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What a terrific time we all had, Canuding in Canada.
Totally unbelievable things happened. ~ Stuff you would just never associate with the everyday, run of the mill, canude trip. :-)
Seven
adults (3f & 4m) and three children (1 boy of 5 and 2 girls 6 & 13) went canuding from Sunday afternoon 7-8-01 until Thursday afternoon 7-12-01 on several lakes near Apsley Ontario. ~ That's north of
Peterborough which is north, and a bit east, of Toronto. ~ The trip included several portages from one lake to another which were at different levels. ~ It was warm and mostly sunny for 85 percent of the time. ~
A little rain passed through on Tuesday evening and Thursday was sort of cloudy and cool and breezy and some stronger winds.. ~ But otherwise we had it great.
Sunday
We got to the public landing about 3:30 pm on Sunday and by the time all vehicles arrived and we unloaded the canoes and got them into
the water ready to go, it was about 5 pm. ~ During this time we being the only people there, Julia, the kids, I and a couple of others started the nude part of canuding a bit early. ~ That worked out fine with the
exception of just before the last of our canoes getting away, people who had been heading in realized we were nude and started yelling for us to get dressed. ~ We were so close to leaving we yelled for them to hold
a minute. ~ We finished donning the vests, etc. and shoved off.
It was a bit choppy and breezy as we headed for the far end of the first lake, to a portage landing. ~ It took about an hour and a
half to do that distance. ~ Into the breeze it was slow going but not really rough at all.
The portage was about 200 ft in length and about a 60-70' rise in level of the second lake. ~ This was Rathbun
Lake and it had no access roads for automobiles. ~ The only way in was by the portage. ~ The cottages that were up on the second lake had ATV's to cart stuff up and down that trail but we carried everything,
including the canoes, on our backs. ~ I managed to do one canoe myself, as did others with theirs, but it took several trips up and down by everyone to get all the stuff up the hill. ~ We later got smarter and did
tandem canoe carries.
Our Island at Twilight.
The second lake was smaller and it only took a half hour to get to our camp site. ~
It was an egg shaped island about 75' x 150'. ~ It was next to another much larger island about 200 ft away and both islands were about that same distance from the
mainland. ~ Some of the group took trips to the mainland for their morning constitutional but most of us just found a private spot to dig our cat holes and
stayed on the island. ~ There was enough firewood on the island for Sunday night's campfire so we didn't have to collect any right away. ~ It was piled there by
previous campers and so we left an even larger pile when we departed.
On that first night, we were attacked by billions of giant mosquitoes... ~ These guys
were really determined. ~ Clouds of them. ~ My 17 percent Deet didn't even phase them. ~ And they didn't care about their one hour time limit either.. <g> ~ They
kept at it all night. ~ The bumps were big and lasted... ~ I mean Nickle sized. ~ But fortunately they didn’t ‘itch’ that much, and the rest of the nights attacks were
fairly mild compared to the first. ~ I went up to 30 percent on the Deet and that seemed to help a lot. ~ Just a few bites on those nights and everyone else said they weren't as bad too.
 It had been a long day. ~ From my home in Buffalo to the landing, it took 4-1/2 hours carrying two
canoes on the roof of the car, constantly checking tie downs and worrying they'd go sailing off on their own. ~ Then after a couple of hours at the landing waiting for everyone to arrive, it was another
four hours to get across the lakes, up the portages, and set up at the camping area.
The chipmunks there were very friendly. ~ They had absolutely no fear of us. ~
They ran through the center of camp, and between our legs. ~ One ran up the arm of one of the guys. ~ I was laying back on a sunning rock snoozing and got woke up
by this warm furry thing going under the back of my neck. ~ That gave me a bit of a start to say the least. <g> ~ They didn't cause us any problems or do any
damage though. ~ We kept the food pretty secure and washed the dirty stuff to eliminate the smells.
