The decision to not head into backcountry camping this year was admittedly a very difficult one for me to make. After 8 years of tradition – paddling, hiking, and gallivanting in the woods and lakes of Algonquin with some of the best people we know – to make that phone call to say “sorry team, my knee is messed and I won’t be able to go” was one that truly made me sad. Being the people that they are, of course, their response wasn’t to simply throw in the towel, but rather to offer an alternative and come together with a new plan. What in my mind at one point was disappointment for not getting to spend quiet time, off the grid on a lake with some friends, not only ended up being exactly that, but it turned quickly around to be one of the highlight weekends of the entire summer.
With a new plan in place, and the van packed with enough food, drink and boardgames to fuel our spirts over the course of a 4-day getaway on Skeleton lake, just west of Huntsville, we were out the door and on the road. In a cottage we’d previously visited just after the girls were born, we met our crew and began our weekend of escape as the hustle and bustle of ‘whatever’ faded in to the background; replaced quickly by the splashes and laughter of kids jumping from dock to lake without any hesitation or concern for the temperature of the contrastingly cold waters. Of course it doesn’t hurt when the weather is perfectly fit for the kind of activity one can imagine themselves doing on a lake. Not so hot that you don’t want to be outside, but not so cold that you can’t enjoy an afternoon of swimming or exploring. The air is kissed with the signs of early fall, particularly in the morning hours when things are at their most quiet and serene. But then once the afternoon sun crest over the pines, the slightly brisk feeling turns into the perfect reason for being outside.
While the journey was indeed a highlight, I cannot deny the adrenaline push that came from where we ended up docking our fine little sailboat. Were it not for the sheer bravery and lack of inhibitions of my 9-year old daughter, I never would have thought to climb a twenty-foot rock face for the purposes of jumping back into the water. Never mind not having the courage, it just wouldn’t have crossed my mind to begin with. Lo and behold, however, there we found ourselves standing atop the rock face, looking down at the water – deceptively higher when you at the top then when you’re down at the bottom. “On the count of three, I’ll jump” she says to me. And so she did. And so I stood. Then she did it again. And there I stood. Then she climbed again, and then she jumped again. And there I stood. Five or six times she did this – climbing the rock and jumping freely into the fresh waters below. No hesitation, just smiles and joy. And there I stood. Finally, after getting way too far into my own head, I held my breath and took a leap – another first that I’m still here to talk about.
Thank you, friends.
This one touched my heart. ❤️. Thank you for sharing your carefully considered and described – life.