The Camping Novice

My husband is a true adventurer though not many people know it - he spends hours and hours in front of the computer only because it is his job.  In his dreams, he would be making fire, backpacking, and canoeing.

Me, on the other hand - well, I don't dream of adventures though I am open to new ones IF and WHEN people take the lead.

For years now my husband has been talking about going camping but we have never gone because I am the planner in the family and this planner had absolutely no idea where to start.

Then, this year, a friend of mine told me Ontario Parks has a "Learn to Camp" program.  It is a program that teaches the novice all the basics about camping in Ontario.  And as I read more about it, I got excited -- it sounded like it was exactly what we wanted.  We wanted to camp but didn't know where to start and we didn't want to invest in all the equipment without knowing if the kids would survive it.

So after some thought, we booked to join the program.  Considering it provides you with all the teaching and equipment needed (minus food and your own toiletries), $80 + HST is a bargain (more on this later)  We had gone to Sibbald Point Provincial Park before so I thought it would be safe to explore the park beyond the beach and camp there.  Being that it was only 45 minutes from our home, it also was the closest to us.

You can sign up for two days but I only signed for 1 night this first time as I was weary about whether we would 'survive' even one night.  As it turned out, about 3 hours into the program we were already considering extending it because we were liking it so much!

Why we loved the experience....

THE PEOPLE

We had two amazing teachers who taught us anything from wildlife, buying and setting up tents, campfires, provincial parks, what you hear at night, park rules and regulations and tips on making camping a memorable experience.  Aside from our formal sessions they would also come and check on us (without being annoying) to make sure we were ok and did not have any further questions

In addition to them, we also had great fishing teachers (Learn to Fish Program) and we met wardens and other staff in the park

Ashley, one of our instructors

Sarah, our other instructor

Our Great Teachers

Learning about Salamanders

Jeopardy at Learn to Camp :D

Kids in the program learning about caterpillars

Joudy teaching us the parts of a fishing rod

Maria teaching us how to cast

The EQUIPMENT

Canadians love their coffee

All the equipment is included in the program.  This was the main attraction for us.  This meant we didn't have to pack the tents, mattresses, cutlery, stove, chairs, water jugs, flashlights and all the countless other things people need to buy and get for camping.  They even had bug spray, first aid kits, picnic table cloths, paper towels, dish soap and clothes lines for us!  Just simply amazing :D

The 8 people tent we got for the 4 adults and 2 kids in our party

From coolers, to ice, to pots and pans, to stoves, grills and propane. All the chef needed to bring with the food :D

Wood (and s'mores kit) included in the package!

Coleman is the sponsor so we tried all sorts of Coleman equipment

Fishing License and Fishing gear all included in Learn to Fish, part of the Learn to Camp Program

This tent was used as a place to eat and cook

THE PARK - SIBBALD POINT

We already knew Sibbald was a nice destination - we have come here to spend a day in the beach in previous years and we liked the place though we had never explored all the park has to offer (and we still have not explored it all after this trip!)

I was very nervous about the washroom facilities - overall, it was way better than what I had imagined.  Considering this was a very busy weekend, the facilities were fine.  And the showers, though we never used them because we only stayed for 1 night (and the consensus was the stinkier we were the less attractive we would be to the mosquitos - it seemed to work - ) we did use them to change and by the second day they were still very clean

We had heard a lot about the Park Store - so after our fishing lessons we made a stop and splurged on fries and poutine! 

And of course, the beach...we spent an entire day there 

Here are a few of the interesting sights I caught too

THE LESSONS

We learned so much - and we had opportunities to put those skills into practice right away with the help of the wonderful staff.  I never counted but I don't think there were more than 6 or 7 families in the program on our weekend.  Every family gets their own camp site so after group lessons we go back to our sites or we go to wherever we want to go next.  There were so many things to learn, though, that the first day just simply flew by in no time.  By the time we really sat down, it was 10 PM already!!!

Day 1 Schedule and Weather - the week we were there was the first weekend our teachers said was 100% dry!

All the lessons happened on BASE CAMP:

Registering at Camp on Day one - Yes, bug spray included!

Sarah teaching us how to set up the kitchen

Putting into practice what we just learned

Kids were eager to try what they learned

Tent building - the kids were so excited!

