Sunday, September 29, 2013

Backcountry Fun - Bayfield Inlet

We did our first family backcountry trip the last weekend of summer. Connell and I have done many backcountry hiking trips (although the last one we did was over 10 years ago - ridiculous what kids will do to you), Connell has done lots of guys' canoe trips and I have done one girls' kayak trip (this is an annual event but I have only gone once, okay one year we were in France (acceptable excuse), one year I was 9 months pregnant (again acceptable), but last year and this year my reasons were Finian related - sorry buddy, you're out of luck next year). So we were way overdue for a family backcountry trip.
Early morning departure, canoe on roof, kayak in the van
We put in at Bayfield Inlet on Georgian Bay and paddled for about an hour to reach Elm Tree Island. It's crown land, so you pick a spot and set up camp where ever looks good. We got some very heavy rain just as we arrived, but for the rest of the weekend the weather was lovely.

Our camp - we used two smaller tents rather than our large tent
Fiacra and Ailbhe spent a lot of time exploring and looking for treasures. We generally let them do what they liked, island hopping via the kayak and swimming. We realized (later) that whistles would be a good idea so that we would hear them if they got into trouble. Connell had given them a long rope to attach to the kayak. To get to an island, Fiacra would kayak as far as the rope would allow and then jump out and swim the rest. Ailbhe would haul in the kayak and then kayak over.

Ailbhe in the kayak, Fiacra holding the rope
At one point, we saw Ailbhe heading out into the main channel. There weren't a lot of boats passing by but definitely some. While they would certainly avoid a little girl in a bright yellow kayak, they likely wouldn't realize that she was trailing a rope with her brother at the other end. Connell yelled at Ailbhe to come back but she decided not to heed his advice. We knew Fiacra agreed with us when she passed us going backwards at a speed she doesn't usually attain in the kayak. I guess sometimes a rope is a good thing.