 to the campground. There was some construction along the way, but it was no big deal. We stopped at the Irving truck stop for a hearty lunch and then there was just a short drive remaining. It was a beautiful day and perfect weather for the start of a camping trip. The tents were all shiny and new and without much support at all everyone moved in. John and Paul had their own site right across the dirt lane from all the women, who were also staying in pairs, but all on the same campsite. Jenny bunked with Amanda, Rachel and Robin were roomies, and Moira and Caroline buddied up. Across from them and next to Paul and John was the dining campsite, a meeting place for eating and enjoying a campfire together. There was also a small tent set up just for storage, and some participants needed to use it because they could not fit themselves and all their bags in their own tents. Allison, Julie, and Keenan were staying at a nearby site that could be accessed by the participants via a short path. To make things a little less difficult at night, each of the sites had a citronella torch that would be lit to light the way for trips to the bathroom or in case of emergency. After getting settled in it was off to the beach! The participants could not believe it was such a short trip (the walk to and from the beach at Christie Lake is a real workout). The beach at Bonnechere Provincial Park is huge, sandy, and pretty. The water is quite shallow, and just about everyone who uses the beach walks out way past the swimming buoys. There was wading, swimming, lounging, and playing going on for hours. Caroline tried to remember where she learned to throw a football but wasn't too sure. Jenny used to find playing catch really difficult but she's not afraid of the ball and had a lot of fun. Moira was very surprised at how good she was at catching the ball. Back on the beach reading was popular. Amanda was delving into a thick classic, while others settle for lighter stuff like magazines. It was quite hot in the sun, but with a good slathering of sunscreen it was quite enjoyable, and there wasn't much humidity. Julie was in the process of discovering the rash on her shin that was spreading over her entire body. Yes, she'd done it again. First it was kidney stones on the trip to Miami and now a wicked case of poison ivy, complete with huge bubbly blisters! After getting back from the beach it was time to get ready for dinner. We put a clothes line up between some trees on our community site. Those who found it difficult to get changed in the tent made the short walk to the comfort station (washrooms and private showers) and changed there. The main course was prepared on a butane stove in a big pot. It was spaghetti in a tomato sauce with zucchini. It was heated up and Moira and Rachel got the first plate because they did not want any meat. A big pile of ground beef was then added for everyone else. There was also salad and bread available, plus apple juice, organge juice, and water. The dinner was very well received, and quite filling judging by the number of people holding their bellies! So after cleaning up it was time for a late evening stroll around the campground. It's a pretty big place, and the walk was about 30 minutes. It was getting cool and most people put on long pants, except for Robin and Paul, who wore shorts the entire trip. Julie, Keenan, and Allison brought up a big pile of wood on Sunday, as well as a box of kindling, so it was no problem getting a fire going in the pit. Out came the camping chairs, and also the beer and coolers for some. And of course it was not long until the s'mores came out. Jenny was the only one who decided to roast her own mashmallow, everyone else accepted the offer from Julie, who had picked up a good roasting stick during the walk. There were other snacks too, the usual chips and cookies, but also delicious yellow plums and ripe peaches. There wasn't any plan for songs around the fire, but Paul was very keen on the idea and got a lot of support behind him, so Keenan went and got the guitar. It was a long time since he played "Complicated" (Avril Lavigne) so he practiced the chords a bit. Then everyone launched into it. We started with Sweet Home Alabama, Free Fallin', Complicated and a few other favourites before winding down with Closing Time and Stand By Me. The party went on until 10:55 because the camp is supposed to quiet down starting at 11:00. It was time to get ready to sleep, the first time sleeping overnight in a tent for some people. It all went pretty well, although it seemed to take an awfully long time. Except for Paul and John, who each took about 20 seconds to get ready for bed. Across the lane from them the three women's tents were a buzz of activity until almost midnight. You could hear a lot of "Did you see my...?" Also a lot of giggling. It was quite a chilly night. Some of those who did not zip their sleeping bags up tight woke up shivering in the middle of the night. But the main problem seemed to be those who did not have socks on. The next morning staff were not suprised to find that John was up and about bright and early, but they were surprised to find that Paul was not with him. Paul fooled everyone by sleeping in past 9:00! For breakfast there was a bit of confusion about how to eat the cereal without a bowl, so there were lessons in how to open a mini box of cereal and use the plastic package as a bowl. Julie brought out delicious home made blueberry muffins and also cinnamon-carrot. There was bread and other choices, and everyone seemed satisfied. It was a very pleasant morning and although some of the hairdos were a bit unusual, everyone looked pretty fresh and ready to take on the day. It was already almost 11:00 by the time all the cleaning up and other transitional activities were over. This was to be a big day on the beach, and there would also be canoeing. Rachel was excited about playing badmington, and had a great time with Caroline doing that. But fooling around in the water was the main attraction, as well