Woohoooo!! There are 3 Wimmin’s Backcountry Paddling Trips in 2023
hosted by Shelley
Come! Be part of the magic!
The Intro to Back Country Paddling Trip: Mon, July 24- Thurs, July 27
The Mostly Solo Trip: Mon, Aug 28- Fri, Sep 1, 2023
The Traditional 6 Day Autumn Trip: , Sun, Oct 1 - , Fri, Oct 2, 2023
Note: All trips are drug and alcohol-free. Natural highs are expected.
About each trip:
The Intro to Back Country Paddling & Camping - for women:
a Come As You Are Paddling Party!, on beautiful Georgian Bay, ON
Mon July 24- Thurs July 27, 2023
Everyone is welcome on this trip! Whatever your skill or experience level, come!
We head out into the beauty of Georgian Bay, find our base camp, have dinner, sink into the magic of the place and set our personal intentions. The pace and itinerary of the remainder of our (3) days we’ll set together, informed by our collective desires to explore, relax, play, eat, swim, read, etc. An invitation to spend a few hours of solo time on one or more of those days will be extended and is highly recommended. We’ll share food, stories, rocks, trees, wind and water and more. All participants are encouraged to bring an offering - such as singing, storytelling, art-making, etc. We’ll spend our last night sharing our collective gleanings of our camping experience magic, any insights and intentions we have for our return to our daily lives. On our last day, we’ll savour each other and the place leisurely. Don’t count on being home before evening.
What to expect: supply your own personal camping gear (borrowing encouraged); shared responsibility for bringing and preparing meals;
Costs: Participation contribution: $500 or pwychoose* (see below for more info on a gift economy context), add food contributions, parking ($12/day) and boat rental if required ($35/day)
The Mostly Solo Trip: Georgian Bay, ON
Come! Be alone. together. in the medicine that is the natural world.
Mon Aug 28 - Fri Sep 1, 2023
We head out into the beauty of Georgian Bay, find our base camp, have dinner, sink into the magic of the place, set our personal intentions and spend our first night together. The next morning, we’ll have breakfast, go over logistics and safety protocols, then find our solo spots. You’ll then have then next ~48 hours to yourself, mostly. To be. If your choose, to reflect, to read, to write, to muse ... however, you choose! I’ll stop by before nightfall to ensure you have all you need, then again sometime the on Day 3 for a quick safety check. The following day we’ll gather for dinner, to break our solos, and to share food. stories and insights. We’ll have the night to sleep on and dream about what and how to weave the gifts of our Georgian Bay time back into our daily lives. We’ll co-create our final day together, find ways to help to anchor the gifts of our Georgian Bay time in our being, and savour the moments and place before our paddle homeward. Don’t count on being home before evening.
What to expect: supply your own personal camping gear; minimal paddling, no portaging; minimal exploring; basic no-cook food while on solo; shared meal responsibility for shared meals.
Costs: Participation contribution: $500 or pwychoose* (see below for more info on a gift economy context), add food contributions, parking ($12/day) and boat rental if required ($35/day)
The 7th Annual Autum Wimmin's 6-day 5-night Backcountry Paddling Trip
a trip for women with some experience
Sun Oct 1 - Fri Oct 6, 2023
registration deadline: Sat, Sep 23, 2023
Join other women into the peaceful and beautiful backcountry of Massassauga Provincial Park. The relaxing route and itinerary has but one 300m portage on the way in & again on the way out and includes an optional and highly recommended 24 hr solo. Expect - a community of brave, creative, funny, adventurous, playful, responsible and welcoming wimmin drawn to trees, water, fresh air, time away from the rest of what their lives hold ... and wimmin-only space. Expect - Campfires. Shared meals. Laughter. Facilitated group experiences. Personal time. Potential for impromptu singing, swimming ... Joy!!! ... and, of course, magic! Expect also a wide & possibly wild range of weather, from sunny and hot to rainy and cold ... for multiple days!
This is an inivitation to bring your whole self- your gifts, your questions, your passions, emotions, fears, hopes and any other parts of you that come along and show up! Together, we will co-create memories to nourish your body, mind and spirit.
Costs: Participation contribution: $500 or pwychoose* (see below for more info on a gift economy context), add food contributions, park permit fees (~$60-80), parking ($15/day) and boat rental if required ($TBD/day)
magic:
that which arises when all of the above come together ... or, some believe, that is there all along and just requires a reminder to notice and an openness to see and experience it.
Want more info?
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*A Note on Costs, Fees & Contributions; Introduction to a Gift Economy:
There are set fees for the hard costs of camping permits, parking fees, boat rental (if required), and for your meal contribution. (I strongly recommend keeping it simple!) Beyond that, is your contribution to me (Shelley). For this, I invite you into the world and concept of the gift economy. This is a free will contribution, where you get to choose how much to give. You choose based on your own means, as well as respect for and support of the service I provide, on the trip (the organization, administration, leadership and facilitation), and also more generally, in the community, the world. For this, there is no set amount.
Why? To do my part to make the world more inclusive.
Rather than set fees that would make these experiences inaccessible to some, and ridiculously cheap to others, and in that way limit who gets to or is drawn to participate, and to bring their gifts and insights to the circle, I prefer to experiment with ways to make it such that different circles of wimmin get to touch each other. In that, here, is an invitation for each person to discern for themselves how much to give.
I recognize this may be challenging for some people. To ease the discomfort, I offer the following - support in the form of some financial guidelines for those who are new to the gift economy. It is intended as support for you, not as specific requests. I invite you to register using a gift economy approach so that more can have access, so that we all get to benefit from traveling together, and so that my life (work) can also be sustainable. I ask that you give the most that you can without overstretching or resentment. I invite you to be generous with both yourself, and me.
- Supporting Others to Attend: $750 or more - Covers your registration and supports others who may not be able to give the full amount.
- Sustaining: $500 sustains the life and work I offer to you and to the world.
- Payment plan: 4 payments of $125. Installment payments are offered to support your ease and also sustain my work.
- Increased Accessibility: $150 If you are from a marginalized group; or part of the global south, regardless of where you live.
- Choose your amount: If the above options are still a barrier for you to join, please choose the amount you can give. Restoring the gift flow also means stretching into receiving.
Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. Email shelleyhannah@proton.me or call me at 519-994-0449.