9/25

Last Day of the River Adventure

29 Days just happened in the blink of an eye. It seems like just yesterday we were not canoeing but walking our boats through the river to our first campsite and having an explosive lesson on how to use our stoves to cook. It doesn’t seem that long ago we were having class under a tarp on a sunny sandy beach that stretched a quarter mile long and wide taking swimming breaks as the day grew hotter.
A lot has happened in these last 29 days. This Journal along with personal journals, mental notes we made, along with the pictures we taken are almost minute things compared to what we have learned and how much we have grown.
My favorite thing about the wilderness, next to its unexplainable beauty, is its power over people, or the power it can give a person. I have seen over and over the power nature has on an individual. Looking back on this past month has completely reinforced this notion I consider to be fact.
Today the person who tried to light a stove upside down is now fixing them with no problem and few questions. Those who were once close to clueless as to how to how the backcountry worked now have a teaspoon worth of knowledge and understanding of it. Some who may not have had any idea how to cook and make things taste good are now conquering the spice kits. People that were quite and SUPER soft spoken have just started to speak up and be heard. We have all grown so much and so many things have happened it’s hard to fathom or even believe it. All that is for sure at the end of the today is some are happy to have left the river for as much as they enjoyed it and some would be completely ok to resupply and get back on it. But we won’t. Today was the end of one fantastic adventure and the beginning of more exciting and challenging adventures to come. We have gained the knowledge and know-how we need to continue. As long as we remember it and understand that there is still MUCH room for improvement we will be ok.
This reminded me of a quote: “The thing about life is that you must survive. Life is going to be difficult and dreadful. Things will happen. What you do is move along, get on with it, and be tough. Not in the sense of being mean to others, but being tough with yourself and making a deadly effort not to be defeated.”- Katherine Houghtin
So let’s GO! Let’s keep Truckin!
Continue to grow and to learn and to work together on the rest of our adventures. We have gotten this far. Let’s blaze through the possible storms to come and rise above them!

BANG-A-RANG!!!

Peace & Love Always and Forever,
Kate Nelson

P.S.~ HAPPY FREAKIN BIRTHDAY JEFF!!! Hope it’s a GREAT one!!!