Monday Morning I wake to hear the patter of rain drops hitting the tent, but I have to get up anyway. It was another cold night. I need to go to the washroom and start the fire for coffee and breakfast before we explore a bit and go.

I get up cold and throw my water shoes on. Still in the same flannel I put on yesterday at this time, I headed out of the tent. Zzzzzzzzzzrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Instead of rain, what I’d been hearing was the fog that blanketed the entire campground. The fog made dew that settled on the leaves and when the wind shifted even a little it fell like rain. The sun was beyond the fog and sunlight beamed through the trees in rays. It was breathtaking. I went to the washroom and loved the walk. Everyone was still sleeping. The fog was starting to clear already. I started the fire which still had hot coals and caught right away. I put the coffee on to perk.

I grabbed my camera and headed for the water. The fog was fading in the woods but sat on the lake like a cloud in a basin. The shadowed trees at the edge of the lake sat in silhouette to the white/grey glow of the wall at the water’s edge. There was no visible distinction between water and air.

Trees and ripples seemed to hang suspended in nothing but luminescent air.

My eyes strained to find out how far I could see into the fog. I walked to my right along a little foot path. It stayed at the waters edge. I looked back and could see the edge of where I’d been standing just moments before.

The mist was lifting at the edges and as the tree lined shores became exposed I just couldn’t imagine what could be more beautiful. ‘Glory’ was the word that came to mind. There were light shafts through the trees, and mist on the water. What a glorious experience to be standing in the middle of it all.  I love breathing it, feeling it, experiencing it with every sense, and absorbing it. If you do this with awareness you can recall it later with clarity of amazing dimension.

Staying on the path I climbed over roots and muck freshly exposed by the rain the night before last. I was careful to take my time and watch my footing. I continued to take pictures as everything around me was so morning fresh. A fish jumped somewhere out there. I could now see water and trees on the other side of the little bay I was in.

The sun was warming and the water was clear. It was the colour of tea because of the rich organic soil. My camera card only had a few more pictures left on it, and the coffee should be ready. Maybe Sue was up so I turned around and picked my path home taking pictures of the scenery each time something stood out.

I got back to the campsite and the coffee was perking. Sue was still sleeping so I changed cards in my camera, made myself a travel mug of “To Go” coffee, and went back to the water.

Loaded for bear, three camera cards, and two sets of fresh batteries, this time I went left at the water. The mist was now patchy on the water. I could see a loon just off to the right and a canoe passing the bay. The loon would call and I had to smile. That has to be one of my favourite sounds. Big fish would jump every once in a while and the splash gave me images of how much bears enjoy those jumping fish. I should keep my wits about me, this is not your backyard woods.

There was supposed to be a beach this way as I recalled from the map so I expected to find that. I found myself entering a rather remote marshy shore and thought about the possibility of moose so I made sure I kept an eye out and made noise while I walked. Sometimes I was walking on roots and the ground supporting them had all washed away. I had to balance across a few quick fix ‘bridges’ that people had thrown together with things like, a dead sapling, two pieces of bark and a rock.

I continued on my way and stopped for pictures of the lake. I stopped once or twice and just stayed there and sipped my coffee. It was so nice. The loon continued to call out every once in a while. A fish occasionally jumped.

Then I was there. The beach I remembered seeing on the map.

I stood there for a long time just drinking in the moment. Me, a dot on a shore, surrounded by woods that stretch for 7000 kilometres. Moose bear, and wolves, were all walking around out here doing their thing. Fishers and porcupines, eagles and hawks and all kinds of wonderful creatures living free just steps ahead in no man’s land. I was alone at the edge of the campground and the start of the deepest interior. I kept my camera in my hand and sat for a while listening. The sun was getting warmer and the fog was all but gone. It was time to go back. “I’ll just take the road.” I started trekking down the road thinking it linked to the campground pretty close to our site. Apparently not.

I was all alone on this road and heading along the top edge of the campground. I knew it would take me around to the gate part, but I thought I could find a path through to the campground. I walked for a very long time and no one was around. I understood that I had walked a lot farther than the campground as I’d pictured it. I was possibly pretty deep in the woods and had coffee and a camera. That’s not going to help me much if I get into a bind out here. I could always go back, if I truly felt like I was not on the road I thought I was on. No cars were going by.

I began to hum a song, because that is what we were told to do my multiple sources. Animals hear you and generally avoid you. The worst part is the song I started to hum because it popped into my head. “Come little children I’ll take you away” from the movie ‘Hocus Pocus’. Kind of Creepy. So I changed it to John Denver and finally stumbled onto campsite 101. There was a portage path so I took it. I ended up in the thick of the woods again. This time not on a road but on a little tiny path. I went over little brooks and waterways, it was so pretty. Green was everywhere. Chipmunks were running around. I could smell the occasional campfire smell so I knew I was still near the campground, closer than before. Then I was there, I came out where the campsites were numbered in the 90’s and walked to our number 29 past people just emerging from their tents and the smell of bacon on the air. I arrived at our site and Sue was at the fire with the coffee perking again. We made bacon and eggs and toast.

Then we began to pack up our site. Once it was all stowed we drove to the regular public beach (not the one I went to) and took the water camera to the shore. Fully prepared to go in, the breeze was a might cooler than we had realized. We walked to the waters edge and let it touch our toes. Whoa, that was cold! We skittered back to the bench and sat for a minute in the sun to warm up and think about whether or not to go in. I notice that there are only about 4 kids in the water and 3 teens just on the outside of the ropes. The sand and grass shore on the other hand is quite full. People were everywhere, tanning or reading, people with big floppy beach hats and people with bikinis. Canoes were being distributed off to the right and it was just so pretty. Apparently grown ups know better than to go swimming in the freezing cold water. Not us!

I looked at Sue, she looked at me, “Ready?”

I said, “Just keep walking straight into the water and do not stop until you are in all the way.”

Straight into the freezing cold water we went. Water camera and water shoes came in handy. Sue did a dive at the end and I went to my shoulders then dunked my head under. We took pictures of how brave we were, and then went under the rope to the other side.

It was less uncomfortable when you got a little more used to it. It was a pleasure to feel clean again. Absolutely fantastic. Looking back at the shore and all the way around at shores close by and shores farther away, Sue and I took turns taking pictures of everything. We used up all 27 pictures by the time we decided to get out. We acted like the goof balls we are and created an amusing diversion for those on the shore. We giggled and laughed and played like children. Then we got out after showing our brave selves to the camera as if to say. “Ha! No ice cold water gonna keep us out!”

Then we went and changed into dry clothes for the trip home.

I video taped our departure from the campground.

It was a nice drive out and we decided to take the 35 instead of the 11 back so we could see another beautiful highway. We stopped and I brushed my teeth at a little park on the side of the road.

There were so many lakes around that the water was peeking through from both sides of the highway. We stopped and had food at Coboconk.

We continued on our way home. It was really fun to get away and feel like you’d accomplished something while absorbing the rewards of the spectacular experiences I’d had that morning.

We got to Sue’s at I think around 8 pm and I went home, I changed my sheets and looked at my pictures on the computer and then kissed my kids and went to bed. It was a lot of fun.

We’ll be doing it again soon I hope.