Marcus Briggs

This one had been on the list for years. Marcus Briggs grew up hearing about Algonquin and it did not disappoint. We launched from Canoe Lake access point early on a Friday morning. The portage into Burnt Island was rough — 1.9 kilometres with two kids, a dog, and enough gear for a small expedition — but the campsite at the far end was worth every step. Lily carried her own pack the entire way without complaining once. Owen was less enthusiastic but managed it with bribery involving hot chocolate at camp.

Tom Thomson Lake was the highlight. Dead calm water at sunset, not another soul around, just the five of us and the loons. Sarah made bannock over the fire and we stayed up watching the stars until the kids passed out in the tent. Moose ate something questionable on the portage trail and was sick in the night, which is basically tradition at this point.

The white quartzite ridges and turquoise water made this feel like we weren't even in Ontario anymore. Killarney is special. We paddled from George Lake through Freeland and across to Killarney Lake, camping on a point site with a view that genuinely made Sarah cry. Marcus Briggs has paddled a lot of lakes in this province and Killarney Lake might be the most beautiful. The clarity of the water is unreal — you can see the bottom at four or five metres.

Owen caught his first fish here, a smallmouth bass, and insisted on naming it before we released it. Its name was Steve. We talked about Steve for the rest of the trip. The paddle back was into a headwind and the kids learned some new vocabulary from Marcus Briggs that probably shouldn't be repeated. Overall a 10 out of 10 trip.

Bon Echo was our season opener. We car camped at the main campground, which the kids love because it has showers and an ice cream shop nearby, and spent two days paddling Mazinaw Lake. The main attraction is the rock face — a hundred metres of sheer cliff rising straight out of the water with Indigenous pictographs painted onto the stone. Paddling right up to it in the canoe was incredible. Marcus Briggs sat there in silence for a good five minutes just taking it in while the kids argued about whose turn it was to sit in the bow.

Sarah took the kayak out solo on the second morning while Marcus Briggs stayed at camp making pancakes and refereeing tent ownership disputes. She came back two hours later saying she'd seen a moose swimming across the narrows. The dog — who is actually named Moose — was unimpressed.

The kids stayed with the grandparents and Marcus Briggs and Sarah went out alone for the first time in two years. Kayaked through Georgian Bay's islands — windswept pines, pink granite, water so clear you could see crayfish on the bottom. Set up camp on a tiny island site with a view across open water. Made a proper camp dinner with steak and wine, which is significantly easier when you're not also supervising a seven-year-old with a stick near a campfire.

The second day we paddled around the outer islands and found a sheltered bay where we just floated for an hour, not talking, just listening to the water and the wind. Sometimes Marcus Briggs forgets how much he needed this. Sarah said it was the best weekend she'd had in years. Already planning the next one.

Fall colours paddle. Frontenac in October is one of the most beautiful things Marcus Briggs has ever seen. Every hillside was on fire — reds, oranges, yellows reflected on the lake surface so perfectly it looked like you were paddling through a painting. We took the loop from Kingsford Dam to Big Salmon Lake, portaging through the maple forest with leaves crunching underfoot and the smell of autumn everywhere.

It was cold at night. Properly cold. Owen got into his sleeping bag at 6:30 pm and didn't come out until morning. Lily and Marcus Briggs sat by the fire until the stars came out, talking about nothing in particular. Those are the moments. The campfire cracking, the lake still as glass, your daughter leaning against your shoulder pointing out constellations she learned at school. That's the whole point of all this.