Connecting with Nature and Self on a Paddling Adventure
There is an unspoken force that drives many of us to take up paddle and head into the wilderness in a canoe or kayak. Pursuing a passion for paddling is akin to a cleansing experience - a chance to wash away the sins of the city and undergo a spiritual renewal. It's the opportunity to reconnect with nature, with self and with whatever higher power one adheres to.
One of Canada's pre-eminent paddlers was the late Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau who took to the waters in his canoe each summer.
"Canoeing gets you back close to nature, using a method of travel that does not even call for roads or paths," he once wrote. "You discover a sort of simplifying of your values, a distinction between values artificially created and those that are necessary to your spiritual and human development."
For Professor John Jennings, a historian at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario it's also about getting back to the roots of Canada. He's the author of several books on canoeing in Canadian history and a founding supporter of the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough.
"The canoe is the closest thing to a national symbol," he says. "It is one of the places where the North American spirit can be found."
"The northern part of North America is really the Mecca of the canoe. Aboriginal people invented the canoe and wherever birch trees grew, these vessels were created. If you were to draw a map of those areas, you would really have a map of Canada," he says.
A discovery of where the spirit lives could begin in the Canadian Canoe Museum, an impressive collection of canoes from the history of Canada to the present day - the largest collection of its kind in the world. The starkly lit exhibits, the cool breezes and the sound of gurgling water transport the visitor to the rivers and lakes that were home to the canoe.
Here some spiritual stories from Paddling Ontario, an alliance of preferred canoe and kayak outfitters, endorsed by Ontario Tourism.
Connecting with Mother Earth
When Todd Lucier was a schoolteacher, he would often take his students off into the outdoors for a wilderness experience. What he witnessed inspired him and his wife Martha to create Northern Edge Algonquin, a retreat dedicated to the rediscovery of our inner spirit.
"When we took students into the wilderness we were always witnessing a transformation as they connected with nature," says Lucier. "It was a deep emotional and spiritual connection and it was truly remarkable."
Their desire to share that experience with others led them to establish Northern Edge, located near Algonquin Park, two hours north of Toronto.
What makes Northern Edge unique is that all of their paddling trips include a creative experience coupled with meditative reflection.
Their programs include 'Running with the Wolves', a women-only retreat dedicated to discovering the myth of womanhood; Paddling with Tibetan Monks; Howling with the Wolves of Algonquin Park; and Paddling and Shamanism. Shamanism is the ancient practice of exploring the hidden worlds of myths, dreams and near-death experiences by entering an altered state of consciousness.
"The wilderness sets you free to explore these kinds of experiences," says Lucier. "Living in the city has dulled our senses and most of us are living in an urban trance. Part of who we are as human beings is missing and we try to bring that back by giving people the chance to slow down and connect with nature without the distractions of civilization."
The Spirit of Superior
A more tangible spiritual journey might take you the Lake Superior, the largest freshwater 'ocean' in the world.
"There are certain areas along the coast of Superior where you feel like you re going back in time," says Mike Petzold, owner of Caribou Expeditions. "The sound on the lake is indescribable, the waves lashing the rocks and the vast open space creates a feeling different than any other Great Lake."
He says the power of Lake Superior is also drawn from the many native spirits and legends that are said to inhabit the area.
Along the rugged coastline there are ancient native pictographs created thousands of years ago. Among the drawings is that of Misshepezhieu, the great horned lynx, which will guide you to safety in good time and in bad times flash his tale and kick up one of the legendary Superior storms.
Islands that appear to be floating in the sky and mysterious depressions along the coast lie add to the mystic of this ancient inland ocean.
The spirit of more recent times - the Voyageur and fur trade days - also resides on Lake Superior. There are old fur trade outposts and voyageur graves that kayak expeditions always encounter.
The spirit of Superior has impressive power. The lake, if it were drained, has enough water to cover North America with two inches of water. At its deepest point, it is more than 12-hundred feet deep.
The Legends of Temagemi
The land known as Temagemi is another region where ancient spirits dwell. Here, ancient pine forests over 1,000 years old, once sheltered native campsites and hunting grounds. Today the power of that history can be felt by anyone who spends time in the region.
"This is a magical place and anyone can feel it just by being here," says Caryn Colman of Smoothwater Outfitters and Eco-Lodge. "New age people say Temagemi has an abundance of energy lines intersecting and crossing here. And that energy could be tied to the mineral riches, the gold, diamonds, the silver that they say lies under the ground here."
Temagemi was and still is a sacred place, a spiritual place for the native people. The two highest points of land in Ontario are located here overlooking the ancient pine forests. Five or six thousand years ago, the canoe routes that recreational paddlers explore today, were native canoe routes. Their campsites were native campsites.
"It's not a visible energy," says Caryn. "But it's an energy that creates a catharsis for people who come here - rejuvenation or cleansing of the spirit, if you will. And it's something they can carry with them when they leave."
Spirit of the Northwest
The spirit also lives in vast wilderness region along the Ontario/Manitoba borders. Echoes of aboriginal history can be heard in Woodland Caribou Provincial Park where the best examples of native pictographs can be found.
Echoes of the fur trade and the gold rush still resonate in and around the historic gold rush town of Red Lake, the base of operations for Paddling Ontario member Goldseekers Expeditions.
Echoes of the wilderness are the only sounds you will likely hear in the 1.2 million acre preserve, an area abundant with fish and wildlife. It's an area explored by fewer than 1,000 paddlers per season. And with no roads, it's accessible only by floatplane or by paddling into the park.
"We've been paddling and guiding here for more than 20 years," says Albert Rogalinski, of Goldseekers. "We've developed a love for the land and the people and our passion is sharing the stories that bring us closer to nature and to the past."
Grand Feeling
The spirit of the wilderness is not confined to Ontario's northern reaches. Just over an hour from Toronto is the Grand River, designated a Canadian Heritage River because it passes through areas rich in history and native heritage.
"It's hidden away from the major urban areas of Ontario, but this was the heartland of the southern native tribes," says Jamie Kent of Grand Experiences Outfitters. "The river meanders through a rich and lush Carolinian forest with an overwhelming array of plant and animal life, some of the species threatened and found nowhere else."
The Grand is also home to Kanata village, a recreated Iroquois village from the 17th century, offering a trip back and time to anyone who embarks on voyage down this river.
Each member of the Paddling Ontario Alliance offers experiences that will help you reconnect with nature and take you back in time. After all, Ontario is the birthplace of the canoe and no matter where you travel, whether it's by canoe or kayak, you'll discover where the spirit lives.
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