Friends find refuge from technology in Ontario cottage country
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Hasan Merali and two friends travel from Oakville, Ontario, to Killarney, a remote community on the Canadian Shield, each year for a week of disconnection.
For nearly 30 years, Merali has visited his friend’s family cottage, a journey that now requires a 3.5-hour drive plus a 30-minute boat ride. The cottage lacks running water and electricity, relying instead on lake water, an outhouse, and recently, solar power.
The friends intentionally seek out the lack of cell service to reconnect with nature and with each other, recreating experiences from Merali’s childhood before the prevalence of mobile phones. They spend their days exploring, completing cabin maintenance, and enjoying simple activities like chopping wood and playing card games. Evenings centre around a wood-burning sauna and stargazing, made clearer by the absence of city lights.
A guest book at the cottage documents their visits over decades, chronicling their changing lives alongside the enduring constancy of the camp itself. Merali notes that the camp provides a yearly opportunity to slow down, unplug from modern life, and strengthen intergenerational bonds with his friends, recalling memories of his father who first brought him to the location. The camp has become a place where they can reconnect and remember what is important.
