First Kayak Camping Trip - Part 2

Waking up to the sound of rain drops on the tent at 3 am and the urge to get up to use the bathroom. That’s how my Saturday started. So, I waited until there was a break in the rain so that I didn’t get wet while I made my escape into the darkness, before crawling back into my tent and falling back to sleep until late morning.

I normally do not sleep well on trips, but (aside from my early morning trip to the loo) on the first night of this trip I slept really well. So well that I actually did not wake up until almost nine o’clock. Christina was already up and had her breakfast and was in the middle of preparing my meal when I finally hauled myself out of bed.

Saturday Morning

Having a friend like Christina have breakfast just about prepped in the morning is something that I will always cherish. She had prepared sausage, bacon, toast and over easy eggs.

As I sat enjoying my meal I was reminded of the fact that while I do enjoy my sleep, I will get up when necessary for trips. However, as we were staying here for the entire weekend there was no rush to get up to pack gear and head out. It was a good thing too as the weather was not favorable that morning. The fog was rolling in and the wind was bringing big waves to our camp. I felt like I had been transported back to the East Coast and had to remind myself I was not indeed there, but here on Georgian Bay.

Once we were both fed we spent the morning touring the island. We saw some really neat flowers, rock formations, and then found this rope in a tree that looked like it had been there just as long as the tree. We spent time by our rock ledge watching the fog roll in and out and even saw a few other kayakers paddling around the surrounding islands.

For lunch I had another tuna bowl, along with an apple, a chunk of extra old cheddar and some chocolate! It is important to have some treats while in the back country. We ate our lunch on our private beach area and waited patiently for the afternoon to pass as the sun was supposed to burn the fog away by 3 pm. To pass more time we processed the wood that we had gathered around the island that morning on our island tour.

Saturday Afternoon

It was like the sun knew the time and just after 3 pm, the fog started to dissipate and the sun welcomed us with warm rays. It was time to hang out on the beach and go for a swim. So after an hour of baking in the sun we both got up the nerve to jump in the water. It was refreshing and I went in a couple more times before letting the sun dry me off.

As afternoon rolled into evening it was my turn to prepare food for us. I had brought pasta to toss with asparagus, prosciutto, crab meat and homemade pesto sauce. The sauce was homemade so I could make it dairy free and not have any issues with hidden dairy products in a store bought brand.

Saturday Evening

The evening was approaching and it was beautiful. The sky was promising to produce these Georgian Bay sunsets that I have heard so much about. We just watched the sky for hours.

As the evening sun went down the wind picked up. This meant we had to move our fire back to a more secluded location to be safe. It is important to do this as we did not want the sparks and ash from the fire flying into the surrounding trees.