Camping never once entered my vacation vocabulary during the 14 years I lived in the Philippines. Ask any Filipino about their ideal summer escape and they’ll paint you a picture of secluded tropical islands girded by turquoise waters and brimming with white sand.
When I moved to Canada, however, it was different. The talk of white sand beaches was replaced with chatter of weekend getaways to campgrounds nestled in northern foliage. For the past few years, I have been invited to go camping and, without fail, turn them down, secretly fazed by the tediousness of planning such a foreign trip.
But, this summer, I figured, why not? I could use a day away from my cell phone’s incessant buzz. And so I set off to plan what would turn out to be my most relaxing weekend in recent memory.
Daunting at first, planning surprisingly turned out to be a breeze.
Find a spot
My first step was pinning down a campsite. I wasn’t too familiar with Ontario’s geography, but a trusty Google search helped lead me to a couple of choice campgrounds. Provincial parks like Sandbanks, Cyprus Lake, Killbear and Algonquin National Park were some of the hall-of-famers, but I settled on Bon Echo Provincial Park.
Only three-and-a-half hours from my Scarborough home, Bon Echo boasts a mix of mountain ranges, lush greens and sandy beaches. Plus, it looked great on photos.
My friend, Mario, who accompanied me on the trip, and I made our reservation through the Ontario Parks website (reservations.ontarioparks.com). The website wasn’t as user-friendly as I would have liked, but it offered maps, photos and campsite descriptions with details like shade, privacy, quality and type of ground.
Canadian Immigrant writer and Filipina immigrant Sarah Taguiam sets up her Coleman instant tent on her first camping trip. Photo by Mariusz Dabrowski.
We chanced upon a non-electric campground located at a radio-free section deeper in the forest. Originally, we wanted a waterfront view, but during the summer, these prime sites are booked months in advance. Our site cost $48, a decent price as sites go anywhere from $35 to $100.
Time to pack
With that done, I packed one huge duffel bag with clothes for both warm and rainy weather — light showers were forecasted for the upcoming weekend, but I kept hoping it was a fluke. I brought lots of layers of clothing, hiking gear, a waterproof jacket, and a sweater and sweatpants for when it got cold at night. Needless to say, I overpacked! But it was a decision I didn’t regret later.
There was, however, still the issue of camping gear.
From research, I wrote down the camping essentials: a tent, sleeping bags, airbed, folding chairs and lighting equipment. Then it was time to hit my local Canadian Tire.
A sales representative walked me through the numerous options in store. At the end of my shopping trip, I had a four-person instant tent, sleeping bags with temperature ratings of zero degrees Celsius, an air mattress with a built-in air pump, a couple of flashlights and a propane lamp.
Worrywart that I am, I only slept four hours the night before. The next thing I know, my alarm was ringing.
On the road
Running on two cups of coffee, I met Mario at 10:30 a.m. But due to last-minute preparations, we didn’t leave the city until 2 p.m. We drove 270 kilometres and clocked in four hours of travel time due to short stops. Groggy and legs cramping, we reached Bon Echo by 5:30 p.m.
Seeing the park, I understood why people want to own a piece or at least experience the great Canadian outdoors for a time; the sight was straight out of a postcard. The air was much crisper, the trees untouched and the lake reminiscent of the Philippines’ clear waters.
We then registered our site, stretched our legs and quickly started to set up camp as the skies were getting greyer.
Setting up camp
I volunteered to put up the tent knowing it’ll take only a couple of minutes as indicated on the box. But setup took longer than expected as I neglected to do one of the most important things not included in the instructions: ask for help. I lugged the heavy tent bag until it was at a good spot — under the shade, but far enough from the trees in case of an accident. After that, it was easier than I expected. My imagined fears of struggling with tent poles were erased with the easy-up tent.
I triumphantly hammered the final stake into the ground to hold the tent down in case of wind, and without pausing too long to enjoy my success, I started on the mattresses. Mario stationed the car beside the tent and inflated the airbeds with an adaptor plugged to the car’s cigarette lighter socket, which came in handy, as our campsite was non-electric!
Proud of our handiwork, I took some photos for posterity — and maybe for Facebook. (Standing on top of the table and stretching my arms to the sky allowed me to catch a waning internet connection.)
Next step was starting a fire. We started picking up kindling, and with the firewood we bought from the campsite, our fire was soon burning high. Mario took the reigns and kept the fire going while I sat back, afraid my clumsiness would get my hair scorched.
Knife in hand, he made long makeshift skewers for our sausages and kielbasas. Unfortunately, I have a lot to learn when it comes to properly skewering kielbasas as mine fell in the fire twice. We also had bread, which cooked faster than those prepared in a toaster. But what I couldn’t wait for were the s’mores (a combination of marshmallow, chocolate and graham crackers), also known as the staple treat of all campers.
When I finally got the hang of roasting marshmallows over the fire, I spread it on graham crackers and topped it with chocolate. Why people only eat s’mores while camping, I’ll never understand; it should be a year-round treat!
In the tent
We stuffed ourselves with the last of the gooey concoctions and, as if on cue, the first predicted drops of rain fell. Stuck inside our slightly damp tent, I really felt like I’ve truly escaped the hustle and bustle of daily life — I guess that’s the point of communing with nature.
I kept on thinking that if I were in the city while it rained, I would probably be on my bed reading a book or on the computer. Here, however, I didn’t have the luxury of technology. We ended up just talking until the rain stopped. Turns out we both didn’t know a lot about of each other and being in that situation allowed us to tell untold stories.
After the drizzle, the grounds were wet and we couldn’t do much exploring. In consolation, the fallen rain gave way to clear skies.
Time to go to sleep, I thought I’d be scared in the middle of nowhere, with only a layer of canvas between myself and nature and possible wildlife, but instead the peace and quiet lulled me into a quick sleep. I was also tired out from the very full day of our camping adventure!
My last memory before falling asleep was thousands of stars glimmering in the distance, more than I’ve ever seen in my life.
Seven hours later at 10 a.m., the battery-operated alarm I brought along unceremoniously woke me up. Throwing on a sweater, I stumbled out of the tent and made my way to the campsite showers. (I figured a cold shower was the next best thing to coffee.)
The facilities were well maintained and even cleaner than those in some malls and restaurants. The only difference is I had to walk a farther distance and dust clung to my feet every step.
Fresh and wide awake, I prepared breakfast, which was a repeat of last night’s food, but with a side helping of canned tuna and Vienna sausage. We also munched on granola bars and apples, all the while thinking that with our firewood all gone, a camping stove would’ve come in handy.
Full from the odd mix of food, we took a walk down to the lakefront and explored the beautiful nature that surrounded us before it was time to pack up.
Packing up
At noon, we started taking down the tent. Though easier than putting it up, it took longer to stuff the tent back in its bag — and it didn’t quite look as neat as before. Airbed deflated and sleeping bags folded up, we quickly loaded the car with the rest of our gear, bags and cutlery, until a family of chipmunks showed up.
We took turns feeding the expectant rodents leftover graham crackers. When the chipmunks had more food than they could keep down, they ran back to their homes, a couple of pounds heavier.
We threw the last of our things in the trunk, leaving only the damp firewood to show we were there. Mario started the car and I took my last mental pictures of the site, appreciating my shortlived yet eye-opening Canadian nature experience. Zipping through the highway on our way back to the city, I know I’ll be back one day to do it again.
Camping supplies were generously by Canadian Tire to Canadian Immigrant for this article.
Originally published by Canadian Immigrant magazine
