Our neighbors went on Safari in Africa. We did not want to be left behind so this Summer we went camping in Bruce Peninsula National park.
I hear you, why? We all went for different reasons. Maggie is the main force behind it. She likes a good “adventurous, outdoorsy” trip. In fact, she relishes the logistical challenge of all the setup and planning and best of all acquiring increasingly arcane bits of specialized outdoor gear. Carolyn has fond childhood memories of staying on her grandfather’s island in Georgian Bay full of cabins, rocks and swimming in the bay. She likes communing with nature. Hannah likes the idea of less people, more quiet and a good book. She would be happy staying in the car with a thermos of coffee. I, your trusted narrator, avoid camping like Donald Trump avoids a policy decision. I have done it. I don’t do it anymore. But I did it.
The first rude shock is the food planning for 3 nights of pack-it-all-in “backcountry” living. That’s 12 meals x 4 people that have to go in the backpacks along with tents, clothes and assorted gear. All meals start as sawdust, add water, makes gruel. Maggie dehydrated all manner of food to make different kinds of sawdust. It worked, we survived and enjoyed some family mealtime squatting on rocks.
It’s not a culinary adventure. I get that. We went for the hiking and the Bruce Peninsula is a local treasure. The views on the cliffs above the bay are spectacular, the water is crystal clear with turquoise hues. The hiking though is considered the toughest part of the Bruce trail. Scampering up and over boulders and maintaining your footing on slick pumpkin-sized rocks with 40 lbs on your back can be a trial, especially in hour five. Does the family unit fracture in these conditions? Like an iPhone on the sidewalk!
Sleeping under the great canopy of our universe. Spying the big dipper through your tent window as you contemplate whether you really need to crawl out for a pee or not. This is why we came. The symphony of wildlife at five AM. “Honey are you asleep? How are you asleep? The kids are fighting in their tent. You are STILL asleep? Wow.” But, by the third night we had it grooved like Navy Seal Team 6. Tents up, mattress pads, sleeping bags, lights etc. Just in time to go home.
But there was a moment there in the pine canopy with gentle tic tac of walking poles keeping me upright when we were not lost and hunting for trail blazes. Four of us, totally self sufficient, breathing in some kind of super-oxygenated earthy air and only a little bit hungry. We were enjoying the most basic form of transportation – walking, and thinking about – nothing much. Carolyn was loving the great outdoors. Maggie was in training for a greater adventure down the road. Hannah was drinking in the solitude a million miles away from school. And I was shocked. Gobsmacked that I was not only in the middle of this inane exercise but enjoying it. I can’t say for sure if I was enjoying it or enjoying that THEY were enjoying it, but it wasn’t terrible.
Christmas, Hanukkah are “family time”, but sometimes they can descend into a thousand tiny obligations and a long checklist. For us, it’s useful to remember our little unit marching in the woods in late August. It’s a powerful reminder that we need less stuff than we may think and we rely on each other to get where we are going. One plastic bowl, one spork. Hopefully you and your family can find some time just being together doing something you like. If you can’t do that – go camping!