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Paddling your boat gently down the stream,
you may merrily discover how to enjoy life as if it were but a
dream...
Article about a previous white water dream vision quest
reprinted from The Montreal Gazette Travel Section, 96/4/20
Imagine canoeing across a sheet of sparkling liquid
diamond by day, tanning peacefully to a gentle dip-and-swing paddling
rhythm, interrupted occasionally by the thrill of having to navigate
logs and ledges down channels of white water. Then, imagine the
call of loons at sunset and the welcome, gentle wafting aroma
of campfire stir-fry, while you discover, by night, how to navigate
the tandem inner world of dreams.
Just such an adventure has been dreamt up by Lucid
Adventures of Montreal, Quebec, a company which organizes
week-long lucid living paddling trips down Quebec's fabled Dumoine
River. By combining the findings of cutting edge dream research
at Montreal's Sacré Coeur Hospital and California's Stanford University
with canoe tripping in Canada's wilderness, Lucid Adventures specializes
in training people about the nature and beneficial
waking applications of dreams and lucid
dreams in a unique outdoor adventure setting.
The River
Richly steeped in the history of turn
of the century lumber men, the Dumoine River is widely considered
one of the best white-water experiences in central Canada. Three
hours north-west of Ottawa, it plunges some 500 feet down the
rocky granite of the Laurentian Highlands, weaving between steep
pine-covered hills and picturesque cliffs that often offer surprisingly
crisp echoes to floaters-by, and emptying finally into the Ottawa
River.
The adventure begins even before paddle and water get acquainted,
since access upriver is provided by an incredible, breathtaking
bush flight with canoe strapped to pontoon. The half-hour flight
provides an unmatched, bird's-eye view of the twisting and turning
hills, lakes, thirty or so rapids, and dozen waterfalls that will
fill the week to follow with the remarkable sights, exciting paddling,
and portages that make up the Dumoine.
Landing at Alligator Point, adventurers set up camp near intriguing,
turn of the century style "skidders" - large steam-powered
contraptions that used to haul themselves across land by powerful
winches or tow log booms across lakes by paddle wheel.
Along the river, a sharp eye may spot occasional moose, wolves,
or deer, while encounters with beavers, otters, muskrat, mink,
nesting hawks and eagles, and other wildlife (which often includes
members of the camping party once the fetters of society are removed)
are par for the course. Loons too, will surely pop up here and
there, calling each other with their eerie wilderness laughter.
Swimming open-mouthed is fine, since Dumoine water is (surprise!)
pleasantly pure and drinkable. Another delight, a level of magnitude
larger, comes upon reaching Grand Chute, near mid trip.
Camped on the parapet over the most spectacular of four series
of falls, the feeling of a fine, fresh spume on the face is matched
only by the incredible view of a gorge whose sheer cliff walls
have been carved over a hundred feet high by thousands of years
of rushing water.
At Grande Chute and elsewhere, a camera is a must but make sure
it's packed like everything else -- water-tight and shock-proof.
For cameras, a commercially available Pelican Box is ideal and
provides quick access for that unexpected otter. For clothes and
food, waterproof dry bags are a worthwhile investment, but doubled-up
garbage bags work okay in a pinch. Re-package the camera once
you're done. It's one less worry if a storm whips up, and even
if it's sunny, your paddling partner may decide you look too dry.
And just when it seems that the trip can't get any better, it's
cheese and tomato on rye, or peanut butter and jam if you prefer,
and maybe a sesame snap or granola bar, as the shores of the Dumoine
whisk by the flotilla of lashed-together canoes while everyone
enjoys a floating lunch on the last day of the trip. Then, drifting
lazily around a bend in the river, the crew of now-veteran Dumoiners
quietly stir from a post-meal nap, humbled in awe beneath the
rugged, towering beauty of majestic 550 foot Eagle Cliffs.
Sleep Skills, Stargazing & Saunas
The
lucid living training is fun and insightful, and ranges from sensory
illusions and philosophical allusions that explore the nature
of perception and consciousness to techniques for benefiting more
from an average night's sleep by remembering, understanding and
applying dreams practically and by learning how to have lucid
dreams.
Besides rapids and lucid living training there's plenty to do,
from swimming, hiking, fishing, rock-climbing and canoe games
all the way to astounding stargazing away from city lights, especially
early in August, meteor-shower month, where a couple shooting
stars a minute is common, and apparently conducive to dreaming
lucidly.
"Sleeping beside everyone out under the
stars," said businessman Doug Baard of Montreal, about his
final night of the expedition, "I suddenly, spontaneously
realized I was dreaming, and launched myself Superman-style into
an exhilarating, long, soaring flight -- my first lucid dream
in years."
Or if you need to relax tired paddling muscles at day's
end, then take a sauna. Yes, a home-made sweat-lodge, no kidding
- a true Lucid Adventures specialty. With a large tarpaulin acting
as walls and roof, sand or rocks holding down the edges, and a sturdy
stick or paddle acting as the central support teepee-style, the
sauna stands in anticipation. A few dry, tennis-ball-sized rocks,
get heated on a grill over the campfire, and then everyone huddles
under the tarp as the last two people carry in a full pot of water
and the rock-laden grill using thick, wet gloves and appropriate
caution. A dab of tigerbaum in the water or a few pine needles on
the rocks becomes a sinus cleansing treat, and once everyone's nicely
steamed, a quick dash into the cool evening water under the stars
is truly divine, but just one of many highlights on this outdoor
adventure definitely worth scheduling into your 'waking Dream' --
a term the folks at Lucid Adventures affectionately use to describe
life.
Find out more about this year's Outdoor
Adventures and Retreats, or about
courses, lectures and workshops on dreams and lucid dreams
at: The DREAMS Foundation, 514-990-2113
E-mail:
info@dreams.ca, home page: www.dreams.ca
White-water canoeing, especially on remote rivers such as the Dumoine,
requires a healthy blend of white-water and camping skills, and
such excursions shouldn't be attempted by neophytes without the
benefit of a guided, instructional river tour. For experienced trippers,
an excellent paddling companion is Hap Wilson's "Rivière DUMOINE"
guidebook (phone: 519-473-2109).
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