guide

24
A Walk in the Park
Algonquin travel becomes family tradition
Algonquin Park has a way of getting under the skin.
Just ask Jack Wadsworth, Honorary Chair of Morgan
Stanley and owner of Muskoka landmarks Bigwin
Island and Port Cunnington Lodge. At the age of nine,
Wadsworth was introduced to the delights of his first
Muskoka summer by his grandfather (and mentor)
during a stay at Deerhurst Resort. It wasn’t long before
the pair – often joined by Wadsworth’s father – were
venturing farther afield, exploring the wilderness that
is Algonquin Park on what became regular fishing and
camping trips often lasting days at a time.
Today, it’s Wadsworth who’s doing the mentoring.
Along with his adult children and their offspring,
members of the Wadsworth family (some as young as
seven) disappear into Algonquin Park for a few days of
quality time together every summer.
“Those first trips with my grandfather were intense,” he
says. “It was usually just the two of us for days on end.
It’s such an incredible bonding time. That’s the same way
I feel when I’m in the wilderness, in Algonquin, with my
grandchildren.”
It matters not, says Wadsworth, that these overnight
trips are so much shorter than those he’s done in
the past – it’s still wilderness, and one he’s pleased
to say hasn’t changed much since his own boyhood
adventures. He’s also quick to point out that these
regular outings offer unique opportunities to introduce
younger members of the family to the great outdoors in
the hope they’ll catch the wilderness bug just as he did.
He adds, each trip teaches youngsters rudimentary
skills they’d likely not otherwise be exposed to. For
example, a typical trip to Algonquin’s Opeongo Lake
involves three nights of camping in the bush, traversing
portages, breaking camp every morning and pitching
tents again at night. In between, lessons are taught and
learned regarding seemingly simple but vital things,
such as the best bark to use when starting a fire (birch),
how to prepare camp, and how to properly portage
while carrying a canoe and packsack and then, of
course, there are the rewards for all that effort and hard
work, such as paddling around a bend in a mossy creek
only to find a gigantic moose standing at the shoreline
looking at you.
“The out of doors and wilderness are things we’re all
naturally inclined toward,” says Wadsworth. “And to
experience it and to facilitate that experience is very
satisfying. Experiencing nature is so important for kids as
they grow-up. There’s a real nature deficit today, and trips
like this can help close that gap between the environment
and the modern world we live in. To be a well balanced
person, you need to connect those two worlds.”
It’s a connection that, in Muskoka at least, many future
generations will continue to enjoy.