Monday
We departed camp early, with four canoes, and paddled an hour to another portage. ~ This one was about the same length and height at the first but we weren't carrying
very much this time. ~ The path went up and along side a really nice waterfall with a pool at the bottom. ~ Unfortunately we didn't take the time to do anything with it. ~ At the top we set
off on Anstruther Creek. ~ It was basically like a long shallow lake... ~ It had a deep channel that wound through it like a snake. ~ There
were lilly pads and flowers covering the surface all around us.. ~ Really a beautiful setting. ~ The damsel and dragon flies were there by the millions. ~ We saw a
beaver home. ~ We were paddling straight ahead through all of this and at one point we paddled into a very shallow area and bottomed out in the mud. ~ A couple
of canoes did so but we managed to back off ok. ~ When we looked around for a better way, we discovered the main channel. ~ With its meandering, it was about
four times the length of ‘line of sight’ but we stayed in it for the rest of the trip, in both directions.
At the far end, we left the canoes, trying to avoid slipping off the fallen logs and
rocks into a foot or two of moose muck. ~ Some did, some didn't. <g> ~  From
there we walked upward again. ~ We could have carried the canoes and all, further up to Copper lake for more paddling, but decided *unanimously* to walk its overflow a ways and do
some swimming along the way. ~ Where we stopped climbing, there was a beaver dam which must have been a hundred and fifty feet long in a big semi circle, like Hoover Dam, keeping back a
large pond of water... ~ From that point down, it became a cascading, narrow, fast running creek, flowing over many little falls and
making a lot of hot tub sized pools. ~ That was a real fun time, sitting under those waterfalls and digging out the pools and trying to dam up the stream to make them
even deeper. ~ We have some really nice video and pictures of all of this and our Buffaloskin ‘Splash Page’ was taken there...
 One of the best moves I made for that trip was to bring along a water purifying filter pump. ~ The lake
waters were really not drinkable straight. ~ The pump was used constantly and by everyone. ~ From filling one sport bottle to the next in a continuous circle. ~ Being in the sun all day would have been
hard enough water wise, but it was so much more so when climbing those portages and carrying the canoes and backpacks and food and all. ~ I’d hate to think about lugging another 15 or 20 gallons of
water with us everywhere. ~ That’s what the 11 of us must have drank in any one day. ~ We would have had to carry 80-100 gallons up to the camp for the 5 day stay. ~ We carried a 1 pound pump instead. :o)
Towards the end of the day, when we were back at the camp, I took one of the kids
to the bigger island to collect firewood. ~ The girl had been a scout or something and she showed me a lot of neat stuff. ~ One was this Cedar tree. ~ 100' high,
straight as an arrow, perfectly round and 10 inches in diameter all the way up as far as I could see, with very smooth bark. ~ A *beautiful* tree. ~ We took a bunch
of its lower branches back to burn in the campfire to keep the mosquitoes away.
Tuesday
This was the day I left camp for a side trip. ~ One of the guys came from VA but
was held up. ~ So I took Julia and her boy and went to Toronto to pick him up at the bus depot. ~ We started out at 6 a.m. figuring on taking 2 to 2-1/2 hours to get
to the cars and then another 2 hours to get to Toronto by 11 a.m. ~ We missed the portage point. ~ We paddled right on by and then kept on looking and looking
around most of the lake. ~ When we started around for the second time, we decided to ask people. ~ We put on trunks and I went up to one cottage which was
empty. ~ We were about to try another one when we saw a fellow on his dock a little further down the shoreline. ~ Julia was without a top but we went up to the guy
on his dock and asked for directions. ~ He offered to guide us to it and he hoped into his canoe and took us to the portage. ~ It was just about 200 feet further along
the shore, around a small rock outcrop. :-) ~ Like we needed a ‘guide’.. ~ But in talking he found we were behind schedule for the bus terminal, so he offered to
help us down the portage and power boat us across the lake. ~ We were happy to accept the offer and proceeded to unload.
