case" made by Kanuk (the one with the owl logo on it). I love this sleeping bag because it's well insulated, comfortable, and it also keeps your head warm and supported, almost like a built-in pillow. Only downside to this sleeping bag is that it's not comfortable if you prefer to sleep on your side or in the fetal position.

Now if you're getting to your campsite by canoe (especially if it's on an island), I would definitely suggest the green colored "Old Town" canoes made in Maine. Their sturdy and since they're made of wood, they're rather light and easy to carry, this comes in handy especially when you take them on portages (carry them from the side of one river to the side of another over land)

Water is also VERY important to have handy. If you can bring a big jug of water that you turn the tap, do so and make sure that it's full of fresh water before heading out. Remember, lake water isn't drinking water.

Lastly, don't forget to bring a good book (or if you're like me & my fiance; "THE Good Book") to read and pass the time.

Long story short; to camp, you just need to bring the necessities of survival plus something to pass the time like a book or deck of cards, or if you camping with someone; maybe a chess set.

Do NOT bring anything electric like laptop, video games, tv, cd player etc. I can't stress this enough, camping is a time to GET AWAY FROM IT ALL, so don't start bringing it with you! If you camp alone, then it's a good idea to bring a cell phone ONLY in case of emergency. That means turn off the cell phone while camping and only turn it on if you need medical attention or similar unforeseen problems arise. AM/FM radios are helpful for weather forecast; if you don't like camping in rain, you can pack your things and head home when the radio calls for rain later in the day/night.

Camping is a time to relax and only worry about preparing the next meal (if you bring food that needs preparation as oposed to just snacks) and time to enjoy nature's beauties like the clear lakes that mirror the forest on the other side or the hooping crane that sings at the rising of the sun. It's a time to sort things out for your life and see who you are without all the extra distractions (such as Hollywood or gossip).

It was also my best time with papa (french word for dad and how I always called him). Many of life's most important lessons, I learned while camping with dad. The most important ones are probably "how to live day-by-day" as well as "it'll be ready when it's ready".

Day by day means to focus on what's going on TODAY... "I scraped my knee today so I'm not going to worry about the bruise I had on my elbow that healed last week and I'm going to take care of the knee."

"It'll be ready when it's ready"... I don't know how many times I checked my watch while asking dad "How many minutes before the food's ready?" Dad would always answer "It'll be ready when it's ready." Took me many years to figure out that a lot of things in life don't work in minutes and seconds, but in nature's fashion of readiness. This lesson doesn't apply only to cooking food over fire (or stove), but to everything that has to do with nature, life, health, relationships and mortality. I still need to remind myself of this lesson at the age of 29, but I finally truly understood it best during the month papa was dying of cancer as well as the month following his death.

Those two months have been the time where the love that I have seen throughout my life of my family and community , in small doses, really overwhelm me. Papa taught me many things while camping and I hope that one day, I may continue that way of sharing and sowing values for the next generation.

Thanks, dad. Merci, Papa.

Learn more about this author, Alexandre Muise.
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