The wolf may be able to show off its strength and agility in the wilderness, but it is the Raven who carries the knowledge of the forest.

My Friday morning was filled with excitement as I frantically rushed to school for the trip to Grouse Mountain. Shortly after the buses arrived at the base of the mountain we set off to explore the various wonders that Grouse Mountain had to offer.

Our first stop was the wolf habitat where we saw two grey wolves and a brown wolf interacting with each other. The brown wolf stood righteously in his habitat showing himself off, demonstrating to us and the other wolves that he was the leader of the pack.

After visiting the majestic wolves we entered the gondola station and prepared to board the older and "more sketchy looking" gondola. Our ride up the mountain felt like a crazy roller coaster ride. In reality, the gondola was travelling safely and efficiently.

At the top of the mountain we walked to the Hiwus Long House where we were taught about the aboriginal people. The aboriginal instructor related to us the history of his ancestors. I especially enjoyed the dancing that took place in the long house. I danced as a Raven, pointing up my nose at the roof and holding my hands at my waist. Others danced as wolves, showing off their strength throughout their dancing.

After the breathtaking performance in the Hiwus Long House our group walked to the bear habitat in hopes of seeing the massive bears, Koola and Grinder. Our first visit to the habitat turned out to be disappointing as the bears were nowhere to be seen. After lunch we returned to the habitat and luckily saw the two bears. I saw Koola relaxing on a comfy snow covered rock. When the fog cleared the other bear, Grinder, could be seen and believe me, he was massive. I'm sure he would have had no problem tearing us to shreds if he wanted. Yep, even Mr.Wilson. Link to Grouse Mountain bear video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpOWV0vDejY&feature=player_embedded

Unfortunately, our time with the bears had to come to an end. We travelled to another shelter where we learned about various phyla that exist in the biological ecosystems of the world. Luckily, I had already been taught the information by Mr. D. The activity we did was a breeze and I felt "honoured" when my group begged me to help them! Afterwards we viewed a presentation about skulls and how to identify whether or not they belonged to an omnivore, carnivore, or herbivore. During the presentation I had my picture taken with a dead bear. Its jaws where big enough to wrap around my head!

As always, another excellent Edge outing had eventually come to an end. After boarding the bus all I can remember is falling sleep and waking up in Walnut Grove.

Stroke, Stroke, Stroke, Stroke, Stroke......

Voyageur canoeing was an wonderful experience filled with laughter, teamwork, and sweat. The journey up and down the Fraser River took us about five hours. Although it was not as physically challenging as I thought it would be, it was still wet, cold, and at some points, annoying.

With John steering and Stephan as the Rutter we slowly made our way up the Fraser. We were freezing and drenched during the entire journey. I was kept awake and alert by the team yelling, "Stroke, stroke, stroke!" That was the annoying part. Why couldn't we have recited my biology notes so I wouldn't have to study for Mr. D's looming test? The hardest part of the first half of the day was crossing the Fraser to Maple Ridge. We had to paddle non-stop for fifteen minutes. I counted ten dead fish along the way. Maybe they didn't have the strength to cross the river. Even I barely had enough strength to get across to the other side!

We arrived at the lunch spot at around twelve o'clock. After we ate we were introduced to Chuck Norris's brother, or was it the Hulk's brother? Well, the man who came to talk to us was muscularly massive and appeared to be able to snap anyone of us like a twig. His presentation included the explanation of why fish are disappearing. It's hard to believe that from 1500 salmon eggs only 1-4 become adults. I think my dad catches about that many salmon every time he goes fishing.

We set off for Fort Langley after lunch. Once we crossed to the other side of the river we began the mad dash back to Fort Langley. During this last leg of our journey "The Cranberry Ladies," developed a massive lead on us. Although they were quite a distance ahead of us, we paddled hard and eventually passed them. In the end, we finished in fourth place.

The day was definitely filled with new experiences. Now I can say that I crossed the Fraser River via canoe and met The Hulk all in one day.

This is the song that never ends.........