As we were unpacking things from the canoe, Julia started down the hill with some
bags and her son. ~ As Brian and I started to follow along behind, Julia comes hot footing it back up the path excitedly telling us she had seen a bear. ~ She described
a black bear about 4 feet high that had been ambling across the trail ahead of her when she saw it. ~ She said it was like it was a 'zoo' at first and that it was a nice
feeling she had from having an opportunity to see one. ~ But then she realized it wasn't a zoo and started to back up quickly. ~ The bear apparently didn't like her
either and he took off down the hill. ~ When we got down to where she had seen it, Brian picked up a pretty heavy rock and went down the hill after it. ~ He wanted to
see it but all he got was to hear it go crashing off to the side away from the trail. ~ He said the rock was for the bears nose if it decided Brian needed to be eaten. ~
Brian said 95 percent of them are afraid of humans but you never know. ~ Occasionally you find an injured one that might be starving. ~ The only way to
make a bear think twice about attacking you is to smash him in the nose with something *really* heavy. ~ But don’t miss... ~ If you do you won't likely get another chance.
After the bear incident we finished bringing everything down the portage. ~ Brian put our canoe across the back of his boat and we were across the lake in no time. ~
In fact after killing an hour and a half being lost, we arrived at the cars 10 minutes ahead of schedule.
In our ride across the lake, we talked a lot about our being there and how the
group came to be. ~ He said there was a lot of buzz going around the lake about a bunch of nude people paddling in the Sunday before. ~ That was us alright. :o) ~
We explained we were just a bunch of friends who were nudists. ~ He had a lot of questions and he liked all our answers. ~ Couldn't get over coming into contact with
us. ~ Julia told him of her activism for top freedom. ~ He said it was all great by him.., that they swam nude at the cottage a lot. ~ He said he was really happy to
meet us. ~ I invited him to our camp site and he said he'd come and bring the family.
So we were off to Toronto. ~ We’ve put those details into a story of their own. ~
“Top Free in the Bus Depot”. ~ Take a look at that when you’re done with this one. :-)
 Sooo..., after we picked up our friend at the depot, we all get into the van and get back to the landing. ~ Julia took this picture showing us loading the canoe with all the baggage; some in
the canoe and the rest piled in front of me. ~ Then Julia and her son got in.. ~ I got into the front end because Greg said he knew what he was doing too. ~ He proceeded to shove off. ~ Now we
have a light canoe, three adults and a boy along with lots of luggage. ~ He shoved the canoe forward and it never left the bottom... ~ Didn't even *try* to float. ~ Just kept sliding on the
bottom and getting lower. ~ I think I must have yelled something about that time. ~ He asked me if the canoe was rated for the weight and I yelled *NO* as I stared at the video cam lying on the
bottom and felt the canoe getting very tipsy... ~ I had just never considered the extra weight for the return trip when we left in the morning or I would have taken a heavier and longer canoe. ~ Greg managed to pull
it back in enough for us to hop out and not spill.. ~ There was some water in the canoe by then but we managed to keep everything dry enough. ~ After a little
discussion, Julia and he drove to a near-by marina and rented a second canoe. ~ Julia drove the van back and Greg paddled back to the launch site.
We divided the load, he and her went in the new one and I took the lite one and took off. ~ Floating much higher this time. ~ At the other end of the lake we saw a
rain storm but continued towards it. ~ It looked as if it would be gone by the time we reached it but that didn't happen. ~ The storm seemed to get even worse as we
got within 3 or 4 hundred feet of the dock. ~ The wind got really bad and at one point was blowing me backward faster than I could paddle forward. ~ I had to head
directly into the wind to make any forward motion at all. ~ Not in the right direction but more to just keep from getting pushed against the rough shoreline, which was more a cliff than a shore.
We finally got the two canoes landed and we carried everything up the hill. ~ I think at that point the new guy was wondering why he had come. <g> ~ I know I
was... Ha! ~ The upper lake was a snap and the rain had not actually been up there so it was nice weather again.
