At one point this weekend, Sonja turned to Sam and said "If you've got it, you might as well use it". The smirk on Sam's face notwithstanding, she was talking about the water filter - but she had a good point about a lot of other things. You can stop smirking too - I'm talking about having a long weekend, access to a beautiful body of water, knowing some good paddling companions... if you've got all that, might as well take advantage of it.
Fortunately for me, Ron - even though he lives next to it - does not take Georgian Bay for granted, and invited a few paddlers to join him on a quick adventure. Our goal? Limestone Islands Provincial Nature Reserve Park. You can't camp there, but it is within easy daytripping distance of the McCoy Islands, which were to be our basecamp.
When we set off from Snug Harbour on Saturday morning, it seemed chilly - but about halfway to Red Rock, we stopped to peel off some layers of clothing. Despite the cool morning it was, after all, still August and this trip was a summer trip (not that this stopped me from bringing my winter sleeping bag. I have a down bag. I've been cold this summer. Might as well use my warmer bag).
I take the "if you've got it you might as well use it" motto a step further, and interpret it as "if your friends have it, use it too" - so I was in a much faster boat than my usual intrepid banana courtesy of Lee not having the weekend free. I felt... great. I covet my friend's boat now.
We made our way north through the Mink Islands, stopping on one of them for lunch. I was very conscious of the borrowed glass boat, and did my best to avoid leaving any gelcoat behind on the rocks. Of course, if I even brought the boat near a rock, Sam would crow "I'm telling Lee" - he had something to bug me about, and he used it!
Look at me in the fancy boat! Not mine, but I want one. And it needs to be used, it was dusty when I picked it up! And I've already pre-empted Sam, I told Lee all about every rock I saw and bragged about no new scratches.
Ron beelined for a particular site on Big McCoy Island, and no sooner had we landed did two other kayakers start making for the same spot. Jim, out for a week of using his freedom as a retired sort, had spotted us and recognized the boats (or at least the distinctive green and yellow one I was paddling). He and his buddy Mark came over to say hello before heading further north.
Our site was spiffy. It had a kitchen table, and we quickly piled up some rocks to make chairs. The perfectly flat spots for tents were numerous, and there were many great choices (though you don't want to venture too far inland. Big McCoy is in desperate need of a thunderbox. Apparently, a lot of people either haven't got any idea of low-impact camping or don't know how to use the sense they were born with).
I had a lazy afternoon. I went for a wander around the island, which took longer than I thought it would, while Sam, Ron and Sarka circumnavigated Little McCoy Island. Sonja stayed at the site, which was probably good since Big McCoy is a very popular destination for motorboaters. Fortunately, the motor boats left before dinner. They were replaced by the return of Jim and Mark, who were far more entertaining.
I've got a great little digital camera. I used it. It may be just rocks and water, but it's rocks and water put together in a pretty nice way.
Those of us on our first night out had the usual assortment of frozen leftovers for dinner. Jim and Mark, however, put their culinary skills to the test with a gourmet delight featuring Spam.
And so another perfect day on the Bay was over. It's the end of summer, so it gets dark early - early enough that you want to sit around in the dark instead of disappearing into your sleeping bag as soon as the sun goes down. It had recently rained, and there was lots of wood around, so we felt comfortable making a fire for entertainment.
My winter bag was perhaps a little too warm for this trip, but it never got as cold as the forecast said it would. I had a good night, and I got up in time to see the sunrise - and to take a picture of Jim snuggled into his bag by his boat. He's got a pocket weather station, and he'd used it to determine that there would be neither rain nor dew - so he skipped the tent setting up stage of camping this time.
Jim and Mark packed up to continue their travels elsewhere while we had a leisurely breakfast. When it was time to go, Jim performed a plastic boat owner manoeuvre: he jumped into his cockpit on dry land, and then slid the boat - with him in it - down into the water. Lee will be happy to know that I attempted no such thing in his boat. My intrepid banana, on the other hand, would instantly have been subject to the same abuse!
Soon after Jim and Mark's departure, we left for the Limestones. There was a bit of a headwind and some waves, and I had one of the best paddles of my life - the boat fit perfectly, the wind was strong enough to be fun, and Ron and Sam were feeling mellow enough that I was actually ahead of the group.
Most of what there is to say about the Limestones is captured in their name. They are a low-lying piece of Niagara Escarpment, a bit further east than the rest of it. Apparently, there are birds there during nesting season, but all we found was rocks and poison ivy.
The rock in these parts reminded us of Tobermory, albeit less dramatic.We wandered around the South Limestones and ate lunch there. The island had its own tiny escarpment, and a little cobble beach to go with it.
The flat rocks and exposed location of the Limestones also meant that there was some great surf being kicked up on the windward side. I was eager to see how I would handle the GTS in those conditions, and Ron and Sarka happily agreed to go paddle there. We did, and I headed straight for the biggest wave. I had a few of those exhilerating moments you get when you punch through a breaking wave bigger than you are. And I've got hips, I used them to flick myself out of trouble a few times. So fun!
North Limestone Island was much like the South Limestones - but with a huge gravel bar, and an infestation of tent caterpillars which had munched most of the leaves off the vegetation (interestingly enough, they won't eat goldenrod - it was flowering all over the place - or poison ivy). Then, with following seas, we made our way back - and though the GTS tracks like a dream, I took advantage of the fact that I had a rudder to keep form weathercocking.
We had plenty of time to have a lazy afternoon - and we did. There was some swimming, some reading, some snoozing in the sun, and even some walking around by other members of the party. There was also the inebriated power boater with the loud radio and incredible surliness next to us - I guess he had the opportunity to annoy others and make an ass of himself, and he used it to. People get their kicks in various ways.
No fire tonight, none of us are big fire campers. We sat around by the light of the candle lanterns, using the contents of various flasks and bottles that came out of the boats. Once again, it wasn't as cold as we had thought it would be, so the perfect night - no bugs, no rain, shelter from the wind. You don't often get to sit out at night in the Ontario backcountry. Not without a bugsuit or a snowsuit, anyway.
Our last day dawned perfectly again. I snapped a picture of the dew on two beautiful boats, and then another of some of us in front of our site - and then the camera was largely put away. I wanted to check my cruising speed in the GTS - and I did, all the way back to Henrietta Point (where we ran into Janet and Steve, and joined them for a quick lunch before we took out).
A lovely little getaway, thanks to Ron. I got stuck in traffic on the way home, and at one point my mood turned pretty sour. But then I looked up at the boat on top of my car, and I remembered how great it was out there and how much fun I had, and I was okay with it. I even managed to find the energy to drive into town to return the boat (though I think it would much rather have come home with me!). It was the last of the summer trips. And it was a good one - if you could put time in a bottle, I'd have the cure for winter cabin fever.