I have referenced the Paddle in the Park contest a couple of time in prior posts, but I feel that this story really does need to be shared. (Don’t worry, I have more to share later)…
If you don’t follow this contest then I’ll fill you in on some of the details. There are 5 paddles that are hidden around various Ontario Parks and clues are given to their location. It is then up to you to decipher those clues and see if you are lucky to find one. (Update: there are 7 now and some are still not found). Then there is a list of “tasks” that you can complete, each with a set amount of points. Some of these tasks have bonus points attached to them. I aim high when faced with competition, so that means I was going to complete this list as well as get all the bonus points.
Now for this story… When I was looking through the list there are a lot that are really manageable. Some are more challenging, others require some travelling, ok A LOT of travelling from where we live. There was one, let me say again, ONE task that I had no idea if I was even going to accomplish it.
This particular item was a thunderbox located “somewhere” in Temagami. There are actually numerous thunderboxes placed around Temagaby by The Friends of Temagami and many were funded by Dr. Stephen Buttrum. Some have plaques on them, some only quotes. The actual wording on the task is as follows: View from/or of your privy, outhouse, throne, or thunderbox. BONUS POINTS: 50 extra PADDLE POINTS will be given for a Dr. Stephen Buttrum memoriam thunderbox/privy pit photo (Temagami)!
I had no idea where in Temagami this item was located and I even resorted to asking a few past reward seekers if they had any ideas. I had read about the Dr. to see if I could get anything, but alas, nothing. I was quickly loosing hope that I would be successful in finding this particular thunderbox. At least I knew I could receive the basic points, plus the extras for including my flag as we had a trip to Temagami planned later in the summer. (You can read about that here: Temagami – Our First Crown Land Canoe Trip)
Our journey to Temagami took us through Hunstville and past Algonquin Basecamp (little side visit to collect more of those paddle points). I guess it’s pretty obvious to other reward seekers and organizers what you are up to when you are taking selfies outside their store because once inside the guy laughed and said “you must be part of the Paddle in the Park Contest”. I blushed and laughed because it was exactly what I was doing.
I chatted for a few minutes and mentioned I was on my way to Temagami. He even commented if I was looking for that particular thunderbox. I said I have no idea where it is… to my surprise, he opened his map, zoomed in and said you need to go here. GAH!!! It was on the other side of the park. Not anywhere near where we were going as we were heading to Wolf Lake. BUT, I now have a location…
This is where my plan started to build. In the car I casually mention the conversation and I can just tell by my husbands looks that he is not liking where I am going with it. I knew we wouldn’t change our plans for the original trip, but I was devising a way we could head there after our trip.
There was no way we would end up driving all the way back to Temagami as it was a 6 hour drive to begin with, and that meant we had to do this on our way home. He did not like this idea, but I left the conversation where it stood and we headed north to where we would put in and then paddle for the next few days.
Below was one of the thunderboxes we did have the “privi”lege of using. I took my picture as I have all summer and checked off this item. I was a little sad that it was not the box that would give me the bonus points, but it was one of the last items on my list that I had to complete.
Our time ended in Temagami and we started our paddle back to our vehicle. I kept hinting the entire way back that we really should go check that other location. It really wasn’t that far off the beaten path home… (insert me smiling and blinking my eyes and talking in the most sweetest and convincing voice that I can think of).
I think my hubby just went along with my ideas so that I would finally stop talking about these paddle points! Yippee! Off we went on another journey to find this elusive thunderbox. Down the road, around the turns, straight for the access point. Unload the canoe and load it with just the necessary items that included my camera and paddle point flag.
We headed to the site as fast as we could, trying to enjoy the views, but in reality my stomach was turning. Would this turn out to be a mistake, just like the paddle hunting we went on (oh that’s another story). As we got closer we landed on a beautiful beach and I could see the privy sign. I got a little giddy and jumped out of the canoe, not looking to see if my son or hubby were going to join me.
I followed the path to the privy and I found this…
It was a BRAND NEW THUNDERBOX!
My heat sank. There was no memoriam, no plaque, nothing to indicate that this was the correct thunderbox. Nothing to say if the Friends of Temagami had installed it. All I heard then was my hubby yell “So, is it the right one?” I grudgingly replied with a simple “no”. I could tell he was not happy. I had dragged him and my son all this way. Uh Oh. To top it off, my son had to use the bathroom, as in he needed to go #2. Great.. I had no TP!! I had to pick leaves off the trees (good ol maples) and hand him about half a dozen to use.
I searched the entire area over and over, and still no signs of even a prior box that was removed. We headed back to the canoe, back to the car and started our long drive home. We didn’t get home until 1 AM. It was a loooooooooong day. This journey was actually a 3 hour detour. I joked and said this will make for a great story later, but I still got the stink eye. *meep*
After a few days at home, I decided to message the Paddle in the Park people and give them as much detail as I could, explaining the situation. I copied them on a map of the exact location of where we were and waited for a response. The wait was killing me. It really was the LAST item for me to complete (I did have a picture of the other thunderbox, but this one was those coveted bonus points). Then I got the message.
“Looks good :)”
I think I nearly fell off my chair! I was in the correct location after all and I would receive those bonus points. I guess there are some good people out there looking after these sites and felt that this thunderbox probably needed to be replaced.
Overall this was quite the journey and I’m not done with Temagami just yet. We will definitely be heading back there to explore more and more of what this wonderful place has to offer. I hope you have enjoyed reading about this adventure. As I have mentioned, there are a few more stories I have tucked up my sleeve from this years paddle hunt. So stay tuned!
Fun to read….lol.