There was an excellent turn out for Dan’s backcountry camping trip this year. The setup was similar to last year’s. We camped on Stratton Lake and made day trips to High Falls.

Chris was not able to join us but Luisa stepped in plus Trev brought a friend. I was pleased to put all the kids in one canoe while Luisa and I paddled with most of the equipment.

The first couple of days the boys still required a lot of help handling the canoe. On the way in we ended up tying their canoe to ours in catamaran style and pulling them. The following days they required help when the wind pushed their canoe to the opposite shore. On the way back though, they passed with flying colours. They paddled with strength, planned their trip carefully and got to the destination first.

Every year there is too much of some animal. Mosquitos, snakes and chipmunks have all had their turns. This year was all about frogs. There were frogs everywhere!

The funniest line of the trip was on the first day just after we landed at our campsite. We were greeted by a young couple from the neighbouring site. The boy had cut himself chopping wood (expert backcountry tip – don’t bring a hatchet, saw will do) and they did not have bandages. While we were helping them out the girl looked at our party and asked if we were a summer camp – no, we just had children!