CANOE TRIP (#2)

     Going into this trip I was very excited to have a break from everything school and just have some time away. After class we gathered our life jackets and canoes and set off for the lake. Driving on our route I kept thinking how much Edward Abbey would disapprove of our travel. He would probably want us to walk miles to get to a natural running lake rather than pull up with our vans and walk down a cement path. Our first challenge was getting our canoes from the van down to the lake. This first task was much harder than I expected but I kept up my attitude and trekked on. This day, the winds were a lot stronger than expected and when we set off we seemed to be in continuous combat with the waves. I knew how to paddle board and kayak but with these winds and waves the steering was much harder with the bigger boat. We all ended up getting push to the other side of the lake and we rode in on the wind. Setting out the second time was not as successful and as we set out parallel to the waves we got tossed out and ran towards the shore. It was a funny moment and we all were just laughing at the fact that we were all over-confident about our ability to not tip over. it was my one concern for the trip but when it happened it was really no big deal. 

    The next task of getting back was probably the hardest part of the day. We went off again and went off until we were pushed to the other side of the lake. All the waves were pushing this way so getting through them was a fight we were continuously losing. We tried using our paddle to push off and ended up trying to walk it down the shore. This ended up being an equally hard task as my feet were sinking about 8 inches deep in mud and my shoes were about to get lost. This is where I began to lose a bit of patients and had been worn out from the paddling against the wind. After a long haul we made it to the shore and we were assisted in bringing up the canoe to the van. It was a different experience than I had expected but it was something I will never forget and can laugh about looking back on. 

    Throughout the trip a few things I kept thinking about was how at the hands of nature I was and how little Edward Abbey would approve of my nature efforts. Whether I was fighting against the wind, water, or mud no matter how hard I tried nature won. No wonder nature was been the soul focus of countless poetry, novels, essays, and books. It is the biggest constant we have in this world and as much as we try to control our lives, nature is the only thing we succumb to. You can control it would can only adjust around it. It's unpredictable, powerful, and wild in every sense of the world. I think the biggest thing I've noticed from this class is how out of touch I've been with the world around me. I have been in such a habit of just staying inside and when I am outside I am not enjoying it or looking around me. I love looking at nature through my windows of comfort but I am glad to have opportunities to be in it and get my hands dirty. it makes me remember constantly being outside as a kid and the days running around the playgrounds and playing with bugs. I want to make the out doors a bigger part of my life and not take my surroundings for granted. The environment is such an important part of the community and our lives and building up that appreciation is the biggest step forwards towards making a difference. 

    Overall it was a great day and after all of our hard work we got to watch the sunset over the lake. A beautiful ending to a long trek.








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