Manitoulin Island to Manitoba by Kayak
Dear friends
Over the past 83 days, I have paddled just over 1,700km from Manitoulin Island to the border of Manitoba. This journey took me through the North Channel of Lake Huron, through the St Mary's River to Sault Ste Marie, along the North shore of Lake Superior to Thunder Bay, and through the interior to Kenora along the Path of the Paddle canoe route. It's hard to put such a journey into words: The huge expanse of Lake Superior, the sudden changing conditions, those handful of times when I had to push down the fear of dying that big open water conditions bring on in me, the calm mornings, the sunsets, the drag of the paddle through the water, the brutally slow portages, the sound of a trumpeter swan or a beaver's tail on the surface.... So many experiences blurring together into a journey of a lifetime.
This particular route wasn't something I had my heart set on for long. I imagine a parallel universe where I was out there riding my horses through Wisconsin last year and completely missing this part of the world. And all of me wishes that I were in that universe right now, because then my brother would still be alive and so much of what feels wrong in my life would be right. But seeing as we are powerless to the whims of this world, this journey through the meeting of fresh water, cedar, and grief feels like a gift of clear movement to calm my heart and deepen my understanding of Canada... And myself.
Being alone, moving through the world... It feels right in a way few things do.
So thank you, Lake Superior and the countless other lakes I paddled through, for holding me so gently and carrying me through so carefully. Thank you to everyone I met along the way. Special thanks to Path of the Paddle for putting together the route and making the idea possible for a traveller like myself, and to the wonderful volunteers who maintain the route and helped me out so much. And thank you for the support from everyone joining in the journey here.
Now I'm off to Alberta to see if I can find a riding horse to join Wilson and I for the Manitoba to Vancouver section of the horseback journey next year. It's definitely a different world out here on the Prairies!