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.
"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.