weekend adventure guide Escape Make Your
FOLLOW THESE EASY STEPS AND JUST ADD WATER FOR THE PERFECT THREE-DAY GETAWAY
BY CONOR MIHELL ILLUSTRATIONS BY PAUL MASON
Countless trips blended into one near-continuous summer on the water during my first season of guiding on Lake Superior, many years ago. Kayak touring was the new rage on the Great Lakes, with boats flowing off the display racks and guided tours filled to capacity week-in, week-out. To escape the inevitable day-off phone calls imploring us to help sell boats, drive vehicle shuttles or instruct half-day lessons, my co-guide Dave and I would bridge our weekly four-day tours with “weekend” trips of our own. We’d shuttle our clients back to town and say our goodbyes before quickly cleaning up and transferring our boats, gear and a dry bag or two of leftover trip food to Dave’s Jeep. Then we’d be back on the road, hitting a greasy spoon for fish and chips and ice cream and dodging moose on the Trans-Canada before falling comatose in a hastily pitched tent by the lake. The next morning, with damp, foul- smelling gear and bruised and stale provisions under hatch, we’d hit the water for two glorious days’ travel, away from it all. In the past decade, changing exchange rates
and cross-border tourism trends—not to mention the revelation of caller ID and significant others— have transformed the life of this wilderness guide. But they haven’t discounted the importance of weekend escapes. My gear is still always packed. Give me 10 minutes and I’ll be ready to go.
www.adventurekayakmag.com
31
PHOTO:
ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/PAUL MORTON
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