Soon after we arrived back at camp, here come the kids of the guy who helped us,
on the visit I had told him to make. ~ The daughters were 6 & 8 and the son was 13. ~ This was now about 7 pm and some of us were nude and others starting to
cool and cover. ~ I asked the kids as they got out of their boat if they had any problems with us not having any clothes on and they said not at all. ~ The father
was a bit behind them in another boat and he pulled in a couple of minutes later. ~ The two younger ones got right into things with our two kids. ~ The boy and the
father and a lot of our group spent an hour siting and talking on the big flat landing rock. ~ When they finally got to leave, he invited us to his cottage for a swim party
the next day. ~ We asked ‘nude?’, and he replied ‘most certainly'.
Wednesday...
The day started a little cool and looking like it wouldn't work for the visit to the
cottage. ~ It got better though and after a morning of laying around, we started to get ready for the trip down lake. ~ We pulled out around 2:30 p.m.. ~ Julia, myself,
the new guy and Charles from NJ, along with the three kids. ~ John and Ann were to follow shortly and John and Peg elected to remain behind. ~ We got to the
cottage and didn't see anyone. ~ We landed the two canoes on a floating inclined canoe pad and I went up the long dock towards the house. ~ A woman came out. ~
As I approached I asked her if she had ever hugged a naked stranger. ~ She said No.., but she would.. ~ And we did. :-) ~ I thought she was the cottage owners wife
but it turned out she was just a friend from across the lake. ~ She told me the wife was a bit shy but that we should go ahead and enjoy ourselves. ~ She said that the
owner 'Brian' was having some boat trouble down on the lower lake and that he would be along shortly.
 We were on a floating barge attached to
the end of the long dock, on one side and across from a floating canoe pad on the other. ~ There was a large floating tower anchored about 30 feet out which was a diving platform and it had two water slides
on the other side of it. ~ The upper deck was about 8 feet off the water. ~ We sat there for awhile trying to figure out what
to do from there with only Brian's son with us... ~ Whether to wait or try and enjoy ourselves alone. ~ Then the older daughter came out with her girl friend and they
started talking with us and swimming and diving from the tower. ~ They were both about 16-17 years old and their presence broke the ice for us. ~ Most of us started to get into it at that point.
By this time John and Ann had arrived from camp and there was a mix of nude
people and people with suits on, all having a grand time... ~ Then a small boat pulls in loaded with more kids. ~ Four girls and two boys. ~ Two of the girls were the
younger daughters we had met the night before and the rest were neighbors. ~ They joined in swimming and one of them took our kids out in a 3 seater paddle
wheel boat, to trip between the barge and the tower. ~ The barge btw, had a motor on it and was able to go out on the lake... ~ It had a picnic table, umbrella, grill for
cooking and was made for partying away from shore.
 Now we have our six adults
and three kids nude and semi nude mixing and having a great time with 6 girls and 3 boys ages 6 to 17 with suits on... ~ The woman I had first met was the mother of some of them and of course the owners
wife was also there in the cottage too. ~ Then Brian showed up. ~ He was overjoyed he had fixed his boat. ~ It had been giving him trouble for two weeks and they rely heavily on boat access. ~ It was very
important for it to be running. ~ He brought a case of beer, some rum and coke, hot dogs and other good stuff. ~ The party was rolling by then. ~ We were all set to
take the barge out onto the lake and have a party away from shore. ~ The last couple from our group had been sent for and brought back by motor boat so we
were all there. ~ Then, all of a sudden, the rain came. ~ We rushed around, grabbing everything out of the canoes and around the barge that had to stay dry and we split for the cabin.
