PTBOCanada Featured Post: Experience The Land Canadian Adventures
/What is your ideal morning? Is it being woken up by the songs of the first birds, unzipping cozy sleeping bags and emerging from tents to witness a glorious sunrise over a mist-shrouded lake in the remote reaches of Ontario? Is it the low roar of a stove warming up water for coffee and the crackle of the morning cooking fire coming to life?
That’s our ideal wakeup call here at The Land Canadian Adventures! The outdoors, to us, is an escape. Not from real life, but towards it. The outdoors is also an outlet.
Within it, we are all free to be our true selves, unhampered by the norms of society—one of the most gratifying things to witness in a group setting out on a backcountry canoe trip is the bonding between people who might not otherwise find common ground. The outdoors is not just a place of passionate recreation, but of peaceful reflectance, of learning and growing.
Who are we exactly? We’re an organization committed to providing the means for folks of all experience levels and walks of life to connect and learn through nature. We are based in North Kawartha, near the little town of Apsley, our homeplace from which we launch a wide variety of four-season outdoor experiences.
These experiences range from day-long backcountry living workshops on our property, including camp cooking, fire-lighting (everyone seems to know the “best” way to light a fire; we don’t take a side, just pass on knowledge), plant and animal identification, and much more. We also run multi-day backcountry expeditions in Ontario parks such as Algonquin, Killarney, French River, and local Kawartha Highlands, as well as across Canada.
With the paddling season upon us, we are currently working on putting together a suite of backcountry paddling trips to scratch this summer’s adventure itch for folks of any age.
Starting with the youngest, our Young Trippers expedition is returning on July 28, a 6-day course in the Kawartha Highlands designed to give kids an introductory perspective on canoe tripping, as well as some awesome ORCKA paddling certifications.
Next up in our age bracket is the Young Leaders trip setting out July 8th, a 6-day rock n’ roll whitewater adventure on the Madawaska River during which participants will be able to step up their tripping skills and attain new confidence and competency in a canoe.
For young families, our 4-day Family Backcountry trip beginning July 24th is back, this time visiting the Canadian French Riviera (i.e. the French River Delta!). Bring the kidlets along and join other families in a trip that will broaden your horizons for excursions with the whole gang.
Finally (drumroll please?), we are standing on the doorstep of The Land’s first cross-country trip, a 6-day paddling exploration of the Broken Group Islands in Pacific Rim National Park all the way in beautiful British Columbia. This area is an immaculate archipelago comprised of more than 100 islands creating a stunning maze of channels, secluded lagoons, shell covered beaches, old growth rainforest islets, and exposed reefs. The trip is soon (June 17!!), so if you’re not able to pack your bags quickly, then don’t worry, this is not the last time we’ll be taking a jaunt out to B.C.!
Even when the days grow short and cold, when the land and lakes are covered by snow and ice, we’re still out playing in the woods. During the winter, we transform part of our back-40 into a comfortable winter basecamp, with canvas tents heated made cozy with woodstoves. Our mode of transportation switches over from the canoe to strapping snowshoes to our feet and follow animal tracks into the depths of the woods.
The Land works with a wide range of parties to bring together these incredible experiences. Our institutional connections with international education, wilderness guide training and nature therapy have really helped clarify our long-term horizon and allows us the privilege of creating immersive English Second Language (ESL) courses based around teaching the principles of canoe tripping and outdoor living!
All these trips and events would not be possible without our team of experienced, fun and outgoing guides. The Land was founded and given a head start by Briagh and Bretton, who have grown their business successfully alongside raising a young family of two little girls.
This season, they’re joined by four full-time guides and educators: Andrew, Dorothy (aka Dee), Ryan and Noah. This is exciting because, not only does this team provide incredible opportunities for teaching and tripping, but also because this marks the first season during which The Land has been able to hire even one full-time employee. Our growth has been steady, our network and range of trips expanding every year, but it is in the existence of this team that, to us, really embodies this success.
The diversity and creativity that has always been a crucial component of The Land is reaching new heights as our team grows. Outdoor leaders tend to be a creative and musical bunch, and we are no exception!
Bretton even created a rap/spoken-word hit single covering his take on modern canoe culture and how it fits in with Ontario’s natural and cultural heritage spanning back millennia. Watch his canoe rap video below…
If you want more adventure in your life, don’t be shy to reach out to the team with questions about their programming. They’re always excited and flexible to work with folks! For more info, go here…
Website: canoecampingtrips.ca
Email: noah@thelandcanadianadventures.com
Facebook: @TheLandCanadianAdventures
Twitter: @TheLandPTBO
Instagram: @thelandcanadianadventures
YouTube: thelandcanadventures
