My partner and I live in the middle of downtown Montreal. We have not left this Island for over two years since we returned from a long stay in Asia. We have not even left the centre of town except on a few occasions to the other side of town, to visit Marc's parents.
One of the things we used to love was camping, which was always with a car. We ditched our car quite a few years ago and our licence expired. We have decided to not drive any more.
On our past days off work, we did something on a whim that we didn't think could be possible. We found a National park outside of the city on another Island which, like Montreal, is also in the St. Lawrence river. There is a campsite there so we booked for two nights. We read that you could get there by bus/train and walking.
It was confusing on how to get there by public transportation, so we asked for a ride from Marc's father who is 80 years old. It was nerve wracking even with a GPS. We made it in one piece. We planned to take a bus back and not bother him anymore. He didn't mind though.
The campground is 45 minutes walk from the parking lot. This is the farthest you can drive. We were heavily loaded with a tent, supplies that were useful, supplies that were not necessary, and two days worth of food and drink. We had each a backpack and each a wheeled cart. It was heavy for me.
Normally I wouldn't mind the weight but I had an accident at work, in a restaurant kitchen, where I slipped off a crate and smashed into the edge of the big sink with my ribs. I lost my wind for a minute and felt like someone swung a baseball bat to my side. No I just stayed at work. Anyone else would have laid down and asked for an ambulance. I am not that person. It doesn't mean that the pain of busted ribs was fun.
Fortunately when we got to the main building we found out that you could get a pull wagon which tightly fit most of our stuff. Marc wheeled it for 45 minutes on the path. My load was lightened.
The road seemed endless as the sun was blazing down but I was easily distracted by the on going nature which I haven't experienced in a while. So much greenery,
As we approached the campground, we noticed some ready tents. We figured this is how the rich campers live. We slightly envied them.
These tents are large enough for 4 adults and 2 children. They come with mats and cooking supplies along with a table and chairs inside as well as outside. They also have solar power.
I could live the rest of my life in one of these. In fact I would prefer this over an apartment in the city.
We finally got to our site which was quite nice with a patch of grass and a fire pit. We set up our tent for the first time. We only bought this tent in case of emergency if SHTF, along with some other prepper supplies.
I was surprised at how small it was. Marc said, "it's a two person tent! What do you expect?" I realized that it's about the compact portability of it.
The two of us have always been obsessed with campfires. It must be from living hard core in the city all of our lives. Now we don't even have a balcony for a barbecue. This was our opportunity to blaze up an inferno like nobody's business.
We got to the wood place/little store with not much in it, and asked for some wood. It was 7 dollars a bundle. We decided to get 5 bundles. The young girl seemed surprised. We thought perhaps this is unusual and we felt a little weird. For the first time we had to get it ourselves with some bundle things that had straps. In the past it was always delivered to us by a golf cart.
We like to start our campfire early, unlike most people who wait until dark.
Along the path in on the grounds there are a few water taps. We were happy about that. We thought we would have to go to the main washroom building to get our water.
We were able to fill up our super water filter that filters out almost everything.
Food
To make dinner, I used a portable butane stove. I had to do everything in bits since I couldn't bring my kitchen.
Many may wonder what someone would eat on a camping trip if they eat only plant based. Let me tell you, it was much more convenient without animal products to keep cold. We don't have a cooler.
For breakfast we had soba noodles, and veggies. I brought small herb and spice packs along with small jars of soy sauce, lemons,oil, vinegar, etc. which in the end added up in volume but was worth it.
This was super simple and turned out to be quite tasty. Preparing food outdoors is super relaxing. For some around the world, it may be where their kitchen happens to be. Lucky them.
I wanted to experiment with making pizza on a fire pit. I brought some flour, yeast and after making the dough I let it rise in a tupperware bowl. It was hot outside so the dough rose perfectly. I let it sit for most of the day.
I didn't have a pizza pan so I shaped two small ones on aluminum foil on top of a plate. I removed them from the plate in the foil to the grill.
Because it wasn't an oven with all around heat, It would have been best if I had cooked the toppings first but I didn't think about it. The only solution was to flip them over on the grill. The dough was cooked nicely this way but the toppings weren't like they had been cooked in a oven pizza.
It was still a treat to have pizza at a campfire regardless of the not super baked toppings. The sauce was made from tomato paste from a tube, fresh tomatoes, and seasonings. I cooked that sauce first.