Pumping the mattresses

Considering we learned so much and sat quite a bit - I was shocked this was the only time I saw the kids zonked out - For 90% of the time they were so engaged in the lessons - and so were most of the other kids in the program

Learning about the parts of a fish and the types of fish on Lake Simcoe

Building the fire

Building a s'more!

Packing up

THE EXPERIENCE

Having the staff there just made it so reassuring that help was literally next camp site.  The Program gave us enough freedom to still do whatever we wanted to do while learning the basics of camping and having the staff accessible to just ask and talk with.

Moreover....seeing the family engage was wonderful.  We did not need any program to build team spirit.  We did not need any lessons on sharing and respecting nature.  We just LIVED.

Carrying your own stuff

Sharing meals we all contributed to preparing together.

Washing dishes - and appreciating running water at home

Chef cooking

Enjoying a meal together

To have clean plates for next meal, someone has to fetch for the water, someone washes, someone dries, and someone takes the trek to toss the water safely and someone tosses the garbage

If you want to sleep you have to build

playing without electricity

If we want to sleep tonight, we have to set the mattresses up together

WAIT, DID YOUR SENSITIVE KID CRY OR WAKE AT NIGHT?

If you know my kids, I have a highly sensitive kid - and we were worried about him being worried about the bugs, the dark, the noise in the dark and a million other things.

The program was GREAT for my highly sensitive kid!

Worried about the dark?  The teachers taught and prepared him and forewarned him but they made it so soooo cool and exciting that they would see the stars and constellations.  By night they were so excited we even walked to the beach (how cool is that!?) to see the full moon

Worried about bugs?  The teachers taught us all about nature, and how to care for them (respect their home, don't take anything home, leave no trace) and what not to do (don't fed the animals).  They taught us about poison ivys and what to do if we spot them.  My son was 'sensitive' only for about 2 hours.  By afternoon of Day 2 we were just living with the bumble bees and big leg spiders who were on top of our tent.  By Day 2 he proudly announced to us he saw one spider, sister was scared, and he push it aside out of the way without killing him.  For a kid like my son, that is amazing!

Worried about sounds at night?  The teachers forewarned there would be a lot of sounds at night we are not familiar with.  They played animal sounds and asked us to guess the name of the animals.  They had pictures to show us.  We talked about bears, racoons, snakes, chipmunks, wolves, loons, deers, squirrels, coyotes, fox, and many many more animals.  They made it sound so fun by night the kids were actually challenging each other to identify sounds at night!

In the end, my son cried a grand total of 3 times.  First time on Day 1, Hour #1, when we were playing in the playground and he was scared of touching the spider webs.  At 4PM during the Learn to Fish program because he didn't catch any fish and in the middle of the night because of leg pains (he has the same at home whenever he does a lot of activities during the day).  The crying during the day was training - he is learning to control emotions so we gave him the place and time and he recovered rather quickly.  The crying at night?  We did what we do all the time at home - after a dosage of tylennol he was back in bed.

And now that I come to think about it --- he complained a lot at first about all the carrying (chairs, equipment) and needing help with this and that....by Day 2 he understood when we camp, we do things together and everyone chips in.  And when we can't do something we try it first - because everyone is just trying too.  And if we just can't do it, then we ask for help.

It was all quite stress free - and wonderful

LAST BUT NOT LEAST....

Food is not included in the program but just in case you are wondering....the chef in the family (not me!) prepared this:

Day 1 

Lunch - My husband packed pre made sushi rolls from home and we boiled some fresh corn

Dinner - Pasta, garlic bread, meat balls and salad...and cucumbers with hummus

Midnight Snack - Octopus dogs 

Day 2

Breakfast - hot dogs and instant noodles!  I made banana bread from home too

Lunch - while we packed, chef made wings.  We took all the left overs and took it to the beach:  corn, wings, sausages, bread, and blueberries and chips

We all had a blast and plan on returning - you can only do the Learn to Camp twice.  First time as a novice and the second time as a graduate....Next time we will definitely stay for 2 nights

In addition to all the lessons, experience and fun, we had tons of freebies!!!  cups, teddy bears, gift bags, maps, fishing gear, colouring books...it surely kept the kids interested!