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June 30, 2015
Canoeing in the Algonquin Provincial Park
Words and images by Giorgio Fochesato
I’d never been canoeing in my life until a few years ago when, during an epic Canadian road trip through Ontario and Quebec with my friend Moreno, we discovered Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario. During almost one month of driving from Toronto to Tadoussac, one of the greatest places we explored was the Algonquin Provincial Park.
During our four nights in the park, our main goal was to hike around, enjoy beautiful views and walk in the middle of the forest. Having no experience with canoeing, it was not in our plans, though it seemed everyone else visiting was very comfortable on the water. The park is full of lakes and canals, making it the perfect place to rent a tent, a canoe and have a real adventure — which is ultimately what we decided to do on our last day.
During a short chat with a ranger, he asked about our canoeing experience. Not being sure how much to tell him, we confirmed that we were very comfortable with outdoor activity (despite never having seen a canoe before)! An hour later, we were paddling on a beautiful lake in the middle of a wild and remote area of the Algonquin Park. After crossing two lakes, we did a short hike through the forest with our tent and canoe on our shoulders, arriving at the campsite just before sunset.
After setting up the tent, we enjoyed the calm and dreamy atmosphere created by the stunning sunset and silent abyss. As darkness approached, we settled into the tent to sleep. A few hours later, we woke to the sound of howling wolves — both an exciting and terrifying experience. In Italy, where we live, wolves are quite rare so we had never heard them before. There we were, in the middle of the forest in a small tent, with wolves howling all around us.
The next morning, we packed our stuff and paddled back to the ranger station before sunrise in perfect silence on the still lake. We absolutely loved our experience and Mother Nature’s beauty in the Algonquin Provincial Park. If you get a chance to visit, go for it!
Giorgio is an Italian photographer based in Verona. He spent the last 10 years traveling the World, from Europe to Australia, Asia to North America, visiting over 60 countries. He joined Stocksy in collaboration of his partner Veronica, and together they focus primarily on lifestyle photography. Giorgio hasn’t forgotten his passion for travels and outdoors activities so when they have the time, they hit the road in search of adventure. Check out more of Giorgio and Veronica’s images here >>
