As a permanently (and most accurately) labelled princess, most people would not expect to hear that I just returned from a weekend camping trip. Nonetheless, I'm here to tell you about my experience, some lessons learned and share some fun moments from my trip.
I have gone camping since I was a little girl so when I was invited to go on a trip with three of my best friends I was excited that I would be able to have a little adventure, especially since this is my first summer fully away from my family. That being said, as many of you may know from my previous blog posts or my instagram, I am 30 weeks pregnant, which I have to say did make things a little interesting...
The place we stayed at was called Grand Pin, which is in the east side of Mont Tremblant National Park. We had a regular community washroom and a fire pit, but other than that we were on our own (ahem, not even any cell service). The park is truly beautiful, and also truly enormous. We definitely did not anticipate the size until we arrived and had to take a 2 hour detour just because one road was closed!
There are a lot of lakes throughout the park, as well as waterfalls and natural beaches. The first day we were there we went to the beach for most of the morning, and then decided to go pedal boating in the afternoon. We ended our evening with a nice big campfire and little feast. The next day, we packed up a little early and drove to the other side of the park, where we found another beach to stay at for the morning. After that we explored three different waterfalls, and then headed home.
One thing I thought I would touch on is some things that I packed. Most people wouldn't predict that I am actually a fairly light packer, and I like to think I have mastered the art. For sleeping I brought two blankets and two pillows (very light packing for someone who is in their third trimester...). In terms of sleeping we slept in a tent, which would have been okay except I highly recommend an air mattress, pregnant or not. For me being in my third trimester, I have to sleep on my side, which is not particularly comfortable when you are laying on cold hard ground! Only a few hours into the night my arms and legs were all numb, and I don't think the baby was particularly comfortable either because he or she was doing little summersaults. For the second night, I ended up sleeping in the backseat of the car, which was a better option but still not particularly comfortable. The other girls I'm sure would agree that an air mattress would have been an enormous asset, and had we had one I know my 2 pillows/2 blankets would have been enough for me.
For clothes, we were only there for two days, so I found it plenty to have with me the following: one pair of shorts, one pair of pants, two tshirts, a long sleeve, a hoodie, a sundress, one bathing suit and my undergarments. For shoes I brought one pair of running shoes and one pair of flip flops, and I also brought a baseball hat which I hardly ever took off! It was beautiful during the day, but it cooled off at night, so I definitely needed the extra layers for the evenings.
I would say I have a pretty solid morning/night routine, but for camping I try to keep it as simple as I can. All I brought for skincare was face wipes, my moisturizer, face sunscreen and lip balm. I found this to be just enough, especially since I was not wearing any makeup. I did my hair the day that I left, so all I had to do each day was brush it and put my hat on. Other than that, I had sunscreen for my body (Hawaiian Tropic is the only kind that I use), as well as after-sun moisturizer. The last but debatably most important item was bug spray, as well as after-bite. The girls used almost the entire can of bug spray that I brought! Since I am pregnant I wasn't able to use any, and I am not usually prone to getting bitten. That being said, I got eaten alive! My little tube of after-bite was my saving grace. I wish I would have looked into some natural bug sprays or essential oils I could have used to help me out a little bit.
I will admit, for the weekend I did not follow my usual diet at all. The trip was decided pretty last minute (and by that I mean the night before), and we only had a fire to cook our food with. I definitely had too much gluten, and even a bit of dairy but because I knew my stomach would be upset, I brought along some multi enzyme pills which helps to break down the food your system has trouble digesting. For breakfast, I found fruit and muffins were easy and didn't involve cooking. Other than that, I have to say I ate a ton of hot dogs (I eat mine without the bun). On our second night we made mini flatbread pizzas over the fire with a baking sheet and I think we were all happy to have a meal that didn't involve any hot dogs! We did have some treats, namely marshmellows and I can't say we didn't polish off quite a few bags of potato chips.
As for my overall experience, I had a great time. I'm so glad I got to spend some quality time with some of my best friends before my life gets a little crazy come September. We had so many memorable moments that we will be able to talk and laugh about long into the future! I loved being able to spend a lot of our time swimming and floating on the different lakes, especially being pregnant and in the heat - I get very uncomfortable! Being in the water and swimming helps so much, I would consider that my top recommendation for any fellow moms-to-be out there! The girls also really loved pedal boating, and although I am permanently skeptical of them from my own past experience, I had a great time too. We brought our speaker out with us and it was so relaxing to just take in the beauty of the park from our boat. Also, if you have ever actually been in a pedal boat you know that it can really be a test of teamwork, but is always a hilarious experience.
We had (quite literally at times) a few bumps in the road, but those moments are always the ones you laugh the most about in the future. For your enjoyment though, here are a few of them...
Like I mentioned, we got turned around on a long detour when we first arrived, and coincidentally it was also starting to get dark. Now, I don't know if any of you have ever been semi-lost in a National Park with no cell service and a terrible map when it is pitch black out but it is terrifying. I'm sure you could have cut the tension in the car with a butter knife, and I know we were all relieved to have finally found our campsite.
Other than that, one of my friends (I won't name names, but if you know us I'm sure you could guess), forgot her pillow... and towel... which I would consider to be essentials for a camping trip. So we were four girls (and a half, if you count the baby) sharing three pillows and three towels, and of course all four of us are pretty into our own space! Thanks to her though, our skin was radiant because what she did remember to bring was an oversupply of face masks (cue eye roll).
Lighting our fire (and keeping it going) proved to be challenging, but I'm definitely proud of us for getting that going. I think it was a gratifying weekend in general for all of us, knowing that we could do this all on our own!
All in all, I think I had a great weekend away from the city. I hope you laughed a little at my experience, or at least at picturing me and three other girls camping. Or maybe even learned something from my mishaps...
As always, thanks to everyone for reading!
- Alix
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