The Happy Camper: Why the Experience May Be Better Than the Destination
You’d think that a writer who has published countless paddling guidebooks would be more into the destination than the experience had along the way. Nope! To me, it has always been what happens between A and B, not how to get from A to B.
I was reminded of that experiential notion on my latest solo canoe trip in Quebec’s La Verendrye Wildlife Reserve.
I jumped into the trip like a thoroughbred racehorse at the starting gate. Think about it, a canoe writer set free in the largest protected wilderness place in the province of Quebec, Canada. There’s over 4,000 lakes and more than 800 kilometres (500 miles) of interconnecting canoe routes. It’s a canoe tripper’s paradise.
But then, I got wind bound only six kilometres into the first lake crossing (Lac Victoria). I pitched camp to wait out the weather, and that’s where I stayed for my entire weeklong trip, on some exposed rocky outcrop and an island campsite that had one of the worst places to poop in the entire province of Quebec.
But here’s where the “experience” part takes over the destination. I wasn’t the only one finding themselves wind bound at that point. First, two families with four very young kids beached themselves and stayed the night with me before moving on. They were amazing company, full of enthusiasm and love for the outdoors. Their four-year-old girl helped with camp chores and their six-year-old boy sharpened all the marshmallow sticks with his personal pocketknife. The bunch of them ran around exploring the island we were camping on, free as a bird and without fear of their surroundings.
When they left the next day to continue onward around the point, another family arrived. They only stayed to rest up and have lunch before pushing on against the wind. They were from France and wanted to soak in Quebec’s wilderness culture before their daughter started her journalism course at McGill University. They, too, shared their passion for the wilds of La Verendrye.
I was a tad anxious for the family as they bobbed up and down the swells and as they pushed their way around the point. I hope they had a safe and pleasant journey.
The wind died a bit on my second last day, but I chose to stay wind bound. I was enjoying it, actually. No worries in the world; just sipping on sweetened mint tea, a good book to read and a journal to write my deep thoughts in. Life was good, and time being wind bound was well spent.
Sometimes life just calms you down and lets you reevaluate things; it introduces you to people you’d never thought of meeting, and it teaches you that the experience is definitely far better than the destination.
Check out the video of my Quebec’s La Verandrye trip in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue’s region.
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