No matter how old you are, riding bikes with your friends is awesome

This past weekend a group of us (mostly from my paddling team) gathered ourselves together and headed west about 2 hours for a weekend of camping in Spruce Woods Provincial Park. Spruce Woods is home to the Spirit Sands, Manitoba’s only sand dune desert and home to the western hognose snake and prairie skink, Manitoba’s only lizard.

I headed out on Friday after work and we pulled in around 9pm. The crew had the smokies on the campfire, the beer on ice and the bugspray sprayed. All we had to do was set up our tent and move right in.  Oh and of course I was responsible for one thing: make bannock for everyone to wrap their roasted smokies in.

Secrets emerge in the security of a campfire

The sun went down and the glow of the campfire teased out our deepest secrets and best storytellers. A light drizzle sent us all to bed rather early, but you wouldn’t have known that by the sleepy faces that finally emerged at 8:30am the following day.

Bacon, eggs, coffee and more bannock, and then we were ready for our adventure. We came to this part of the province specifically for the awesome biking on the Epinette Creek Trail.

Always take a photo of the trail map

Apparently the trail has changed a bit in the past few years and I’d agree is tough and sandy in some places. Our group consisted of both experienced cyclists and new riders and we all (mostly) loved the 15 km loop to cabin 3, opting out of the longer 40km Newfoundland Trail in the +32C heat. 

Andrea and Kirsten pause for a photo

But of course this just wouldn't be a good story without a problem and a hero. Today's little misadventure included our friend Lori`s poor dog Barney who had his age catch up to him in the heat and terrain and laid down about 3km before the end. Conservation staff laughed and told us to ignore the “no car entry” signs to perform our own rescue mission. Thank goodness for a friend with a beautiful new truck, we got to experience a little backcountry off-roading and Rich got to save the day! 

Just a little distance from the campground is a small beach carved in to an eddy in the Assiniboine River. The current keeps the water cool and tons of kids can be found splashing away the afternoon in the water.

 Towels slung around our necks, we peddled back to camp after a must-needed ice cream pit stop. I couldn’t help but feel like I was a part of the coolest pre-teen bike gang ever founded.

Back to camp. Steak dinner. Wood ticks. Fire. Bug spray. We headed out to the lookout to watch the sunset and grabbed an awesome family photo. The night slid into laughs and was topped with a dramatic thunderstorm.

Before we left on Sunday we had to spend some time paying homage to the Spirit Sands. Only five of us were brave enough to head into the desert, armed with plenty of sunscreen and bottles of water. We saved the Devil’s Punchbowl for our next trip but enjoyed the breeze (and the view) from the top of the lookout tower.

A perfect sunny Sunday afternoon drove us home, back to the city, back to work. These weekends are making me long for the endless summer days of our childhood. So where to next?

Feeling Right: My weekend in a canoe

As much as I enjoy luxurious hotels or big, sexy cities, there is nothing that makes me happier than reconnecting with nature. Although sometimes nature feels otherwise about my affection for her, coming home to sleep outside is what feels right.

I am a Canoe Goddess

This weekend my way to feel right included three girls, one dog, endless lakes and a sense of adventure.

Saturday morning, after some brief introductions (and surprising Heather, who mistakenly thought we were camping in a campground) we hopped in my jeep and headed east. Our first destination was Caddy Lake, where we had rented a canoe and kayak, which would take us safely towards an as-of-yet-unknown camping spot.

After an orientation (for the dog as well as us), we discovered that two inexperienced people in a weighted boat travel very very slow. Quickly corrected by a little seating rearrangement, the girl party was finally on our merry way.

Seating arrangement #1, this didn't last long

We paddled deeper into Whiteshell Provincial Park, sunshine warming our shoulders and a slight headwind keeping us the perfect temperature. North across Caddy Lake about two miles to the first tunnel crossing and out on to South Cross Lake. I was quite unsure as to how Winnie the dog would handle the tunnel, although secretly very thankful the water had dropped signifcantly over the past week, giving us lots of room to clear the rock ceiling. I held my breath as half a dozen swallows darted around our heads and fat drops of condensation plopped into our boat.


Winnie wasn't so sure about this plan



The tunnels are caves built by the railroad construction as the trains opened up western Canada over 100 years ago. Train tracks for cargo and humans still criscross the country, connecting the east with the west. As we entered the cool tunnels, enjoying a momentary reprieve from the hot sun, a rumbling began deep inside the rock. The water was trembling (or was that Winnie?), the walls were shaking (maybe that was me). What was happening?? Of all the times for a train to pass overhead, it chose the exact moment a couple of very nice girls with a very nervous puppy (who just happens to hate trains) decided to pass through the earth's chest. Needless to say, Winnie didn`t speak to us for at least a half hour.

 

Another three miles and we found the entrance to North Cross Lake and our planned camping location. The second tunnel is much smaller and we could still see the rope left behind by previous boats who had to pull themselves back against the current. This crossing was much less eventful, and thank goodness, we were hungry and anxious to find our new home.

Second tunnel crossing

We quickly gave up on the provided map, discovering that not only were all the designated camping spots taken, there were random people camped in non-designated spots all over the lake. Heather spotted new home first, a sloping rock face on the east side of the lake. We found out quickly our home away from home is the ideal location for sunset dinners, protection from early sunrises and magnificent for swimming.

Does it get any better?

Regular fishing boats passed close to our home each day, making us wish we had fishing rods (and the ability to clean a fish). Either we had selected the best fishing spot on the lake, or word was going around the lake that three girls in bikinis were having daily dance parties. The fisherman reported lots of bites and one crew even showed us a beautiful black crappie they had caught that morning.



Wish you were here



Everyone on the lake except us and a bachelor-party-crew Simone and I met while exploring had come in via motorboat, giving us a bit of a sense of tough-girl fortitude, but also left me feeling conflicted between the need to get away from the sound of engines and feeling comforted by their connection to urban life.



Most beautiful weenie roast photo ever taken



We ate, we swam, we were attacked by bugs, it was perfection. We celebrated Canada Day paddling canoes, laughing with new friends and smelling like that magnificent blend of fire, sunblock and bugspray.





This is all right

 

Big thanks to Simone, Heather and Winnie the dog for a beautiful weekend of memories. Special shout-out to whatever bug got me that is currently causing a severe allergic reaction in my foot. Mother nature, I hope our love is mutual one day.

(ETA The photo that more accurately expresses aforementioned allergic reaction. Sorry)



Go canoeing, come home with club foot