Listening to people sing on a bus for hours all the way up to Squamish was annoying and it made the bus ride very long and tedious. Despite this, it did keep me awake and set my mind on the hikes that lay ahead. As we approached our destination I could not take my eyes off Garibaldi Mountain. Believe it or not, at the end of the day we would be viewing what seemed to be one of the most beautiful lakes on the planet. The first hike took roughly four hours to complete. During the hike all I wanted to do was throw down my dreaded pack and curse it, but the distance markers inspired me to continue. Our spirits elevated as we stopped for a nourishing lunch and a view of The Barrier. I was instantly rejuvenated at the site of the majestic and angelic glacier fed Garibaldi Lake. Dinner shortly followed our arrival. All that I can recall of that was hot dogs and Diego scraping burnt Kraft Dinner off his plate.
"Riley....... I think the tarp collapsed..... Oh wait, it was the tent." Repairing a collapsed tent at three o'clock in the morning is not as amusing as it sounds. Jeremy and Riley cleared about half a ton of snow off the tarp as I held the metal pegs in place. Thankfully, we managed to get back to sleep. Waking up to even more snow outside our tent a few hours later came as a surprise though. So did not being able to wear my hiking boots because they were frozen solid by morning. Too bad they didn't come equipped with a defrost button!
Riley and I attempted to make pancakes for breakfast. Believe me, if you're planning on making pancakes when your mom isn't around, remember to bring some margarine to grease the pan. Maybe then your pancakes would taste better than ours. Our day worsened somewhat (a lot, actually) when we were told that we would not be hiking up to Black Tusk because of the dangerous conditions. Instead, we got the privilege of attending "school in the mountains." Although I disliked attending class in a frigid shelter, the snowball fight at lunch made up for that. I remember having a very good laugh when Devon screamed, "Sweet, I hit her in the face," and Mr. Stead tackled Riley McEachern. The day certainly went by quickly, but left us with a beautiful sunset at the shores of Garibaldi Lake.
Our last day in Garibaldi began with an early wake up call. We quickly cleaned up camp and set off on our journey down the mountain. Braedon Goodman sung what appeared to be a symphony the WHOLE way down. I wonder if he's considered auditioning for Canadian Idol? Although our descent was quick, all I could think about was my aching feet. Wearing shoes two sizes too small because my hiking boots were frozen was not the smartest decision I've made in my life. I ended up with a blister on every one of my toes. They basically ruined my homecoming and made what was supposed to be a relaxing shower, painful and agonizing. Water and blisters don't mix well.

Team 9 - The Comedy of Errors

My first Edge journey began with an early wake up call at seven a.m. followed by a quick breakfast and a short drive to Walnut Grove Secondary. I arrived at the school at seven forty and walked to the new gym where I met up with my fellow Edge-mates.

Once attendance was completed by Mr. Wilson we boarded the buses for a somewhat boring and slow one and a half hour trip into Vancouver. I sat in front of Riley McEachern and patiently waited in the small bus driven by Mr.Stead. After an agonizingly long ride we finally arrived at Kitsilano pool.

The Edge teachers took control and introduced us to group and personal equipment lists for our Garibaldi trip. After concluding their trip preparation speeches they set us loose on an interesting group scavenger hunt. The first order of business on the scavenger hunt was to go to a store and determine what decorated the outside glass. The vegetable store's glass windows were decorated by leaves, representing organic food. After leaving the food store we walked north two blocks in order to find an apartment building which was actually an old school. The scavenger hunt continued and gave us the opportunity to not only explore Kitsilano, but to sniff some beautiful flowers as well. Our group officially completed the scavenger hunt when we made it to the massive brownish statue dedicated to a captain of a ship. Although we arrived last, our tired group still maintained its hopes of winning the mysterious prize.

An amazing lunch at Flying Wedge Pizza directly followed the scavenger hunt. Lunch was rejuvenating and delicious. I ate a turkey sandwich while Jeremy and Riley devoured a pepperoni pizza. Truth be told, lunch at Flying Wedge Pizza was one of the highlights of the trip!

After lunch the Edgesters and I walked to Bard on the Beach where we watched the hilarious Shakespearean play "The Comedy of Errors." The play began when Egeon, a father of two twin boys, was captured and sentenced to death for illegally entering Ephesus. Egeon was searching for both of his sons, one which he has raised on his own and the other that was lost at sea when Egeon's boat crashed years earlier.

Confusion arose in the play as both Antipholuses, identical twins, attempted to figure out why everyone was acting so strangely. Antipholus of Syracuse received a gold chain from the goldsmith, Angelo, while Antipholus of Ephesus was jailed for failing to pay him. More confusion existed in the play with the Antipholuses' servants, Dromio of Ephesus and Dromio of Syracuse. The Dromios were also identical twins who do not know of the other's existence. The play reached its climax when both Antipholuses and Dromios finally met their long lost family. Egeon was released from prison and met his long lost sons and his wife, the Abbess of Ephesus.

My first Edge journey concluded with a peaceful bus ride back to Walnut Grove Secondary. I must say that I am looking forward to my next adventure with the Edge program!