As I mentioned before, I am guessing that hadn't been camping probably since I was 18. Steve - I am not sure but probably just as long. We had no gear. We had no idea what gear to get. There was a lot of Googling going on 'How to pack a cooler for camping' and 'Camping for beginners'. Let's just say that we looked completely ridiculous walking out of the store adorned with a tent, two coolers, two camp chairs, an air mattress, a hot dog/marshmallow cooking stick, bug spray, etc. I wish I had photographic evidence of this. We looked like camping rookies indeed.
On Friday evening after work we packed up the car - with what we thought was essential and headed to Canisbay Lake Campground in Algonquin Park which is roughly 3.5 hours north-east of Toronto with two of our good friends Chris and Caitlin. The entire ride there, and the week leading up to the trip, I obsessively inquired about 'what if we run into a bear?' I mean it is bear country after all. And I've watched enough of The Colbert Report to know all about the dangers of bears. However, I was assured that I didn't have anything to worry about. Until we arrived to this..unbelievable.
Since we had left so late - we arrived at pretty late at night. This made getting out of the car a bit difficult - but I built up all the courage I could so I could attempt to help Steve set up our tent. Let's just say that at that time of night - with bears looming in the area I am not the most cooperative helper. Thankfully I married a very patient and understanding man. I decided to instead open a beer to calm my nerves and frustration. Our camping mate (and camping guru), Caitlin, decided to have a midnight snack. Apparently this guy thought that he did too and stole the bag of ranch crispers right out of her hands - what a jerk.
I managed to sleep quite easily the first night (and the second) - could have been the beer(s) I consumed - and was much more at ease in the morning. Actually waking up in the woods is quite refreshing. I was surprisingly excited to take advantage of the day. So as a team we quickly cooked up a feast for breakfast and got ready. Seriously there is nothing more rewarding than cooking your meals over an open campfire. Food just tastes better.
Saturday afternoon we took a trip down the road to Tea Lake Dam and set up our chairs in the river to soak up some sun and enjoy the awesome scenery. We ended up spending a good majority of the day in there - until we discovered that there were some leeches looming in the waters. Normally I would be deathly afraid - but I was enjoying myself too much to bother caring. Can you blame me?
We settled in for the evening after cooking another feast and Steve tended to the fire. I mean he seriously tended to it. Who knew my husband was so great at building fires - without lighter fluid. I am pretty impressed (and comforted) with his fire making abilities.
Sunday morning was depressing as we ate, hung out, and dismantled our campsite. I wish we were all able to stay longer - but we all have jobs that required us to be there on Monday. Huge bummer. We pack up and said good bye to our temporary home - and headed to the beach to get in some last minute weekend rays and hang outs before making the long trek back to the city.
The only good part about driving home - was that this trip was in the daylight so we were able to at least enjoy the scenery.
We arrived home safely on Sunday around 9:00 p.m. dirty and tired from an awesome weekend away. We were both impressed that two reformed city kids were able to kick back and enjoy the awesomeness of the wilderness. And surprisingly enough - I loved it so much that I can't wait until our next trip. This girl is no longer afraid to camp - however she is still afraid of bears. But nothing a bear bell, a bear whistle, and some bear spray can't mitigate.
