ethaisa

So, we survived our "wilderness" adventure, and even managed to do it with a certain amount of dignity intact. So without further adieu, a few words about where we went, how, and why.

Muskoka is north of Barrie, about a 2-3 hour drive for us, so doing the daily commute we usually do for dog trials isn't really practical. So we went tenting. Somewhat to my surprise, everything we needed actually fit into the car, with room to spare for us and the doggies. We set off a little late, and rush hour started a little early, and it was pissing down rain, so it took us almost two hours to actually get clear of the city and heading north. Around Barrie, the rain let up and I started to get hopeful that we wouldn't be putting up the tent in the rain. Alas, it was not to be, for the rain started about Huntsville again, and continued well into the night.

We arrived on site pretty much at dusk (not in the original plan!) and hurried to pitch the tent in the rain, managing to get it up just as we lost the last of the light. Then, just as we set out in search of the porta-potties, our boy slipped his leash and disappeared into the night, engendering heart attacks all round. Fortunately it took only a handful of treats, and less time than it later took us to find the potties, to get him back.

Excitement done for the night, we settled into our only slightly damp tent and collapsed into sleep. Morning came early, and we stepped out into the misty dawn to get our first real look at our surroundings.

The property we were on was 65 acres of lovely rugged Canadian shield country, with a wide open field of 20 acres of so and surrounded by hills covered with balsam and jack pine, black and white spruce, birch, aspen, popular, tamarch, ash and I even think I saw some rowan up on one crest. A certain amount of this is probably second growth, due to logging during early settlement, but large areas were never logged due to either the excessively rugged terrain and thanks to the early resort industry that sprang up in the 1860s and 70s, which really, except for during the Depression and with more emphasis on cottages than lodges, continues today. I mention this because this particular property used to be a resort camp, back in the day. Now it's a doggie paradise.

The weekend made up for the damp arrival. Gorgeous weather -- hot and sunny, clear days, and cold, crisp 'hey! we can see our breath' nights. The full moon was stunning and so bright -- oh so bright! -- that we actually cast moon-shadows when we wandered about. A truly lovely, magical night.

There's some 1,600 lakes in the area, and the property had some of that lovely lakefront. We wandered down there during the night and offered libations by the water beneath the moon. The next day we investigated more mundane joys and wandered down there frequently between classes with doggies in tow. Once I took our shy girl down and she was the bravest, marching right into the water, with barely a pause, and even had a little bit of bouncy swim before finding a spot that suited her to stand and cool down. Later that day she tried to herd grasshoppers, to the great amusement of the onlookers and her own indignation at the insects concerted refusal to cooperate.

Even the trip back was lovely, with traffic getting heavy only when we got into the city. On the drive down, we got to enjoy all the beautiful scenery that rainy weather had obscurred on the trip up. I find I'm quite looking forward to next summer, when we can visit again.