As you may have guessed from the title, this blog is dedicated to my 40th birthday. For the past couple of years, we have gone camping together on my birthday since it usually falls on Labour Day weekend. However, for my 39th I left the family behind and I went on a trip with Cruising Canoes to the French River with 10 people I didn’t know, and this year I went canoe tripping with Christina. We have been wanting to do a summer canoe trip together and Labour Day weekend was our first chance. It just happen to fall on my big birthday.
Friday August 31st
We discussed where we would go and in the end decided on Black Lake in the Haliburton Highlands Water Trials park based on some information that Christina had received that it was a nice spot and that it would provide us with some seclusion for the weekend. I arrived first on Friday afternoon at the Wren Lake access point and had the canoe by the water waiting for Christina’s arrival. When she showed up we made quick work of getting our gear collected and packed into the canoe and headed out.
The first section was a nice paddle, passing by local cottagers preparing for the long weekend. We also passed a very helpful group who mentioned to us a way to bypass one of the long portages on our route by hauling the canoe down the river. We liked that idea because we both hate to carry gear!
Our first portage was a lovely 5 meter lift-over where we could see the next easy 40 meter portage on the far shoreline. We made quick work of both portages and soon found ourselves on the Black River, which was beautiful to paddle. It was calm and really quiet as we were the only ones on the water.
The river continued to a 406 meter portage to get over some waterfalls which led us into Upper and Lower Marsh Lakes. This portage was interesting as it also crosses ATV trails and it took us a minute to make sure we had the right path. We also took a few minutes to check out the waterfall and enjoy the views.
Our fourth and final portage was the biggest one at 757 meters and it was mostly uphill to get from Lower Marsh into Black Lake. We decided to get our packs across the portage first and then check out the option to line the canoe in the river to cut our portage distance. This river looked passable, so we started our trek down the river, lining the canoe and hopping in when possible to paddle.
Ummm, ya…. we did have to lift the canoe a couple of times over some shallow sections, like this one.
Finally the sun broke through the trees and we were in the canoe paddling down the last section into Black Lake. We picked up our gear at the other end of the portage and headed for our campsite.
The site was awesome! It had lots of trees for hanging tarps (which was good because we were expecting some rain), a huge rock wall to block any wind, and lots of space for our tents. We didn’t waste any time setting up camp and getting our chores done as the light was fading fast.
Supper on the first night was steak, asparagus, and a mixture of potatoes, mushrooms and onions, all cooked on the campfire. To be honest, this was the first time I had cooked a steak on a fire and it was delicious!
Since we were here to celebrate my birthday, Christina had brought some PB S’mores, a recipe that she learned from Chris Prouse. (If you haven’t seen her stuff I suggest you head over there and check out her page). She also gave me a packet of fire sparklers that change your fire different colors while it burns. It was a great ending to our first day.
Saturday September 1st
It was my birthday and I was officially 40!!! I had quite the surprise when I got out of my tent in the morning because Christina has decorated the site with birthday banners! My cheeks started hurting from smiling so much. We didn’t have a great internet connection here, so I was able to only get a few birthday messages but that was fine as they would all be waiting for me later.
Our day started with a paddle down the Black River in hopes to see some wildlife. Alas, all we saw was a bunch of Canada Geese.
We were both getting hungry, so back at camp Christina started breakfast. We started with hot drink, mine was a coconut milk hot chocolate (with a shot of Bailey’s). I was taking my chances with the dairy, but in small amounts I tend to be OK. Breakfast was french toast, with Christina’s last bit of homemade maple syrup, accompanied by some bacon. Double YUM!
As the day continued the rain held off (we were told by many people that we would be rained out this weekend), and the sun came out in full force giving us the opportunity to go swimming. We both brought floaties with us, and a friend of Christina’s had given us both a Drink Island to try on the water. These islands are not supposed to tip over in any condition. They were a success! No lost drinks for us today.
Swimming and drinking (responsibly!!) can be really tiring. So our afternoon was spent in our hammocks napping and then chilling on the rocks by our site.
Supper was coming fast and I was once again treated to a great meal. Christina did up a pasta that had some left over asparagus from the previous night, mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, prosciutto, angel hair pasta, and basil pesto. I was drooling watching her make this meal and it’s a recipe that I know I will have to do again on my own trips.
Since we had some daylight left I went to our rock to try some fishing. Woohoo! I caught a nice little guy. Too bad we had eaten as we would have saved him for our supper.
As the night progressed and we chatted by the fire that evening, we had PB S’mores once more. This time however a candle showed up on mine that played Happy Birthday. This girl was full of surprises! What a way to end the day and say hello to my 40s.
Come back next week to read about part 2!!
Also, head over to Christina’s pages CamperChristina.com as well as her Christina’s YouTube channel to watch her awesome videos on our weekend.
Great way doing the thing you love on your 40th…