Potholes & Bears...

I'm writing this from the cosy lakeside town of Wiarton, nestled at the start of the Bruce Peninsula. This is by far my favourite place so far...but I'm getting ahead of myself ...

Day 1 - Van pick up day

I got up bright and early, excited to get my van and hopped in an Uber to get across Montreal to the rental place. Vanlife Montreal have been nothing but a delight to work with - I met Cesar who gave me a tour of my van, showing me the in's and out's before handing me my keys, and far too quickly I was set free on my own. I stopped at Walmart to provision the van with food and various supplies before getting on the road heading East, toward Nova Scotia. Today was a big driving day, I put a lot of KM's behind me, and quickly got comfortable with driving on the wrong side of the road, pre-paying for fuel, and dodging the numerous potholes that seemed to marr Canada's roads.

Seriously... I couldn't get over how many potholes there were. Turns out, it's due to the winter season - the water and snow get into cracks in the road, and when it all freezes and then melts again potholes are created all over the roads in the early spring - making it like driving on swiss cheese. But worse. Apparently they do a lot of work in the early spring to repair the roads each year, so as my trip continues the roads should get better.

I stopped for the night in a wooded rest-stop (very glamorous) and it was at this point I realised I had probably made a huge mistake with the direction I had driven in, and sat down at the laptop to work out a plan of attack...

Day 2 - Undo

Today I headed West. Yep - back the way I came, and past where I had driven the previous day. I headed for Algonquin Provincial Park and stayed in an adorable family-run Alpaca Farm just outside the park boundary. Too many hours driving...to many KM's done.

Day 3 - Finally, we're not driving

I got up early and headed into Algonquin to explore the park and do some hiking. Waterfalls were seen, I had my first bear encounter ... seriously, how unlucky do you have to be to encounter a bear on your very first hike? I am embarassed to say that I was not brave, and after backing away slowly I turned tail and sprinted 4km's back to the van... think I hit a PB though, so there's a silver lining. I found a pictureque spot to park at and cook lunch, before exploring the park further and heading back to the Alpaca Farm for the evening.

Day 4 - Muskoka Lakes

I had an early start again, and drove into Algonquin through a different road, finding a beautiful lake to park at for breakfast before again hitting the trails. I had various success with the trails I wanted to hike, as many of them as still closed for the winter season, and will open again in a few more weeks, but honestly...it's all so beautiful it really doesn't matter. I left the park in the late afternoon, heading for a small town called Gravenhurst, which is part of a larger region known as Muskoka Lakes - a series of small towns hugging the edge of a collection of lakes - think small town wholesome vibes, waterfalls, and lazy rivers. I spent the night in a local brewery parking lot, and realised I needed to do a reset on the van the following day.

Day 5 - Van chore day

I desperately needed to refill my water tanks, and do some laundry, so I allocated the first half of the day to finding myself a laundromat, supermarket, a free water source, and a quiet place I could give the van a decent clean. I managed to find everything I needed in Gravenhurst, but it did whittle the day down, so with clean clothes, and a clean van I jumped in the drivers seat to head to a family farm property for the night. And oh my, it was beautiful. The owner - Reef - directed me to park behind his huge old shed, which was nice a private, and right next to where the woods on his property started. He had a firepit, with a fire ready to be lit, and a little picnic table for me to enjoy. We chatted for a while, swapping life stories, and then he left me to enjoy my evening.

Day 6 - Orilla

I left Reef's property early in the day, and headed for Orilla, the local town, that sits on a lake with a huge trail running the length of it. 14km later, my legs were a little sore, but my heart was happy. And no bears this time! From there I went to my camp site for the night - another rural farm property owned by a lovely woman named Debbie.

Day 7 - Awenda

I left Debbie's property nice and early, and headed for Awenda Provincial Park to stretch my legs and get into the wildnerness again. This park was stunning, and I did a 12km hike, treated with views of lakes, and forest, coming across only one person on my journey. I returned to the van and showered in the park, before finding a pretty spot to park for lunch. I only had a short drive to where I stayed the night on another farm property. The owner Keith was a wealth of knowledge on road-tripping through Canada, having done it himself extensively his whole life. We spent a long time chatting, with him giving me advice on where to stay, things to see and do, and everything in between.

...next up... the Bruce Peninsula!