Camping on Deer Island

I can't get over the Canadian mania for camping. Every native Canadian, it seems, is born with a hockey stick in hand and immediately swaddled in a sleeping bag and a tent. As I bike around my neighbourhood, whether in Fredericton or St. George, I see young Canucks setting up tents on their front lawns. They like to sleep in tents in the summer, even if it's right outside their own bungalows. Ok, so maybe its a bunch of teenagers who want to drink, smoke pot and have crazy sex parties. Obviously, you have to get out of the purview of your parents if you really want to kick it up. But putting up a tent on your front lawn doesn't exactly shield you from public scrutiny. No, it seems they just like sleeping in tents.

I've been here for two years already, so now I have to really prove that I got what it takes to live here and do this Canadian camping thing. I already have a cheap-ass sleeping bag and a one-man tent from Canadian Tire, which together didn't cost me more than $50, even without Tire Money.

I got hiking boots and gumboots, which I have to tell you are de rigueur in Atlantic Canada. People go to the mall in gumboots, that's how much they're part of the standard Maritime attire. I have a large rucksack, flashlight, bug spray, sun screen, polysporin, rain jacket, a bathing suit, shorts and jeans, and at least six pairs of socks packed and ready to go for this weekend. The only thing I forgot to bring is the damned camera. Next time.

This is my second summer in St. George. I had decided in May that this was the summer I would go to Deer Island. I live on Mascarene Road, and have biked to the Deer Island Ferry many times. Along with Greene's Point Lighthouse, its one of my favourite spots in the area. The ferry is free.

So when I heard that the Fundy Bay Keepers were going camping this weekend on Deer Island, I absolutely had to go. So far everything looks good. Rain on Thursday, but the next three weekend days will be perfectly sunny. I have a cheap-ass tarp that I also bought at Canadian Tire to cover my recently imported scooter, but fortunately my scoot is now stored in the walk-out basement, so I can use the tarp to cover the wet ground and build a tarp lean-to for myself.

This particular campsite is at the far southern end of Deer Island, on the waterfront. There's a pot luck barbecue scheduled (of course, the other thing Canadians like to do—barbecue), beach combing, a boat ride, and pointless meandering to look at all the beautiful wildflowers, bees, rocks and lichens, otherwise known as hiking.

Some caveats: I am afraid of bears and coyotes. I do not mess with them. I give them their space with all due respect, as I would for any large predator, including my older brother, whom I haven't even said hello to in 25 years. But as long as we're going as a group, I'm ok with that.

I got a small pot for cooking, knife and fork, and I'm bringing my usual vegetarian staples: potatoes, apples and oatmeal. Along with granola bars, water and tea, that should keep me from starving. For the pot luck, I'm bringing a half dozen portobello mushrooms and an herbed olive oil marinade, so I can have my own "favourite burger" while everybody else eats meat.

UPDATE: Thursday, Aug. 26. I've decided to bike all the way to Deer Island Point Campgrounds. How could I pass this up? I really want the challenge of biking all the way to the end of the island and camping for three days. I'll have a lot to carry, and some fellow campers have offered to stop if they see me on the road and I look like I'm not going to make it, and take some of the load off my bike. But I'm determined to ride the whole way. It will take several hours.

I forgot to pack tire tubes in case of a blowout. This is starting to look a little sketchy. And OMG, do I really have enough socks?

More when I get back. . .

Ok, I'm back. I had enough socks; I didn't have a tire blowout, no bears or coyotes. Check.

But I had the blast of a lifetime, unforgettable. See the following post.