It’s been awhile since I’ve had the chance to go camping. June is such a wonderful time in this city as there is so much going on here and with the weather just starting to get nice, it’s hard not to want to be outside doing anything and everything. In the beginning of the month, I noticed that between all my appointments and the festivities in town, there were a few days where a camping trip just might be possible and I knew exactly where I wanted to go: Saskatchewan Landing. I’ve seen this provincial park several times on the way to and from star parties in Cypress Hills and I always thought it looked so beautiful and serene. I was even ready to go a few years ago, but a family emergency came up that prevented the trip from going ahead. So, I booked my trip and in between Euro 2016 matches, I packed up my gear. Then, I was off not realizing what was in store for me.
The forecast had changed the day I left and of course, so did the weather. My drive south became a race with the black clouds that were rapidly moving in from the west. I figured that if I could get to my site and get my tent up, I’d be okay. Alas, the wind did not like my plan and made it as hard as possible for me to set up my site. The tent went up though and after relaxing a bit on my personal beach in front of my site (in the howling winds), I decided that it was time for dinner. Despite having forgotten a firestarter, I had my waterproof matches. My stove wouldn’t start though. No, it wasn’t the wind stopping me. I was out of fuel! Luckily, I had some salad with me, but what would I do for the rest of my trip? I headed to the convenience store on the grounds, only to find that they were closed for the first 2 days of my 3 day trip. Now what? I got back to my site just in time to hide in my tent. The clouds had reached the campground and I settled in for an evening of rain softly rapping on my tent. But what came was an amazing storm with lots of lightning and thunder. While I sat, amazed by the power of nature, I discovered that my tent wasn’t completely waterproof. I had 3 leaks! I know, it could have been much worse, but by this time, my frustration was reaching it’s peak. I had just discovered that my computer was refusing to play DVD’s and the power to my site was not working. Frustration was an understatement! But, the storm eventually subsided and I was able to get out for a short while to get myself ready for bed before having to hide back in my tent once again for the next wave of rain.
Thinking that it was smart to leave wood in my car to stay dry during the storm, I pulled a few logs out to cook my breakfast old school on a log fire. However, I had forgotten the amount of kindling I would actually need and everything around was far too wet to use. Luckily I had some power bars and fruit packed away and with that, I had enough energy to begin exploring. I drove to the south side of the park to pick up some information at Goodwin House, one of the early homes built in the area by settlers.
I continued down the road to the Prairie Vista Trail head. This hour long trail takes you through some of the different landscapes that can be seen in a prairie coulee. I was lucky enough to find a wide variety of birds and wildflowers.
Despite the high winds, it was getting a little hot and still since I’m still dealing with a bit of a back problem, I only went halfway down the spur trail before returning to the main trail. But I decided to try a little video from the highest point on the trail.
I drove around the park a bit before returning to camp to relax and decide what to do next. The beach was not ready for people, the wind made the lake to treacherous for kayaking, and I wasn’t sure if one of the longer trails would be too much for my back. After all, hill walking is tough! I checked the weather on my cellphone and realized that the weather was only going to get worse. With no food and a bad headache, I made the call to pack up early and go home. I had a cold can of chili and began fighting the wind again, this time, to strike my tent. I threw everything in my car and headed off for one more hike before leaving the park.
The Ridges and Ravines Trail is a short half hour walk near the camp sites. It is quite a trail though as it goes up the valley and back down quite quickly. But the view is lovely! It was a little scary at the top as there are no rails which I would normally appreciate on a trail, but on an extremely windy day, vertigo is a real problem. At one point, I was tempted to start crawling, but decided that taking off my hat so that I wouldn’t make any silly attempts to save it might be the better option. Needless to say that I was a bit too scared to try a video this time!
Even though this trip was a disaster, some of it my fault and some of it nature’s fault, I would love to go back to Sask Landing. It’s a place that definitely has it’s charm and there’s so much more exploring to do. Let’s hope my third attempt goes better!
Note: None of the above photos have been edited in anyway.