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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Where and when do the events and trips start (from)? How do I get to WWE’s Northern Ontario basecamp? Do I need to be fit to come on a trip? I’m afraid I will hold others back. Should I come at all? Who comes on a Wild Women Expeditions' vacation? Wild Women Expeditions' events are for women who love the outdoors, have an adventurous spirit and enjoy the company of other women. WWE attracts women from a variety of cultures, backgrounds, lifestyles, life circumstances and also ages. Exploring the differences between women who come to WWE is as much of the experience as discovering the similarities. Women between the ages of 18-86 have come on canoe trips with us, and most trips and events enjoy an age spread. Many women who attend are in their 30s or 40s. Some have an extensive background in whatever the activity is, though they may be a bit rusty, while for other women, it may be their first experience with this activity be it a canoe trip or kayaking or cycling. We offer a selection of vacations to accommodate the interests and needs of women in these two categories and those of us in between. Our retreats and getaways have women of all ages as well and a range of experience levels with regard to the workshop theme. These events have 6 to 15 women, so the events are small enough for those women who are beginning a hobby and those with experience to work at their own pace and receive ample individual time with the resource person. Most women who sign up for a WWE vacation come on their own and make friends here. Where and when do the events and trips start (from)? Ontario-based spring, summer and fall events (with a few exemptions)* start at our basecamp, a 200 acre waterfront property with cabins and prospector tents that is a 1/2 hour drive west of Sudbury, Ontario. Sudbury is a 4 hour drive (or 45 minute flight) from Toronto. All our trips and events start after dinner around 7 pm, the evening of the first advertised date: for example, for a Temagami canoe trip of August 14-18, we meet at 7 pm the evening of the 14th at the basecamp. If you are taking an Ontario-based canoe, kayaking or cycling trip, the first evening you will have the opportunity to meet each other, have a group orientation with your guide, look at the route, etc. You will stay at the basecamp in cabins or tents, and set off on the trip after breakfast the following day. ( * There are exemptions to this each year in which the group meets closer to the actual route.) For shorter canoe trips, (say 3, 4 or 5 nts.) you return to the basecamp for your last meal together in the early afternoon of the last day. After lunch, women often celebrate with a sauna and shower before final goodbyes and departure. If you stay for everything, you can expect to leave by 3 pm. For our longer canoe trips ( 6 or 7 nts.) as well as out kayaking and cycling tours, you will get back to the WWE basecamp the last full day of your adventure late afternoon, in time for a shower, sauna and then we will have a special feast for dinner. Your last night will be in our cozy cabins. You will awake to a farewell brunch and can expect to leave by 12 noon or sonner on the last advertised date of your trip. Those of you signing up for retreats and getaways also arrive after supper. You select a cabin to be your home away from home for the duration of your stay. These cabins sleep from 1-5 women. All Retreats and Getaways end at 12 noon on the last day. For WWE
adventures held in other parts of Canada Hiking, Surfing Kayaking in the Pacific Rim: We meet the first day at Victoria airport around 2pm, and drop women off at 12 noon at Victoria airport the last day. Mountain Biking in the Rockies: We pick women up at Calgary airport 2pm on the first day and drop you off at Calgary airport 12 noon on the last day. Hiking in the Rockies: We meet the first night in Calgary, Alberta at our first night accommodations. We can drop participants at the Calgary airport on the last day by 1pm. Hiking, Kayaking and Cycling in Newfoundland: we meet the first day at Deer Lake airport around 4pm. We drop women off at Deer Lake airport the last day at 9am. Hiking in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia: we meet the first night in the town of Baddeck. It may be possible to arrange transportation from Halifax airport. We can drop participants at the Halifax airport on the last day by 12 noon. How do I get to WWE’s Northern Ontario basecamp? Transportation from your home to and from the basecamp is your responsibility: it is not included in the price. Having said that, we do help women to organize car pools to get here more economically, but we can never promise to get you a ride. If car pooling fails, there is always the bus, which will get you a mere 4 km from the basecamp. From there, we will come and pick you up. For women considering the bus from Toronto, it means leaving for Sudbury from downtown at 12:30 pm or 1 pm from Yorkdale. From Ottawa, the bus leaves at 12 noon. For your return fare, you will need to pick up the bus form Sudbury. It is fairly easy to get trip mates to drop you in Sudbury a the end of the trip as most people driving pass by Sudbury anyways. You can also fly into Sudbury. We have an arrangement with a local cab company which offers a flat rate to and from our camp. If you arrive a couple of hours before our group orientation starts the first night, the cab driver can drop you in the small town next to us for a quick bite of dinner and we can pick you up from the local restaurant. Once you get to the basecamp, we take care of transportation to and from the starting point of your trip destination. Do I need to be fit to come on an outdoor adventure? Well, “fit” is a relative term isn’t it? I am very active and reasonably fit for a 49 year old. You may be active and fit for a 30 year old or a 60 year old. Can we all have fun and do this trip together: you betcha! We don't approach paddling, cycling, or hiking as a domain of elite athletics, nor are our trips "push" trips where the focus is on getting somewhere and never really being anywhere! Hey, we're way over that! The beauty of a wilderness trip is being somewhere and, yes, we do need to get somewhere most days, but Wild Women Expedition trips seek a balance between these competing ways of being in the outdoors. Or maybe you aren’t very fit or active these days (and never have been) but an adventure holiday really appeals to you. Don't deny yourself the pleasure of a wilderness trip because of feeling out of shape. Having presented our laid-back, non-competitive philosophy on you, if your life has become rather sedate and sedentary an outdoor adventure will get you going, for sure! Preparing physically and mentally for a wilderness adventure or active holiday is very important BECAUSE if you have conditioned before your trip, you will be more comfortable and be able to get more out of it while in the experience. Wild Women trips aren’t about “proving” something to anyone (except maybe to yourself) and they sure aren’t about barely surviving: our approach is to see time to be in the wilderness as a celebration, a reconnecting with aspects of ourselves we may have become distanced from (due to life circumstances or choices.) So we really don’t want you to attempt an trip which sounds way over your head physically or psychologically. We do want to help you select the Wild Women trip which will be perfect for you now, and not push all your panic buttons like “this is way too scary!” I’m afraid I will hold others back. Should I come at all? This is the most common concern women voice to us before signing up for a WWE trip. Honey, if I thought that way (and this is Beth the Director speaking) I wouldn’t go on any of these trips either. But you know what: we don’t even THINK that way! We figure that every woman who signs up has a unique set of contributions to the group atmosphere. So, someone may be very fit and physically competent and you have a bum shoulder. Well, I have this bum knee and another gal has a weak ankle: but hey it sure isn’t time to vote me or anyone else off the island because we possess other skills not jocular. Like someone is a fantastic nurturer (okay on women’s trips: that’s often a given), someone else is an amazing story teller, another gal can read the weather and maps like no one’s business, and me I’m an awesome outdoor cook and pretty funny if I get on a roll. So, we aren’t all super athletic but we have somehow- through the goddess or serendipity- amassed the finest team of awesome dames on the planet, and wow what an adventure will be unleashed. THAT, my friends, is the magic of an all-women outdoor adventure: good company; more than a shot of collective wisdom; respect for everyone’s contribution; and an openness to the wonder of life we most closely comprehend when we travel in the wilds.
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