Allison Jamieson-Lucy
10/14/01
Writing Assignment #1
Red

         Lake Opinicon

Paddling across a smooth lake, making only a small swish as the canoe paddle touches the water, I can only think of the beauty of Lake Opinicon tucked within the trees of Ontario, Canada.  There are waterfalls, secret lakes, and hidden streams all about. 
Often I explore these secret lakes with my family.  We try to avoid the poison ivy that lines the old overgrown paths that we use for portage.  When we finally get to our final destination, Heart Lake or Rock Lake or maybe the Mill Ponds, the sight of any one of those lakes is wonderful enough to take your breath away.  At Heart Lake, a waterfall, small yet powerful, courses its way out of the lake and into the marsh nearby.  At another lake, an abandoned beaver dam makes a great place to fish.  Each lake casts its own spell.
 Fishing here is a special joy.  The sunnies are feisty and strong, making them seem like big fish.  Large sunnies take bait like a thunderbolt pulling the bobber way underneath the surface of the lake.  We show off our catch and throw it back in.  We not only fish with worms, but also with lures, trying to catch the mighty northern pike.  Weed fish, large clumps of pesky lake weeds caught on our hooks, set off the fish alarm more often than not. 
Lake Opinicon is riddled with islands.  My favorite is called Skycroft Island.  We walk to the old creaky rope ferry that gets us across the strait to the island and feel its rough scratch as we pull our way ashore.  Across we go rocking in the wind.  At last we get to the island.  After stumbling across the steep rocky ground and leaping the crevices of the island, I run to play in the water as it rushes over the slick, snail covered rocks.  The beach is nearby and I often walk from Skycroft Island to the beach.  I splash in the water trying to catch the fast, sneaky minnows and I reel as the water weeds grab my feet.  I swim farther out in the lake to the diving raft and jump off into the clear, cold water. It chills me, but a warm fluffy towel is waiting for me at the shore. 
I hate the last day of any vacation.  Leaving Lake Opinicon is the worst. I ride along on my last canoe trip. I take my last hike and see all of the things that I still want to do, yet haven’t done.  Then I go home and look forward to next year’s trip to Lake Opinicon.

Note: When this essay was written Allison Jamieson-Lucy was a sixth grade camper who comes to Skycroft each year with her parents and grandparents. She wrote the work above as a school assignment. Her dad thought we might enjoy it and sent it to us. We thought you might enjoy it too!