Even though I was born and raised in Thornhill, ON, a suburb just north of the City of Toronto, my most memorable experience with water did not take place until I was on a family vacation in Mt. Tremblant, Quebec. It was around my early teenage years when my family decided to go on a road trip to a lodge style resort on Lac Ouimet. The resort provided kayaks, canoes and paddle boats for the guests to use at their own leisure. When we arrived at the resort in the early afternoon, the lake was still and the surface was like glass, as there are no motorized boats permitted, except for the rescue boat owned by the resort which only reached a slow speed.
My sister, who is one year younger than me, and I were so eager to get out onto the lake after a long drive that we rushed to the lake and got in the first paddle boat that we saw. The feeling of being out in open waters surrounded by a landscape of trees and distant lake shores was liberating. The fresh air cleared our minds of the lengthy car ride, and soon enough, we realized that we were pretty far from the resort. As we started to make our way back, we noticed that the sky was turning darker with each paddle.
Soon enough it started to storm. The rain was heavy and soon enough, my sister and I were drenched in rain water. At that time we could faintly see our mom at the shore through the thick raindrops, talking to the worker who monitors the boat rentals. My sister and I were having the time of our lives in the rain and after a few minutes we saw the resorts rescue boat heading towards us.
When he arrived he told us that we had to get back in as soon as possible and ended up tying a rope to our boat. The motor boat towed us in the rest of the way as my sister and I laughed and joked about what had just happened. Now that I am older, thinking about this story and putting it into words doesn’t seem as thrilling as it used to, but my memories remind me that it was a very special and exciting moment that I got to share on the lake, in the rain, and with my sister.
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As of 2024, the Great Lakes Guide will be transitioning to Biinaagami.org. Biinaagami is a multimedia, change-provoking initiative rooted in Indigenous knowledge aiming to uplift voices and to connect people with their watershed.