The cabin main room was very large... ~ Probably 60 ft from end to end and about 20 front to back. ~ The whole 60 feet was glass frontage and we could look out on
the dock, barge, tower and lake from anywhere in the room. ~ The whole place was one big play room. ~ One table full of leggo's.. ~ Another was where the kids had
been cutting letters and designs out of paper using them for painting on tee shirts. ~ There were records, CD's, music books, guitars on the wall, tons of board games,
and what have you. ~ One of our group could play guitar so he started strumming and singing what he knew... ~ One of the daughters jumped up on a counter and
pulled down 6 or 8 copies of books they had made up with the words to probably a hundred songs. ~ All indexed by alphabet and page number. ~ When she passed
these out it was just terrific. ~ A lot of people were singing all these great songs and others talking. ~ More neighbors showed up. ~ Brian and the woman I had
hugged were cranking at the grill. ~ I counted 26 people in the room at one time and I think there were some upstairs too at the time. ~ He fed everyone two hot
dogs. ~ They continued to put together stuff to eat and a couple of hours later they had a monster bowl of salad, macaroni casserole and lots of chili. ~ I had a big bowl
of all that and a second helping of chili. ~ The lanterns came on and the partying went on until around 10:30 p.m. ~ We all started to slow down and think about
getting back to camp. ~ It was pitch black out. ~ We had been drinking. ~ Heh! ~ I thought about that fact but actually didn't have any buzz at that time. ~ I don't think I would have tried it if I had.
We got back into our three canoes and Brian loaded the last couple into a motor boat again for their ride home. ~ They got a ferry boat ride from a native, but we
had to paddle out onto that pitch black lake where we couldn't see our own boat... ~ Just all dark ‘shadows’. ~ The sky was very cloudy and no moon. ~ But there was
one tiny *speck* to navigate by. ~ During the day we had seen three canoes of girl scouts heading towards our island. ~ We knew what they were going to do from
there.. ~ They set up at another camp site, which was close to us after they found our tents on the island. ~ So we did manage to see this very tiny twinkle from their
camp as we paddled back. ~ We aimed for it and soon were home. ~ I slept very well that night.
Thursday.
It was cloudy and cool. ~ Not cold. ~ I was ok with it since we were leaving. ~ I had
a good fill of camping and canoeing and the sun by then. ~ I was happy enough. ~ Even my video cam battery had held out for all the tape I had brought. ~ Couldn't
ask for more. ~ There was plenty of food left so I ate a whole can of Dinty Moore stew for breakfast, just so I didn't have to carry it back out. ~ That was some of the
extra stuff my wife had packed.. ~ I had been mainly eating MRE's each day, that my army neighbor had supplied me with. ~ They were excellent. ~ Self heating
dinners and other food, deserts, drinks, etc. for a 3000 calory per day intake.
Two canoes left right away and Julia, Greg, Charles, and I followed an hour later
with the other three canoes. ~ The trip back was a little choppy because of the wind. ~ It was fairly manageable until, again, we approached the end of the lake. ~
This time it was the public landing end instead of the portage end but it was even rougher. ~ Most of the trip was broadside to the wind and crossing a large lake. ~
The canoe was rocking away on the waves and you had to just keep following it with your body motion. ~ It took several days after I was home to stop feeling that
motion. ~ I was sitting here at the computer and it still felt like I was rocking on the waves in the canoe. ~ Weird.
It was a tough last 600 feet but we made it in. ~ Except for that one overloaded
canoe thing, no one had even come close to spilling, for the entire trip. ~ No matter how far we were from shore it was never really 'scary' on the lake, although there
were a couple of stressful periods for sure. ~ A spill could have been a disaster, but I never came close to expecting one. ~ The kids were perfect and listened to
everything we told them. ~ I don't believe anyone else had any major worries during the whole trip either.
We tied the two canoes back on my car while Greg paddled the rented one back
and returned by foot. ~ He made it back by the time we were done with the packing and we were all anxious to get gone. ~ Everyone still had long rides
ahead of us. ~ It’s just a good thing that Greg did make it back in time. ;-> ~ So we departed and the trip ended for me, in my driveway several hours later...
The canoes bottoms were scratched beyond belief from dragging over the rock landings. ~ I had to deliver them back to their owners that way. :-(
Then we put the motorcycle on the road and we're going to Empire Haven this weekend for the ESA festival. ~ More fun... ~ Isn't summer grand? :-)
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