Tim River Part 1: Preliminary Obstacles
Knowing full well that debauchery would ensue, God did everything in His power to prevent us from paddling down the Tim River. Despite the deity’s efforts, we eventually managed to embark on this tantalizing journey. Before spinning this tale, however, it would be useful to provide some background information.
The night before our departure, we went to Kolya’s place to put the canoe on my car. The last time we went camping we took my sister’s car, and we had no problems putting the canoe on the vehicle. This time, however, I was to take one of my parent’s cars. Because I’m an idiot, I didn’t check to see whether the car had hooks under the front bumper to which the canoe fastening straps could be attached. Of course, there were none- it was past midnight already, we were scheduled to leave at 5am, and we had no way of putting the canoe on the car. Fantastic. Fan-[expletive]-tastic. Luckily, my sister was at home, and she graciously let me borrow her car for the weekend. After a collective sigh of relief, we switched vehicles, and I went back to Kolya’s place to put the canoe on the car. We then went back to my place for some highly intellectual discussions and a quick nap.
We quickly realized how blessed we are to live in a country like Canada. No, I’m not talking about the pristine lakes or the wonderful wildlife, but rather the XL coffee you can buy at Tim Horton’s in the wee hours of the morning. This magical brew kept me going from Toronto to Orillia, where we had to stop at my cottage to pick up my fishing gear. We threw the rods and tackle box into the car and kept driving north. But a few lines later, I realized that we had forgotten something rather important- our paddles. Fortunately, we hadn’t travelled too far, and though the back-tracking and our absent mindedness angered me, we were able to go back to the cottage and grab a few of these propulsion sticks. Naturally, we forgot to bring something as important as paddles, but we did not neglect to pack other vital pieces of equipment like our Cuban coffee (thanks Marco J) and french press. Sufficed to say, we had our priorities straight.
“Hi, um, we need a couple of park permits for the weekend.”
“OK, do you have a reservation?”
“Um, no...did we need to make a reservation?”
“Well, it IS the long weekend. Where are you entering the park?”
“Tim River. Access point two.”
“OK well everything on Tim is booked...”
Oh, for [expletive]’s sake! After all these trials and tribulations were we to be denied just because we didn’t have the foresight to book a campsite? Many swears later, we discovered that our disappointment was merely the product of a misunderstanding. As it turned out, what the lady meant was that the sites on Tim Lake were booked, and we were actually planning on going further along the river all the way down to Rosebary lake. As luck would have it, there happened to be a few available campsites on that lake. And so finally, finally, our journey began...
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