In 2005, my friend Drew Osborne and I embarked on a five-month, six-thousand-kilometre canoe trip.
The expedition began on the snowy banks of the North Saskatchewan River in late April and ended on a glorious fall day on the St. Lawrence River in Montreal. It was an experience of a lifetime shared between two friends.
Conquering the grand wilderness of Canada in a canoe is both unimaginably challenging and stunningly beautiful. We paddled up and down rivers, over waves, rocks, and sandbars, and across some of the world’s largest lakes. We saw it all.
On our seventieth day we began our first upstream battle, against the current on the Winnipeg River. Paddling against the record flood proved to be more emotionally draining than it was physically (as if surviving the Manitoba bug season wasn’t enough).
It took an entire day to cover what we normally covered in an hour. After three long days of this, the force against us began to take its toll. Evening drew near and we struggled to find a place to camp amidst the cottages on the banks of the river, our exhaustion turning to frustration. As our weary, bug-bitten arms dipped our paddles into the river, we began to wonder if it was possible to continue.
Up in the distance we saw a man standing on his dock as if awaiting our arrival. When we were within earshot he called out to us. He asked where we were going.
We replied, “Montreal!”
“I doubt you’ll make it to Montreal tonight,” he laughed. “How about you call it a day and stay with us?”
It was perfect.
Al and his wife, Lynn, invited us into their beautiful cottage for the evening. When Lynn took one look at our bloody, swollen bug bites, our dirty clothes, and our messy hair, she insisted we each take a bath. It was our first bath in over seventy days, long overdue and simply magnificent.
After we’d each bathed and it was possible to stand within ten feet of us, Lynn approached us holding a telephone.
“Call your mothers,” she said.
She said they’d want to know we were safe and doing well. She was right. We had an amazing dinner, lovely conversation, and, under fresh sheets, we fell into deep sleeps. As I drifted off, I remember wondering what I’d done to deserve the generosity of these total strangers.
In the morning we had another wonderful meal and then began our preparations to continue. Lynn had prepared fresh-baked goods for us to take on the journey.
As we paddled away we were beaming. Our strokes were powerful and strong. I don’t think we even noticed that the river was flowing against us. At the time I felt so lucky to have met these inspiring people. As we continued, we found that this was just the first example of the incredible generosity of strangers. Every time we thought we couldn’t go any farther it seemed there was someone else waiting with a warm meal and a fire.
I learned a lot of things on this trip. Many things I will never be able to put into words.
One thing that continues to resonate with me is how inspiring it was to meet such giving people. They opened my eyes and my heart to the simple beauty of generosity. As I reflect on this trip years later, I feel a profound gratitude for this gift.
Vancouver, British Columbia