The Call of the Wild
All this talk about the wilderness has me wanting to go on an adventure.
I want to go somewhere wild.
I’m not talking the woods. I want to go somewhere well and truly wild.
I want to go to a place where nature reigns supreme.
Somewhere where you must be careful lest you be “eaten up”.
Somewhere that is hours away from society.
Society!
While the book is better (which is nearly always the case), here is my favorite scene from Into the Wild:
What am I planning on doing there?
“Just living man. Just there, in that moment, in that special place and time.”
I want to go to Algonquin!
Algonquin is a provincial park in Canada. Algonquin is one of my favorite places that I’ve ever been.
There is a “developed” section of the park in the south portion where a highway cuts through it.
That’s the only real road inside the park.
The park is the size of Rhode Island and Delaware combined.
You know how a park often is centered around a lake? Algonquin has over 2000 lakes and 700 miles of rivers.
Because of this, the vast majority of the park is inaccessible unless you canoe in.
There are backcountry sites (and cabins) throughout the park. They feature the most stunning scenery I’ve seen anywhere in the world, and I’ve been to some amazing places.
I have dreamed of staying over night in the backcountry of Algonquin since my very first journey to the park 6 years ago.
I think the time has come to make that dream a reality. You can start booking the limited spaces in Algonquin’s main campgrounds 5 months ahead of time. The premium time to visit is July and August. June would be good, but flies are a major problem.
That means we have 1 to 2 months to plan a trip.
Here’s what I’m imagining.
I’d like to go to Algonquin in mid July for 5 to 10 days. I’d like to set up a base camp in one of the developed campgrounds, then rent canoes and paddle into the backcountry to stay for 1 or 2 nights.
Depending on who is interested in joining, we can divide up into a group who stays at base camp and a group who heads into the backcountry.
If you want to consider joining us on this grand adventure, you should know that you need to be ready to get dirty.
Be ready for mosquitos.
Be ready to crap in the woods if you want to sign up for the back country excursion.
Be ready for one of the most beautiful, magic places you’ll ever go in your life.
Be ready for the adventure of a lifetime.
If you are even slightly interested, send me an email or a text and let me know. I don’t need commitments until the end of January, in the mean time we can start a discussion about the specifics of when we’ll go and what accommodations we’ll book. There are rustic cabins available.
There are even deluxe lodges available along the main Highway 60 corridor. You won’t be with the group all the time, but you’ll at least be near the action and more in the wild than you probably have been in years, or maybe in your life.
If you like the idea of adventure but aren't ready for the Canadian wilderness, we have a few other group adventure ideas that we're going to organize as well.
You can email me here: dylan.heagy@gmail.com
Life is good!