Seven nights on the North Arm of Opeongo Lake, July 22-29, 2021.

“Light of the sapphire skies,

Peace of the silent hills,

Shelter of forest, comfort of the grass,

Music of the birds, murmur of little rills,

Shadows of clouds that swiftly pass,

And after showers

The smell of flowers

And of the good brown earth.”

-Henty Van Dyke

If these are the things you long for when the relentless summer sun beats down on the hot, hard pavements of your noisy, crowded, dusty city, why not step through the gates of Algonquin Park, with its virgin forests, whispering pines, its hundreds of clear sparkling lakes and winding rivers?

Why not get away from the crowds and the social whirl into the great big north woods, amid the northern lakes of Canada, this year and lead a real gypsy existence, fishing and paddling to your heart’s content, moving from lake to lake as the spirit moves you, tramping the forest trails, climbing the hardwood hills, exploring islands, swimming, loafing, and dreaming and learning to know and understand the wild things of the forest?

A 560m hike to Baldwin Lake.