First Canoe Trip

We took the kids on their first canoe trip this week. It was a three day trip to Charleston Lake Provincial Park. We booked a paddle in site, packed up our stuff and the kids and off we went. We had a fantastic time. I must admit that my expectations of the lake were quite low but after being there for a short while we definitely need to go back. The lake is huge and offers lots of bays and islands to explore. We didn't even get a chance to explore any of the hiking trails. Perhaps we'll go back for a week next year.

I knew that tripping with kids was going to be very different. For instance I knew that you had to really slow down. We did that but I was still surprised at how long things took (turning around to retrieve things that ended up over the side sure slows you down). We kept the trip simple, a bit of paddling with no portaging. We picked one of the furthest sites from the access point because in most parks that gets you away from the crowds. At Charleston Lake it gets you away from the crowds at the park but it also gets you closer to the cottages. It was a great site none the less.

We had a very nice site close to the water with a little beach. Unfortunately the site was quite rugged and was literally surrounded by poison ivy. Normally these things would not be a big deal but when you have a crazy-almost-two-year-old running around it is a huge deal. Sarah was very stressed about these two issues for most of our stay. The kids were great about staying out of the poison ivy. I don't think any of us got it but we should know for sure in a few days.

Liam was very good about being in the canoe. He enjoyed the paddle out to the camp site, but other trips back to the beach or back to the car were a bit boring for him. We heard a lot of "When are we going to be there?". This made me realize how important it is to play games with the kids so that they don't get bored. We played "I Spy" for a long time and we also played "20 Questions". Once he was distracted he was great in the canoe.

Emily is normal on a very regimented schedule, which is good for her and for us most of the time. The trouble with a schedule is that if you don't have a way to tell time someone, usually Emily, is not going to be happy. Emily often broke down in the canoe. Likely because it should have been meal time or nap time. Sarah has decided that on future trips one of us she will wear a watch.

On our second day at the park we paddled back to the beach so that the kids could play and so that we could fill up our water jug. In retrospect we probably should have skipped the beach altogether. The kids had fun but it was a long paddle. We could have paddled to another beach like area that was much closer.

One of the things that was most difficult was keeping the kids entertained at the camp site. We had them help prepare meals, help with the fires, etc. but there was often some down time for them (such as the cooking of meals). Somehow we needed something for them to do during this time so that they weren't running like crazy past the fire on the rugged rocks close to the poison ivy. Some games might be in order for next time. Perhaps some board games, card games or even as scavenger hunt. If you have any ideas please feel free to share them.

So far my synopsis sounds fairly negative. The experience overall was very positive but I wanted to document some of the things we could improve upon for next time.

Now for the good stuff. The kids loved sleeping in the tent. On our first day in the park Emily didn't have a nap. Sarah thought it would be good for her to go to bed early. Once Liam saw that Emily was going to bed, he was convinced that he was going to do the same. It was reminiscent of camping in the back yard last year. I tried to lure him out of the tent with the promise of s'mores but even that didn't work. It wasn't until Sarah put Emily down and came out to start roasting marshmallows that Liam joined us.

Both Liam and Emily were great about helping with meals. We'd give them little jobs and they would work to get them done. I think Liam's favourite job was hoisting our food into a tree every night to keep the critters out.

The fishing was outstanding. On the second day we took the kids out in the canoe to do some fishing. Seconds after we threw Emily's line in the water she had a fish. In fact, every time we threw a line in we had fish within seconds. Liam was intrigued by the different kinds of fish we were catching. A few times the fish flopped off the hook and into the canoe. Emily was not impressed. I was so busy taking fish off hooks and re-baiting that eventually we took Emily's hook off and dropped her line in with nothing more than a leader (a clip to attach the hook to) and a bobber. We watched the fish bite at the leader and then spit it out. That night after the kids went to bed I did a little fishing. On my first cast I caught a decent sized large mouth bass and caught another one a little later on. The funniest part of the fishing came the next morning. We went fishing from shore and once again I set Emily up first and threw in her line. As I was trying to get Liam set up Emily's bobber went under. I helped her reel in the fish. Once she saw it coming she was quite frightened and started saying "No fish! No fish!" over and over again. Clearly this was a traumatic experience for her. I threw the fish back and asked Emily if she was all done fishing and she said "Yes fish! Yes fish!", meaning that she wanted to do some more fishing. In any case if you're looking to do some fishing, Charleston Lake is the place to be.

 We also saw a ton of wildlife.  The list include loons, an osprey, an pileated woodpecker, great blue herons, red squirrels (one of which was insistent on dropping pine cones on our site) and beavers.

Overall it was a great trip. I can't wait for the next one.