as lazing around, reading, and talking. The canoe had to be carried from the campsite to the beach, and it is pretty heavy, so it was a team effort. First up for paddling was Paul. He likes to paddle very hard for a few seconds and then rest, so Keenan got a good workout. They saw turtles and ducks and had a nice trip up the Bonnechere River. On the way back they ran into Allison, Amanda, and John swimming in Round Lake. Jenny was next in line for canoeing. She was holding the paddle in a way that made it difficult. As they were paddling Keenan mentioned holding the paddle right at the top of the handle, and just like that Jenny had a really nice stroke going. Right until she paddled into the branches of a tree (see video) but that was all part of the fun. They paddled up the Bonnechere River and also saw turtles and ducks, as well as some fish. They were trying to paddle up to the Highway 58 bridge but ran into a dead end on a branch of the river that had dried up. It was time for a late lunch. Chicken salad sandwiches, chicken caesar salad, peanut butter and jam sandwiches, and all sorts of sides. It was a pretty big feast. There were some delicious ripe cherry tomatoes that a lot of people were enjoying, but people like Moira thought it might not be right to eat them in one bite, so tomato juice was flying everywhere. After Julie, Keenan, and Allison looked up at the sky and figured out it wasn't raining, the suggestion was made that Moira try to eat them in one bite. She wasn't too sure about that, but gave it a try with everyone cheering her on and giggling and she did just fine. Cheese sticks and yogurt were popular choices as well. After the late lunch the plan was to check out the camp store before it would close at 4:00. The store had some nice shirts and other souvenirs, and probably made more money in ten minutes of LWP shopping than they had all day. But there wasn't a wild spending spree. Rachel, Amanda, and Moira got t-shirts on sale for less than $20. Caroline found a souvenir she liked for only $1. Moira also got a tiny deck of cards. Jenny got a cute little stuffed red fox - stay tuned for more about red foxes! Robin discovered the free postcards in the lobby. Paul looked but did not buy. There was still a few hours of daylight available, and Caroline and Moira were still waiting to go canoeing. The rest of the group decided to go on a hike. Allison had been excited to try the hiking trails but was a bit surprised by the number of mosquitos waiting to feast on her calfs. Meanwhile Caroline and Moira were well on their way up the Bonnechere, and the group of hikers actually saw them from the trail and exchanged shouts of hello. Moira and Caroline heard about the Highway 58 bridge and were up for trying to reach it. There were only two paddles so Moira's job was to help maintain balance by sitting in the middle of the canoe. This was working well, and after paddling quite a distance up the river they could hear some trucks on a road so the bridge had to be close. They were having a nice relaxing paddle and then suddenly it happened. There was a submerged tree branch under the water and it hit the side of the canoe. Caroline reacted as expected by leaning the other way, but then the canoe rocked back towards the branch and some water slipped over the side. There was no stopping the river now. It jumped into the canoe and suddenly the trio were going over. Of course all three were wearing PFDs (like a life jacket) and were bobbing at the top of the water next to the water-filled canoe. Caroline was relatively calm because last summer she'd signed up for the SMILE kayaking at Meech Lake and had practiced falling out in the water. Moira looked a bit shocked by everything, and it didn't help having her sunglasses all crooked across her face. Keenan and Caroline reassured Moira that everything would be fine, and she recovered quickly, and then asked a good question: "What do we do now?" Before the answer came, there was a bit of a minor celebration. It turned out the goal had been achieved - just a few feet ahead was the Highway 58 Bridge, and thus the Bridge 58 Incident got its name. The river was a bit swampy in this area, but there was little choice but to move to shallow water, despite the weeds and mud. Keenan swam out and collected the paddles, and then it was time to deal with the canoe, which was close to sinking. Caroline was just starting to ask what to do about it when Keenan pushed the front end into the mud, turned it over, lifted it and then shook it while upside down. So, the canoe was fine, now how would everyone get back into it! Caroline went first. She had to pry her feet out of the mud to get into the front end. Moira was understandably concerned about how wobbly it was getting into the middle, but she managed it. She also coped well with the discovery that a crayfish was making a home in the trickle of water still left in the bottom of the canoe. Keenan wasn't too sure how he got in the back end, but he did it. Now there was one final problem. The canoe was stuck in the mud! Caroline pushed and pushed with her paddle while Keenan paddle backwards furiously. Finally the front end pulled out of the mud with a big "shmuuuk" noise, and they were off, giggling all the way. There were no problems getting back to Round Lake and onto the beach. The rest of the group had long since returned to the campsite and were wondering just what sort of canoe trip this had been. They got the whole story, shared some laughs, and then it was time to plan the evening. There was a difficult choice to be made. Although we'd all had a very late lunch, it was now past the time when most of the participants are used to having dinner. But there was an opportunity to take a drive up Basin Lake Road across from the park at sunset and try to spot deer, moose, or maybe even a bear. The decision was made - let's head for the bush! The trip had barely started when something was spotted moving near a bush in a field of long grass. It was a beautiful red fox! He sat up