Last weekend the Troop went on its annual canoe trip. 23 people in all made the trek with 3 staying at base camp and 20 making the loop trip. This year was certainly an adventure. High winds and low water made much of the trip a challenge.
We arrived at Attean Lake at noon and decided to head over to the camp site before lunch. The high winds made quite a chop on the lake and it took us well over an hour to get to the camp site. Little did we know that the wind would continuously haunt us over the whole weekend.
We headed out on the loop portion of the trip on Friday morning and got to the portage in decent time. The portage itself is 1.2 miles through the woods and we had a lot of gear to transport. It took us several trips and several hours to make the portage, but we did it. All the leaders were extremely proud of the boys who worked hard and didn't complain.
We were to find out soon that the hard work had just begun. We had lunch and started across Holeb Lake. The further we got the harder the wind blew. It was tough work keeping the boats straight and harder work to make progress. Ever so slowly we made it forward. A few of the canoes had more trouble than other and soon fell far behind. Fortunately, a very nice gentleman in a small power boat came to their rescue. By 5:00 we had made it across the lake, rearranged some of the canoe teams and headed down river toward the camp site.
Being on the river was nice. The wind was not our enemy and the current was our friend. The low water level, however, made it a little tricky to avoid sand bars and the such. We didn't make it to the camp site that we had hoped to make it to. Instead, we found a campsite around 6:30 and decided it was best to stop there. Good thing we brought tents this time. The cabins at Holeb falls were still over an hour away.
While Brad got the fire going and supper started, everyone else set up camp. We ate supper, cleaned up, went for a swim, and hit the sack early. It had been a very long day and we needed the rest.
The next morning started with a Moose sighting. Brad made sausage, eggs and hash browns. We had boiled some water the night before and we boiled some more. It was hot and we were going through water faster than we could filter it. We headed out by 8:30. With the wind to our back and the current on our side we hoped that being 6 mile behind schedule would not be a problem.
The day progressed well even though the low water level made it necessary to line or drag the canoes in several spots. We portaged at Holeb Falls and had lunch. We were now about half a day behind schedule, but Brad had built plenty of time into the plan so we knew that we were going to be alright.
Once again we had to line and drag our canoes down both Spencer Rips and Attean Falls. Shortly after the Falls we came to the lake. Lisa and Shari met us there with the power boat. Boy were we happy to see them. We were tired of paddling. It was a good thing, too. Without the boat we may never had made it back.
Captain Ron took over the helm and we tied the canoes into two lines behind. As we headed back across the lake the waves and wind got higher and higher. Soon I looked forward and the chop was so high the prop of the boat was coming out of the water every time it went down the back side of a wave. Then all of a sudden one the lines of canoes had come loose and floated behind us. After a few minutes of frantic retying we got thing squared away as one long line and headed off again. A few minutes later a holler from behind called for a full stop. One of the canoes was not balanced well and was taking on water over the side. Some adjusting of gear straightened things out and we made it back to the camp site without further incident.
In fact, the rest of the trip went without incident. The trip was a great example of how important it is to follow the tenets of "Trek Safely" Proper planning, proper equipment, and proper adult supervision made the trip not only possible, but made some potentially dangerous situations safe.
Thanks to Brad for planning and guiding the trip, to Ron for his nautical expertise and the use of his boat and to Lisa for planning and taking care of all the food. Thank you also to all the adults for their help and experience.
0 comments:
Post a Comment