Hi! I'm Grace Evans and this is Dry Spell, my weekly letter of off-season reflections on canoeing.
On my second backcountry trip this year I brought along Dash, my Jack Russell terrier, who genuinely seemed to enjoy riding around in the canoe all summer. Algonquin was no exception; he basked in the sun, and contentedly watched the scenery drift by from his perch on our gear.
It was the first time I’d ever slept in a tent without another person so I was glad to have Dash there. Our first night was -3°C (26.6°F) which felt cold. Dash’s hot little body in my down sleeping bag kept me warm and his creative sleeping positions amused me every time I woke up in the night.
More on Dash as a canoe companion next week, but until then enjoy this photo of him perched on our gear last September.
Links:
Speaking of Algonquin - this article really opened my eyes to the the complicated past and present of the park system in Canada.
Canada’s National Parks are Colonial Crime Scenes:
"But the pristine landscapes seen in government promotions—and the very concept of Canada as a wilderness—are unrecognizable to me and to other Indigenous people. […] As an ongoing part of this reconciliation, the government acknowledges the traumas of the residential school system. But it still celebrates other crimes—specifically, a parks system that has robbed and impoverished Indigenous peoples.
By Robert Jago. [The Walrus]
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