My first solo canoe trip was my first camping trip period and I remember it as equal parts thrilling, peaceful and overwhelming. This was before I knew about such things as yoke pads and that first portage (300 rods from Bruin Lake to Little Gabbro) was a life-changing struggle.  I stayed in four days, got lost a lot on the first day and then mostly base-camped on Bald Eagle and spent a lot of time fishing, reading, trying out all the skills I'd been reading about for the months prior to the trip, and trying not to let my imagination run wild with every sound I heard in the woods.  I went over Memorial Day weekend and it was rainy for the first couple of days, but then on the third day the sun came out and I sat on a rock on the shoreline soaking it in.  I sat there a long time, long enough that a red squirrel came out from under a rock and sat with me almost directly on my foot.  That was a moment where I felt like I was part of the landscape and not just passing through it.  I left the next day after running out of food.  But I was hooked and have been going back multiple times every year since.