Everyone was up bright and early this morning. The feeling of excitment was pretty similar to the morning nine days ago when we first put our boats in the water. We were on the water by 7.
The morning was beautiful and clear. The water was like glass, and some light fog was lifting. Perfect conditions to start our last paddle. We planned to meander our way to the ranger station, partially to ensure our 100 miles, but also to make sure we didn't arrive too early and have to just hang out waiting for our pick-up. Our route followed the shoreline rather than straight across open waters. We've come to appreciate this longer way around. You see more, and have time to notice the details and differences that otherwise are lost. Like the entire trip, the journey is more important than the destination. Our last trip in our boats was an easy six miles.
Last night we skipped 'thorns and roses' and asked the crew what they would remember from the trip. They were reflective and thoughtful, often chiming in to support each other's memorable moments:
- Floating bogs. Difficult, but so unusual and an amazing feat of nature.
- Beaver dams and ponds. Amazing feats of engineering and perseverence.
- Slow paddles through the creeks and marshy connections between the smaller lakes.
- Eagles soaring overhead
- The haunting calls of Loons and Wolves.
- Beautiful landscape, unspoiled lakes, and amazing views from our island campsites.
- The overwhelming size of the entire park, and at the same time, the intense quiet. How that made them realize how small we are in the greater scheme of things.
What else stands out? We had fun. Not always in the 'ha-ha' sense of the word, but some of that. More often, in the sense of testing yourself, relying on each other, and accomplishing something special together. The boys worked well as a crew, and genuinely enjoyed the experience.
But they added their unique personalities to the whole:
- Charlie's "song of the day", which mostly made us laugh. Combined with more random knowledge than a jeopardy game show convention, we never lacked for interesting conversation.
- Sam's boundless ability to finish any food. More noteably, was his role as our Chaplain's Aide. His willingness to share his personal reflections and relate them to our daily inspirational reading was wonderful.
- My new daughter's, Barb (AJ) and Grace (Cam). AJ's nickname earned while hooking himself helping with Al's first fish. Cam (later upgraded to 'Amazing Grace'), for his somewhat frequent stumbling, but his occaisional 'amazing' recoveries.
- Alex our crewleader. Leading us with few words, but always a great attitude.
- Zach discovering that this trip was as unique as his first trek through NTier.
And we can't forget our interpreter, Drew. We certainly won the 'interpreter lottery'. He was more than an knowledgeable outdoorsman. He added direction and humor, sometimes bordering on just plain crazy. But while we think he might need to spend a little more time in base camp, we all learned from his passion for nature and the environment, and we learned better how to co-exist within it. Pretty impressive young man.
There is no way to adequately describe what nine days of wilderness adventure means, and it surely means something a little different to every individual. We will take back our stories of the trip, our personal highlights, and our thorns, but those are just fragments of the larger experience. It is the journey, not the destination.
Did I accomplish my goals for this trek? Absolutely (if we forget about that moose sighting that never happened). I am hopeful that AJ and Cam saw a different side of me. I tried not to be 'the Dad' all the time.
I certainly saw them as capable, confident young men. I saw them work together with long time friends, and create new friendships. I saw them push themselves physically, and sometimes emotionally as well. And every time, they came out better for the experience. I realize I did not learn anything about them that I didn't already know.
What I did learn was more a lesson for me..... to look more closely every day. Its easier to see out here, when there's nothing cluttering the view. But when there are more distractions in the way I need to look closely to make sure I see what is always there, and deeply within them. I am committed to keeping that lesson with me.
I will treasure the time we spent for the rest of my life.
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For those that have followed along with my rambling entries, I hope you enjoyed my story. We've been home now longer than we were away, and writing these last nine days helped me relive the trip. I smile each night as I sit down and remember the day I wrote my notes. I hope everyone has a chance to share in a special journey like this with their family and friends.
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