It's one of the Seven Wonders of Canada, for good reason.
Ask 10 people on the street to name the winners of last summer's national survey and I'll bet five would say "the canoe." To tell you the truth, it's the only one I remember.
Like many Canadians, I've had a lifelong love affair with this sleek, manoeuverable craft, so skilfully designed by our Native forefathers. Climbing into a canoe last week and setting off from shore was magical, as always. For me, it marks the official start of summer.
Deep cleansing breath. Settling in the seat, knees finding their familiar resting place on the wooden ribs. Gripping my paddle and bracing while my husband stepped into the stern ... and then we were afloat among the reeds and lily pads, the dragonflies and tree swallows. And all the cares of the world, the stresses of winter, dropped away behind me, left on shore.
It was just a quick evening paddle up a navigable stretch of the Beaver River near Uxbridge, but it was wonderful. Almost as wonderful as setting off in a canoe into the heart of Algonquin, or down one of Ontario's many wilderness rivers. A host of canoe-trip memories came flooding back, melding into a warm feeling of well-being. Yes, out beyond the reach of cars and roads, the world is perfect. I kept inhaling hungrily, surprised by how much I craved the smell of sun-warmed cedars and pines.
Part of canoe magic is being able to sneak up on animals without disturbing them. You round a bend in a stream and come across a turtle, a beaver, a muskrat, a moose. And you're always surrounded by birds.
I never got to summer camp as a kid, but made up for that as soon as I grew up. The names of rivers I've been lucky to paddle in summers past read like a poem or a blessing: the French, the Spanish, the Mississaugi, the Madawaska. the Berens, the Bloodvein, the Dumoine, the Coppermine, the Thelon. The small and perfect Tobique .... There's nothing as healing for the soul as spending a week or three out in quiet places a canoe can take you. In Canada, the most beautiful country in the world.
The Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough is a fitting tribute to our national wonder. For canoeists, visiting the magnificent collection is like going on a pilgrimage. Meandering past handmade crafts of the Haida, the Tlingits, the Inuit and Cree is like walking through history and meeting ghosts of paddlers past. Ending up at Bill Mason's legendary red canoe and Trudeau's deerskin jacket always moves me to tears.
When you're in a canoe you're in good company, even if you think you're all alone out there in nature.
Happy Canada Day!
Nature queries: 905-725-2116 or mcarney@interlinks.net
Durham resident Margaret Carney, in addition to writing nature-appreciation columns, has also published several children's books.
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