1993 to 1996

After the canoe trip with my ex-wife, I didn't enjoy the freedom of canoeing for several years. In part this was due to my bad experience but also because I had purchased a houseboat that same year and had become a motorized canoeist. Given that my houseboat had a top speed of 5 miles per hour, the comparison to canoeing seems apt.

Beginning in the summer of 1993, following my separation, subsequent divorce, and later starting my new career as a teacher, I went on a number of canoe trips over the next few years. After all - I now had summers off! I'm not sure in what order these occurred (because I don't have many pictures to help date the events) but they spanned the period from 1993 to 1996. They included several trips with my girlfriend Cheryl, sometimes including our friends Darlene and Paul. I vaguely remember trips to Killarney, the Wolf and Pickerel River route and several into Algonquin.

Though I don't recall the details of many of these trips, I do remember the last one I ever took with Cheryl. Along with Darlene, my daughter and Cheryl's son, we arrived late afternoon at the Achray Campground on Grand Lake in Algonquin. Though the sun was shinning, there was a strong north-west wind blowing down the lake and we found it impossible to hold the canoes against the wind. Eventually we wound up walking the canoes along the shore until we could get to the portage into Stratton Lake. Cheryl had removed her top since it was soaking wet and as we rounded a bend in the shore we came across a group of young men who immediately spied Cheryl. To say they were shocked by the apparition of a gorgeous blonde clad only in her bra while walking a canoe along the shore would be an understatement.

When we finally got into Stratton Lake the wind had died considerably, however, it was getting dark and we were now in a rush to find a suitable spot. Myself, I would have chosen the first spot but with Cheryl it was important to check out each site we came across for it's suitability. This meant that I would paddle her to the shore, she would jump out do a quick reconnaissance and then shake her head and jump back in for me to paddle her to the next site. This continued for quite a while and I must say I was getting slightly annoyed. That all ended at the 4th or 5th site when she tipped the canoe while getting in. Given that she had just dumped all of our gear into the lake, we decided that maybe we should stay at the site.

I recall setting up wet tents in the dark and later trying to sleep while in wet sleeping bags. That was the last trip with Cheryl.