The 8th Annual Autumn
Wimmin's 6-day 5-night Backcountry Paddling Trip
a trip for women with some backcountry camping experience
Sun Sep 22 - Fri Sep 27, 2024
registration deadline: Sun, Sep 15, 2024
Join other women into the peaceful and beautiful backcountry of Massassauga Provincial Park.
Itinerary - 6 days, 5 nights:
We'll have a choice this year- between a more physical trip, or a pretty relaxing one, with only one or 3 short-ish portages (which we’ll do twice - going ... then coming back), with a shortish paddle or a longer one. We'll decide as a group.
What you can expect -
Expect - a community of brave, creative, funny, adventurous, playful, responsible and welcoming women drawn to trees, water, fresh air, time away from the rest of what their lives hold ... and women-only space. Expect - Campfires. Shared meals. Laughter. Facilitated group experiences. Personal time - including an optional and highly recommended 24 hr solo. 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. And, together we’ll taste deeper personal and collective power, to prepare us for bringing more of our yum to the people, moments and places ahead of us.
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.
Ready to Sign up?
*A Note on Costs, Fees & Contributions; Introduction to a Gift Economy:
There are set fees for the hard costs of:
- camping permits ($60-80/person, depending on our numbers),
- parking fees ($15/night/car),
- boat rental ($62/day/canoe; accessories included, if required), and for your meal contribution. (keep 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 would love for you to discern for yourself 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 with me.
And, for those completely uncomfortable with that idea, I offer the following
- Supporting Others to Attend: $1000 or more - Supports my offering as well as others who may not be able to contribute much
- Sustaining: $750-500 helps to sustain the life and work I offer to you and to the world.
- Payment plan: choose to contribute by installments - make a plan that works for you.
- 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.
Important Notes:
- Meals are brought and made communally - that is to say that each of us will sign up to be responsible for the meals we will be sharing. The number and size of which will be dependent on how many of us there are to divide the necessary meals among. Keep it simple is recommended! We’ll all bring snacks to share.
- Depending on numbers, you may need to share a tent with another womyn.
- There is some planned programming, but all participants are welcome to share in the leadership of each moment. Feel free to plan ahead or to share something in the moment, if you feel called to.
- canoe rental available at Massassauga Provincial Park: $62/canoe/ night= $372/ 6 days shared by 2 people, all life jacket, paddle, safety & car-loading gear included.
- you will be taking responsibility for your own safety, health and wellbeing. While I will lend my leadership & experience before and during the trip to ensure the safest possible experience, you will be required to fill out a waiver and agree to make choices that keep both you and the group physically and emotionally safe.
I’ll be sharing a link to a google doc spreadsheet where you’ll be able to sign up for meals, shared gear (to share/loan or borrow), car and canoe-sharing meet-ups and other trip-related info.
Ready to Sign up?
Interested but have a few questions? Fill out the form below.
Looking forward to being out there and to co-creating the magic that will become the Women’s Wilderness Paddling Trip 2024!
Welcome!!