Canoes are simply amazing little boats. They have no systems, no motors, no sails, none of the usual trappings of maritime life. The boat is really nothing more than a hull, a thwart or two, and a place to sit.
And yet this simple boat is a veritable magic carpet, taking you to an unfathomable number of secret, hidden places where no other vessel can travel.
Taking a canoe out solo at sunrise is one of those quintissentially Canadian things that everyone simply must try at some point. A dead-calm lake, a few wisps of morning mist, and the sounds of Northern Ontario's insects and birds shifting from night to day, with a two-millimetre fibreglass shell and a carefully carved stick as your only means of travel.
I have one colleague whose family is proud of doing at least one canoe trip per month- in Canada- for over 50 months running. Including winter. That's how addictive these little boats can be. Personally, I'll wait- rather eagerly, to be sure- for things to thaw out a bit.
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