“That’s why I come up here—nature!”*

Oh, I’m pooped.
Friday afternoon I left the charming-but-crowded-and-hot city for a weekend of rest and relaxation in the North-West-erlycorner of Algonquin Park. It had been something of a chaotic week, and I was eager to get out of high-density life for awhile to kick it with Ma Nature.
The weekend was many things, but leisurely it was not. One of my travel partners had crafted an ambitious paddling route that consisted of no fewer than six portages. Had conditions been optimal, this wouldn’t have been too taxing. And nothing went wrong, per se, but many factors did contribute to our schedule getting a bit…skewed. First off, we started the day one with an unexpected and not-entirely-welcomed detour across the lake to chase our dear dumb designated trip dog as his hound instincts led him in hot pursuit of some unsuspecting—yet surprisingly unfettered—loons. Once actually on our trip path, it became stinkin’ hot, which slowly but surely slowed our pace to a languid crawl. We came across a mother moose and her adorable baby, producing a half-hour pause in which we took pictures/dug out binos/tried not to get moose-trampled, and we stopped for lunch by some rapids that were too beautiful not explore for awhile. Day Two was no better—while a slightly cooler temperature and general awesomeness on our part allowed us to paddle much faster than the day before, a bitchy headwind cast a Sisyphian shadow over everything. Add to that the general time-chewing inconvenience of portaging, and you’re left with two days of far more physical exertion than originally planned.
But oh, it was so worth it. Being able to drink whiskey around a campfire, eat fish under clear skies, fall asleep below a canopy of millions—millions!—of stars and wake up with a beautiful morning dip in Little Misty Lake was worth all the sore joints, sunburned shoulders and bug-bitten ankles in the world. Not to get all hippy-dippy about it, but it was good for my soul, and I feel a thousand times better for going.

*All you who don’t get the reference in this post’s title, get thee a copy of SNL’s Best of Will Ferrell DVD...stat!