and stared at the two vans for what seemed like a long time. Then as if he finally realized there were 11 pairs of eyes staring back at him, he flipped his tail and disappeared. Soon the pavement was gone and we were in the wilds of the eastern section of Algonquin Park. This is a long way from the busy area around Highway 60. We saw only a couple of pickup trucks the entire way, and they didn't look like tourists. As the sun continued setting we didn't see much more wildlife, except for some hilarious pheasants (large birds) that kept running across the road in front of the van. Why didn't they just stay where they were instead of running across the road? Oh well, it was entertaining. On the return trip the first van driven by Julie got really lucky and spotted a black bear off a dirt road right near the historic Basin Lake Depot site. It was getting dark and harder to see well, and black bears in the wild are very shy, so it was just a glimpse. But it was exciting and stimulating for the appetite. Luckily a ton of food was on the menu. It was hard to wait with the smell of veggie dogs, hamburgers, hot dogs, and sausages on the barbecue! Believe it or not, dinner wasn't served until 10:00! But nobody complained once and it was delicious and tasted even better sitting around the fire. There were a couple of coolers and beers left, some more s'mores were enjoyed, and there was lots of talking and laughing well past 11:00. We all lost track of time, and one of the park staff had to come and remind us that we needed to reduce the noise level a little bit. Oops! Oh, and if you are wondering why there are no pictures of any of the Day 2 evening or Day 3, it's because the digital camera was still drying out. It got a little wet when the canoe tipped over (note: a waterproof camera bag only works when you zip it up 100%). The guys went to bed first, and the gals stayed up until midnight before starting their routine. The staff chatted briefly around the fire and did a bit of cleanup and speculated that it would be a bit of a rough morning for the participants after such a late night. They also had a few laughs together carrying the canoe back from the beach to the campsite in the moonlight. It felt a lot heavier at the end of a busy day. But the work wasn't done quite yet...it started to sprinkle rain, a possibility that the participants had obviously not considered. There were bags and shoes lying around outside, and the two men did not even have a rainfly over their tent. And they also didn't wake up - not because of the rain falling on them, or because of the noise of the rainfly being thrown over their tent. The women were aware there was a problem, and were actively doing something about it by bringing the bags and shoes inside the tent. It only took a few minutes and everyone was ready for a pleasant sleep to the delightful sound of a pleasant rain. The morning came and everyone was up and about by 9:00 and in a great mood. Allison offered some assistance with using the showers - you have to keep pushing a button on the wall to keep the water coming. After a breakfast of "everything that is left to eat" (which was more than enough) it was time for the biggest challenge of the entire trip - getting everything into the two vans. Allison and Julie went on tent and mattress detail, while the participants brought their bags to a central piling station and Keenan started packing them. Some people had bags so full he sang a little song called "The Biggest Bag Of All" to the tune of Whitney Houston's "The Greatest Love Of All." Amanda was not all that amused by this tune, and explained that although her bag happend to be quite large (it was a very professional looking backpack) it was also holding ALL of her stuff, including her sleeping bag. Point well made! The LWP van was packed to the brim, and the rental was starting to fill up and the mattresses and tents were still outside. Uhoh. As a final desperate tactic, all the participants were asked to get into the vans, and then the remaining stuff was packed in all around them. Success! And time to hit the road and head back to the truck stop for lunch. There were no surprise orders, lots of cheeseburgers, fries, chicken fingers, and club sandwiches. After gassing up (we're talking about the vans) it was time to head for Ottawa. There was a lot of sleeping going on in the passenger seats, and this was helped along by having to wait for two very long freight trains to pass on two different tracks between Pembroke and Arnprior. Keenan called the Heartwood office at 2:45 and asked if someone could let the parents in the parking lot know that there'd be a delay of about 30 minutes from the 3:00 pickup time. The parting in the parking lot was bittersweet as it always is after the camping trips. There's the good feelings that come from thinking of a shower, fresh clothes, and sleeping in your own bed. But there's also waking up without the fresh air and spending the evening without the company of peers around the campfire. This is what everyone involved named as their highlight. Some people refused to pick just one thing! John: Being on the beach and watching people canoeing. Paul: Canoeing in the river. Jenny: Singing songs around the fire. Julie: Being around the fire. Moira: Swimming (on the beach and in the river!). Amanda: Going on the hike. Robin: The beach. Allison: Sleeping past 7 am and the beach. Rachel: Swimming and being around the fire. Caroline: The Bridge 58 incident and swimming (beach and river). Keenan: Canoeing and the campfire. Certain people got associated with certain expressions during the trip, and over lunch at the truck stop here's the list that the group put together: Moira: "I could live without it" Caroline: "Oh well" and "Yummy" John: "Yummy!? That's Gremlins!" Rachel: "I see dead people" [Cole Sear impression] Jenny: "I forgot" Julie: "It's itchy!" Keenan: "Don't put THAT in the fire!" Allison: "You're in my chair" Amanda: "Can I help you with that?" Robin: "Whatever!" Paul: "Was the seat up?" |
