Emma is a communications advisor, storyteller, gardener, and knitter, who loves traveling and escaping to the woods as much as possible.
“If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.” – Vincent Van Gogh
For as long as I can remember, I’ve spent each summer camping in the wilderness of Killarney Provincial Park. I’m often asked why I do this or what I enjoy about camping (where do you go to the bathroom? Aren’t there bugs? Or bears?) When I was a kid it was just how we spent our family vacations but as an adult I continue to camp each summer because I love it.
The most meaningful things I’ve learned over 30+ years of camping extend far beyond how to build a campfire or steer a canoe. They are lessons that have helped me forge my way through this grand adventure we call life – maybe they can help you do the same.
Find your peace.
Mine is in a canoe paddling the cold, clear lakes of Killarney with white quartz cliffs to my left, and pink granite to my right. It’s sunbathing on a warm rock with nothing but a book and the loons to distract me. It’s in the solitude of the wilderness. Being disconnected yet completely connected at the same time. It’s in the blissful silence that’s not really silence – just the wonderful absence of everyday human noise. No traffic, no hum of electricity, no cell phones buzzing or TV’s in the background. Just the sound of a breeze gently rustling from tree to tree or roaring up around you all at once shaking every branch so you can’t hear anything else. The sound of water lapping rocky shores, loons calling, crickets chirping , squirrels chattering – not silence but serenity.
Your peace is a source of strength – it’s where you go to remember that you can weather any storm. I’ve found mine through camping. Find yours and spend as much time there as possible.
There is a beautiful lake at the end of the portage.
I don’t like portaging. Humping all your gear – tent, food, sleeping bags, bed mats, clothes, paddles, canoe – on your back as you sweat through the woods on the rocky, muddy trails. In fact, almost every trip there comes a point where I say to myself “Why bother? What was I thinking? This is awful and hard and my shoulders hurt and I can’t breathe and this pack is crushing me and I’m going to collapse if I have to take another step.”
But then a few steps further and I’m staring at a crystal clear blue lake, feeling like I have it all to myself, the pains of the portage a distant memory. “Thank goodness,” I say to myself “that I didn’t miss out on this because of a little portage.”
You can probably think of lots of inspirational quotes that express this sentiment – “Nothing worthwhile is easy”, “No pain, no gain” etc. For me, this lesson comes to life on the portage. If you have a destination or goal in mind, be prepared to sweat and stick it out on the portage to get there. I’ve never been disappointed at the other end.
Spend time with yourself.
When’s the last time you were alone with your thoughts for more than five minutes? Or got lost in a daydream with no phones buzzing or emails blinging to bring you back to reality? I highly recommend doing both on a regular basis. There’s a lot of time for self-reflection when you’re camping (you can only carry so many books) and it’s amazing what comes to the surface. We all carry around the answers to so many of our own questions but don’t stop and listen to ourselves long enough to hear them – or to discover that perhaps we’re asking the wrong ones.
Sloooww down and be present.
Want a cup of coffee in the wilderness? Well, first you need to make sure you have water (if not, it’s out in the canoe to pump some). Then, you’ve got to dig through your pack to find the coffee, cups, spoons etc. Fill your pot, set-up the stove, light it (hope it’s not windy) and wait for your water to boil. It’s a slower, multi-step process, which might sound dreary and cumbersome, but actually is one of the things I’ve come to love about camping. There’s no Tim’s drive thru, or pizza delivery. Everything takes more work, has more steps and forces you to slow down and focus on the task at hand. Basically, camping is a great exercise in “being present”. Not paying attention to dinner? Now you’re stuck with a burnt, gobby mess to eat because that’s all the food you have. So slow down, focus and take it one step at a time.
Believe in magic.
Magic is real. You can see it everyday if you choose to. Camping always reminds me of this because there are fewer distractions. You can sit and marvel at a spider weaving its web or watch a mother deer emerge from the woods with her two fawns and stare at you unwaveringly for what feels like an eternity. You can paddle out to watch the new colours of a sunset reflecting off the surface of a perfectly calm lake and feel like you’re paddling through the sky. Watch the stars come out on a clear night and then try to tell me magic isn’t real. It’s in all those little everyday miracles we get to witness if we pay attention. Nature and not magic perhaps, but there is magic in whatever force brings us to these particular places at these particular times to witness these moments, and there is certainly magic in whatever force has created this world full of wonders we get to enjoy.
And finally…
One of the first and most fundamental lessons I learned from camping was to be grateful for everyday conveniences like running water, indoor plumbing…chairs. It also gave me a unique appreciation for how little is really required to survive (and be happy) in this life: shelter to protect you from the elements; enough food and clean water to fuel your journey; a light canoe and someone to help you paddle it; and if you’re lucky, a fair wind to blow you in the right direction. All the rest can come and go.
