My unforgettable canoe trip on the Lake of the Woods
“There I was standing on the Canadian Shield surveying the wilderness below being a truly Canadian girl.”
At age 15, Linda LeBlanc from Winnipeg was ready for an adventure. She spotted a local ad for a wilderness program and spent six unforgettable days in the woods and on the water, discovering "the best Canadian adventure."
Throughout 2017, we're asking Canadians, "What's your story?" LeBlanc, who now lives in Ile Des Chenes, Manitoba, shares hers:
Canadian bush baby
How do you know when you have a specific moment in your life that defines you as Canadian?
About 43 years ago, I spotted an advertisement in the paper for the YMCA wilderness program. I was 15 and wanted to do something different. My first experience was a canoe trip. I still have the images of sunrises and sunsets with all the tremendous colours on Lake of the Woods.
As a teenager, I don't think it occurred to me that I was having the best Canadian adventure a teenager could have.
Even now I can feel the cold water dripping down my arm as we sat in the canoe pulling the paddles awkwardly through choppy water. When we got thirsty we would tip the paddle up and drink from the shaft as water dripped into our mouths. It was my first experience in a canoe and my arms turned weary after many hours of paddling.
We stopped for lunch in the canoe by gathering all the canoes together and the duffer (passenger) would hold the gunnels together so we floated all together. Our tripper handed out Baker's chocolate, cheese, dried meat, raisins, peanut butter and hard crackers.
I was having the best Canadian adventure a teenager could have.
At night it was time to camp at our site picked out by our tripper. There we learned to start campfires and use a reflector oven to cook some of our meals. This is where I fell in love with tuna noodle in a pot or macaroni and cheese. It was wonderful sharing simple meals over the fire and talking with new friends. We cleaned up our mess and pitched our tents and slept on the ground. We learned to portage our canoes on bush trails and carry the heavy trail packs to our next destination. I developed a sense of accomplishment and had arm muscles after that trip.
There were no phones, boys, makeup, hair dryers... just us and the bush. We came together from different backgrounds with different personalities and we all had to work together as a group.
I thought of myself as a Canadian bush baby.
Diary from the woods
I liked the canoe trip so much that I had to experience more of the Canadian wilderness, so I joined up the next year for the "Survival" trip. They called it survival because they dropped us off in the bush near Bissett, Manitoba, with minimal supplies and we were suppose to hike our way through the bush, creating fire, shelter and foraging for food as we went.
I kept a journal from that second trip and often go back to it.
August 18, 1974
Our campsite tonight is across some rapids. The rapids really look powerful. I could watch them all day without tiring. We crossed them by leaping from rock to rock. It was fun doing it but I sure don't want to go back the way we came.
August 19, 1974
Last night I caught a fish. I was really surprised! Actually I couldn't believe it! All I used was 3 feet of line, a little stick, tinfoil and hook and a little frog.
August 20, 1974
Had a bad night last night. I got attacked by whole squadron of mosquitoes. It was a restless night. My first meal which was "Ash Cakes" or I like to call them blueberry turnovers. It sounds so much more appealing.
August 24, 1974
Today is our solos. I have set up my lean-to (made from deadfall, a plastic tarp and pine boughs with a Hudson bay blanket for warmth). I hope my cold doesn't get any worse or my poison ivy. It seems strange out here all alone. It sure is peaceful. The waves gently lap against the rocks while a bunch of crows make their noise just above me.
August 28, 1974
Today is the day we head back for the city. We have a wooden stove which we cooked our ash cakes on. I think I am getting sick of ash cakes. I don't want to eat another ash cake for a while. It just might turn out to be a beautiful day. That's life, the day we leave it turns out to be great.
The most Canadian thing
It was such a great adventure [and] the most Canadian thing I have ever done. There I was standing on the Canadian Shield surveying the wilderness below being a truly Canadian girl!
What's your story?
What defines Canada for you? Is there a time that you were proud to be Canadian, or perhaps a time you felt disappointed? Is there a place, person, or event in your life that sums up what being Canadian is to you?
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