DG and his intrepid close relative RG, who has appeared earlier on these pages, went for their usual pre-winter canoe trip on Big Creek (see Google map above: southern Ontario where Long Point juts into Lake Erie). RG fell in first unwisely trying to clear a snag. Then they went to another put in spot and realized they’d left the paddles back at the first put in. RG made DG stay with the canoe in the mud while he drove in his warm car (with heated seats) back for the paddles. DG, the creative mind behind NC, passed the time taking selfies. Then RG rammed DG into a thorn bush and his hand was bleeding. When they got back to the landing DG’s bare feet were so cold he fell over.
Actually, it was quite stunning (aside from the nature and brother-on-brother violence). Immense labyrinthine marshlands, many threatened species holding out there. Fascinating to me because in 1670, on Easter Sunday, two Sulpician priests, François Dollier de Casson and René de Brehant de Galinée, were struggling to cross Big Creek in flood when they heard above them the shrieks of horses, the jangling of harness, war cries and the sounds of battle. According to their journal, they knew exactly what it was, King Arthur’s Hunt. King Arthur’s Hunt is one name/a version of the legend of the Wild Hunt (also Charlemagne’s Hunt), which John Irving used in the short story “The Pension Grillparzer” in the The World According to Garp. Ghostly, wraithlike warriors riding and battling endlessly in the sky. Terrific to be in exactly that spot.
I have an anthology of quotations about Long Point and Norfolk County, including that journal entry, which you can read here.
dg
DG intrepidly negotiating hazard.
RG after his dip.
DG.
RG.
DG selfie.
—Photos by dg, rg & google maps
DG looks pretty laid back in last photograph. Glad you had that wonderful adventure with your brother.
Thanks, Allan. I suppressed photos of bloody fingers and a video if me getting out of the canoe at the end. These things will never appear in public. But it was a great antidote to the past week. We forgot the paddles because we were laughing so hard.
The pictures and the saga are a little reminiscent of Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call in Lonesome Dove, toward the end, when things were getting the better of them.
But it does appear that you had fun!
Oh, no. We were on top of this the whole time.
😉
Great narrative of a bold SW Ontario backcreek adventure. Love the cooler in the canoe!
My brother brought the cooler. Beer, sandwiches, snacks of all kinds. He’s used to traveling with kids. I was a little surprised. 🙂