It was a gong show...

But it was a fantastic experience nonetheless.  It was out 2010 Outtatown Canoe trip and I loved it... despite the fact that I was bone-crushingly cold the entire first day!  Ok, so maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I was stinkin' cold.  

We drove from Camp Arnes (which is located just outside of Winnipeg) to Manitoba Pioneer Camp (which is in Ontario... figure that one out!) and it was a great drive in our convoy of 15 passenger vans.  It was funny, but I could actually tell when we were getting close to the Ontario border because the landscape started to feel like home.  I didn't think that Manitoba would be all that different from Ontario, but it's waaaay flatter.  Which makes the sky absolutely HUGE... kinda like it wants to eat me or something.  On the plus side, it does make for some fabulous skyscapes.  Gotta love the clouds.  

Anyways, we crossed into Ontario, took the first right after the border, hopped onto a ferry and landed at MPC.  Which is roughly when I started shivering.  

See?!  Everyone was cold!

Because we're a group of 36, we had to split into 2 smaller groups just to make sure we were going to be safe on the water.  We still had 9 boats on the water, which was a bit crazy at times.

Now, I don't know who was doing the praying for good weather back home - but it worked!!  Friday was about 5 degrees, rainy and COLD as all get out.  Saturday looked like this:

A little chilly (see the toques and sweaters?!), but sunny and a tailwind.  Couldn't ask for anything better.

We arrived at site rather early, so we paddled over to an abandoned mine and checked out all the abandoned equipment and buildings.

Day 2 was another beautiful day... The only thing missing were the loons

This is where things started to get really crazy.  We paddled up this stunning river...

...to our portage.  There were a couple trail options, so one of our guides was going to leave markers as he led the way.  I managed to trip over a giant branch with a canoe on my back and it slipped off my shoulders about halfway along... and next thing I knew, our guide was running up behind me asking if we were going the right way. 

"Umm... yes?  But weren't you leading us?"

Turns out our guides knew 2 different routes through the portage.  It was a little hairy, but we all arrived safely at the put in ready to paddle onwards.

We did have to stop for Katies photo-op with a snake:

I would like to add that I kept my feet off the bottom of my canoe and stayed far far away.  One snake bite is enough for me. 

By the time we arrived at our next campsite, it was warm enough that we were able to go swimming.  Or at least stick our toes in the water!

And this is what my hair looked like... I love trip hair.  

You might have noticed the scowl.  I was trying to figure out if I actually wanted to go swimming... The day was lovely, but the water was still blasted cold!  Once the mentioned gunnel-bobbing I was sold though.  

And it ended with an epic fall.

ker-splash!

This site was also a little creepy, because there were all these random bones lying about.  Which, of course, the boys played with.  I believe this spine eventually turned into a light saber... Go figure. 

We had a really neat topic for devotions on the trip.  We talked about Beauty and Brokenness; what they mean to us, how they fit into the world, where we see them.  The discussions brought up a lot of really cool points - I think my favourite was the idea that the act of trying to fix brokenness (eg. working in a soup kitchen, fighting AIDS in Africa) is beautiful.  And I'm super excited to be in a program where I can watch my students step up to the challenge to try and change the world.

We went on a hike before we left camp on Day 3 - we walked up a big hill to this beautiful lookout that was a panoramic shot over the forests and the lakes.  But, boys will be boys, and along the way we had to stop for some tree tipping...

It was a rough trail, but it was totally worth it when we got up there.  I mean, check out that view!

It was pretty hard to think about brokenness, when you're surrounded by so much beauty.  

We fought a pretty hefty wind that day - and we totally had whitecaps as we were trying to get into the cove where our site was.  Laura and I nearly swamped right at the end, but the fight across the gigantic bay in (what I am going to refer to as) gale force winds was hilarious.  An absolute gong show, but full of laughter. 

We fought a headwind on our way back to camp and it was one of those totally frustrating paddles when you don't seem to EVER move forward and just look at the same tree on shore the entire time.  But make it back we did, and it felt good to down a hot cup of tea.

We were the last trip that MPC ran this fall, so we had to put the canoes away at the end of the trip... And even that was hilarious. 

Here we are, reunited at last.  

Group hug!

I absolutely adore canoe trips - they're so challenging, and crazy and full of laughter.  It was a fantastic way to start off the year, and I can't wait to let you know what happens next.

Cheers,

Sandy