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.
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