The biggest treat was lion's mane mushroom skewers on the fire. I can't be more grateful for having access to buying these tightly packaged bags from my work. I get it at the company cost. It's still quite costly but I will treat myself to this every so often.
These are actually better than fresh ones because of the moisture being squeezed out. The texture is so much like chicken or turkey that it's scary. The good thing about these is that it absorbs flavors easily, unlike tofu which requires more marinating or additions.
Because they were so tightly vac packed, they didn't need to be refrigerated. I simply tossed them in salt and seasonings with a little tomato paste and fresh squeezed lemon.
I left them for a while covered before I put them on the grill.
This is a plant based dream, if you're someone who misses the texture and food memories of what we used to eat.
Nature Wildlife and Theives
When we walked away the first day for a couple of minutes, we came back to a fellow camper telling us that raccoons had been snooping around our stuff. Earlier I had noticed some large metal bins on every site. I now realized this is a storage for food and items that might interest the critters.
There was a scene in the early evening when I found myself battling a raccoon as he so boldly came to grab one of our bags right next to us, full of food and other items. I couldn't believe he wasn't scared of me as I pushed the wagon toward him. He wasn't leaving. I finally found a way to make some noise that made him give up.
We had heard that there were deer on this island which thrilled me. One day Marc came back telling me he had seen one. I was jealous. I thought I may never see one on these two days.
As we walked the next day, I asked where he had seen the deer and as he pointed to the spot, I saw one looking at me.
Shortly after that, she was accompanied by her family including a small fawn.
As we walked, we saw another hanging out by a campsite. This is a very big bonus for someone like me. I usually only see squirrels as wildlife.
We were very surprised not to get any mosquito bites, in fact we don't know how it was possible. We were by the river and several arteries of water but we didn't get bitten. I'm quite thankful about that.
Marc found a strange insect that you wouldn't see in the city. We wouldn't notice it anyway if it were there.
Being away in nature let's you see another world that some people may take for granted. We mostly see construction, sidewalks, buildings and traffic in our daily life.
The whole place was covered with raspberry bushes, which would have been great if it were still raspberry season. We found two remaining tiny berries that were left behind.
Relaxing
Marc and I are cooks in a restaurant. We are the only two in the kitchen. We cook and do dishes. If it gets busier they have more front staff. Marc and I just have to work harder and faster. We used to have a dish washer but he got in our way, slowed us down and talked too much. We had to let him go. We prefer to be alone in the kitchen but I cannot deny that it's exhausting. We only open four days a week thank goodness. Usually on the days off we do laundry, cleaning, and chores. I try to get some posts done but recently with the injury and the trip, I have been lazy.
These two days were super relaxing in a way that can't be described but at the same time exhausting.
Down by the river at the wood place, there were canoes, and kayaks that we could rent. We had thought about doing that but we were too tired to row. It seemed like work so we decided not to this time. It's something we will do in the future.
Across the river is where we were going to get a shuttle to the Island if we had taken the bus. We found out that it only runs on the weekends. We were leaving on Tuesday. We were certain that there would be a bus from the Island. It would just take longer.
We decided not to think about how to get home, and enjoy the blue skies which I haven't noticed in a while. I usually never look up on my way to work which is across the street from my apartment.
We had hoped to jump in the water before we got there, but when we saw the water we realized it was not inviting. We had seen some rich kids jumping off a super yacht but they were obviously drunk and in uber party mode.
Marc relaxed by looking for stones to sharpen a fishing knife that I got from my uncle after he passed away. He was making kindling from the firewood. He thinks it worked a bit.
We found it difficult to stop the campfire and finally go into the tent. It was too nice and it was over the last night. I didn't bring any mats for the tent so in the middle of the night the pain of my busted ribs made me wonder if I would live through the night. I managed to calm down and get some sleep. I found that having a little sleep in a tent is still more refreshing then having a little sleep in the apartment.
We had to leave the next day. We gathered our things put them in the wagon and walked 45 minutes to return the wagon and get the bus. When we got there we found out that buses no longer ran to the park. We walked to the front gate which was another long endless road in the blazing heat. This time with all of our stuff on the back and wheel carts. The load was only a little lighter without the food.
When we got to the gate we found out there were no buses on to the Island and no way to walk off the Island. We were forced to call a taxi. They were not available for 3 hours.
We had to call Marc's father for a ride again. It worried us for him to be driving out there, but he made it. We had to pay the price for relaxation with lots of walking with things on our backs.
Would we do it again? Yes!
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