Date: Friday, August 7, 2015
Weather: 23 degrees Celsius, calm winds
Distance: ~12 kms (for those of us who decided to go for a paddle)
On our layover day we enjoyed a leisurely start to our morning and made plans to go for a paddle after lunch for those who wanted a little more activity.
Everyone needed a day where we weren’t under pressure to get up, inhale breakfast, tear down camp, and get on the water. Achy muscles relaxed in the soothing waters of Donald Lake. We lounged like lizards on the warm rocks. Some read. Some napped. By lunchtime several of us were itching to get on the water.
We took four boats out and canoed the remaining length of Donald Lake to the next day’s portage with the thought that if we walked it and visualized it, its one kilometer length wouldn’t seem so daunting. However the mosquitoes had other plans for us. Long layers, bug spray, Zen breathing – nothing worked. So we said “duly noted” to the blood-suckers and turned around to paddle back to camp. Calm winds and unloaded canoes made it easy to cover virtually the same amount of distance as the previous day in a fraction of the time.
Dinner was more labor-intensive from a sous-chef perspective so we started when we landed back in camp. With enough knives in the mess kit and many willing hands, we made quick work of the ingredients for our Moroccan stew. This is one quality of Wild Women trips that I admire from both sides – the shared leadership. Women help set up and tear down camp, help with meals and dishes, collect firewood, and co-navigate if they wish to learn how to read a backcountry map or chart and use a compass (or already know how to read the map and use the compass). It sets up a human, collaborative experience between clients and guides.
Because everyone was well-rested and dinner went so smoothly, we had time for a campfire which included s’mores (naturally, when on a Wild Women adventure!). Before women headed to bed, we agreed on 8am for coffee and tea with breakfast to follow and asked that if anyone was up early to start packing her belongings to help the flow of activities in the morning.
For the rest of the trip report, click here.
Kate Monahan Outdoors 