River Trip Recap (day 1-8 plus a mooovie!)

I'm home! I just got back from a two week canoe trip. We paddled almost 100 miles into South Carolina and I think we've all got sponge foot. Here's a video I threw together of video clips and photos:



Day 1
So yeah. When we left, we loaded our gear onto the river in our canoes in record time (20 minutes to load two weeks worth gear for 16 people!) We were so proud of ourselves and paddled our way to our first campsite, where we discovered that we left our tarps-- essential equipment to keep us dry if it rains and to set our gear on if we happen to need to camp on a sandbar (sand gets in EVERYTHING). It was here that I also discovered dilemma #2-- my monthly visitor came to join me. As the only female on the trip out of 15 males, I had no realistic way of explaining why I was so irritable or why I had to go back into the forest behind the big trees so often.

Day 2
By the second day, I was already feeling uncomfortable. The heat really started getting to me (especially because my company has a policy that we cannot wear shorts on the river trip. Something about bug bites, poison ivy, and sunburns).
I was paddling along, when I hear "Chief! Somebody is in the water! You gotta get back there!"
I was frenzied... my canoe partner had never paddled before and we struggled trying to maneuver upstream. By the time I got near, I discovered that it was my best swimmer that went in the water, so I stopped stressing. It turned out that he got stung in the face 3 times by a wasp and then just gave up and jumped in. I was disappointed, first, because it took me so long to get to him. Second, because I missed an opportunity to jump in the water and cool off! When I got into my tent that night, I had large rashes and boils all up and down my body.

Day 3
The next day was a layover day. We came upon a State Park, and another wilderness therapy program had come through a week or so before and trashed the place. After some wheelin' and dealin', my camp director was able to get us a few nights there under the condition that we'd perform community service picking up litter along the roads. We were walking up the road sweating profusely, when a man stopped his tractor in front of us and asked us if we'd like something to drink. I consented for everybody and we made our way to his front lawn. His wife came out with a pitcher of ice water and cups, and then offered to fill up each of our water bottles. We told the man that we were an alternative wilderness program for at risk youth, and he told us he was a pastor. When we left, he told us to rest knowing that somebody who doesn't even know any of us will be praying for us. That night all my kids agreed that that was the highlight of the day. After finishing community service, we paddled to a spot out of the moving current where we could swim and wash our clothes. Several of my kids made comments that they "didn't know you could just wash your clothes in the river just like that". I think a lot of them felt really good about themselves and their new found skill, even if their clothes didn't smell just like they would if mom had done 'em.

Day 4
The next day we loaded up our canoes to get back out on the river. It started pouring down rain, so we pulled our canoes over to shore to pass out ponchos. The cool rain boosted the morale of our heat exhausted crew. We pulled off to set up camp on a sandbar that I knew was a bad idea. The moment I saw it, I thought "this looks like gators, mosquitos, and snakes". However, it was relatively close to a main road with a store.

Day 5- Day 6
We decided to have another layover day at this location, so that our camp director could swap out with my friend/ co-chief Jamie (another female!) and so that they could bring a camper who had been away at his grandfather's funeral. This was one of our roughest nights, as many of our kids were tired, dirty, and wondering if this river trip was really all I'd hyped it up to be. Plus, I was absolutely right about the mosquitos, gnats and sand fleas. Rainy day+sand bar= bad news. Normally, my co-counselors and I would have focused on them having fun and we'd dismiss bad behavior/disrespect, but since we had a layover day, we decided to keep the kids up and address problems. And by we, I mean my co-counselor, Richard (who is from Ghana and I'm sure his excess energy can be attributed to this) did most of the work dealing with the kids on this night. I just kinda sat there and nodded for moral support.

Day 7
The day after, we got on the river and I think my paddling buddy got sick of me. I can be very type-A/Virgo/controlling. When we pulled off the river to set up camp, it was pouring down rain and we struggled trying to decide how we would eat our dinner. Luckily, I had some resourceful campers and co-chiefs who set up a fly tarp over our fire. They cooked some Pep-Mac which was sandy, yet delicious.

Day 8
This day we woke up and it took us a bit to get on the river. We switched up our canoe partners, and I was with another camper who was terrified of water. We stopped for lunch right under a bridge because we were nearly out of water and it was a short 20 minute walk to the store to fill up our jugs. While we waited on the others to get water, I worked with my Shining Star trying to teach him how to swim. I was in knee-high water and asked him to sit in it (with a life-vest on) and he freaked out. This kid is terrified of water. He finally worked up the courage to float around while walking on his hands, and I think that was a highlight of the trip for both of us. He was screaming "I'm swimming!"... I was screaming "you're swimming!". It was real cute. I gave a stink eye to anyone who laughed and said otherwise. While this is happening, the rest of my kids were playing WWF. When he got back in the boat with me, he went back to being a brat. He freaked out at one point and threatened to get on land and start walking towards a main road.

I'm out of time and it's probably best that I don't post everything, anyway. Here's a couple finishing thoughts that may or may not be edited later... gimme some time to process it all...

This job has compelled me to become a more spiritual person. I wouldn't say religious, cause I really have no idea what to believe in when it comes down to the details of it all... but I do know that I can say I believe in a God that unites all people from all backgrounds.

I strategically read Lord of the Flies to them at night while they were settling into their sleeping bags. So often at camp, they complain about how they hate adults telling them what to do. So I gave them the 411 about what life might look like if they were on their own struggling with the forces of nature. They really got into it, and inserted themselves as characters "Chief, do you think I'm kinda like Ralph... and *Arnold's kinda like Piggy? I mean, he's the nerd after all... and I'm the only one who's got any sense around here."