This morning we woke up at 6:00AM to tear down camp, unhang bear bags, and cook breakfast before we were to head out onto the English River for another day of paddling. Little did we know that after we had taken down camp and got everything ready to go…we found out we were going to stay another night. My group and I had to go reset up camp and get ready for a day full of lessons. Nicki was Leader of the Day (LOD) today and her assistant was Brandon (ALOD).
The first lesson was taught by Sarah about the correct way to dispose of garbage (Leave No Trace style). Monica then demonstrated how to set up a tarp. Katy informed us about hygiene and why it is important especially in the backcountry. She explained everything and anything which helped both the ladies and gents become more informed on ways to keep our body healthy. Jeff also did many lessons throughout the day. He explained to us the importance of conflict resolution especially while in a group as large as ours as well as why efficiency plays a major factor. Another great point mentioned was about feedback from peers and how to use it and benefit from it. In order for us to become the leaders we want to become that needs to be considered. The group also made time to debrief Justin from the day before who did not make it to debrief the previous night.
Nicki was very relaxed today and we got a lot done. She asked us to come up with goals that our group wants to reach. The goals we came up with for the semester was: 1.) Flow 2.) Learning to Love 3.) Becoming leaders we want to be 4.) Building life long bonds 5.) Becoming effective problem solvers. These five summed up all our thoughts. I do want to mention some other goal ideas that were passed around that I really liked. One which was said by Corey was “work smarter, not harder” and Katy’s goal “to survive each other’s heartaches, discomfort, pain, weakness, love, and distraught.” Both of these stuck with me.
After finalizing the goals we had made dinner in our cook groups. When finished we hung out bear bags which was easier than the night before and then met on the rock for debrief. The Canadian sky was scattered with a gazillion stars and as we sat there on the rock along the river I realized just how lucky I am to be here with everyone on this expedition and wondered what was to come. I will be looking forward to having a different home each night and waking up with the sun or sometimes before and then going to bed with the moon.
Nicki asked us what we had learned today and Tony being Tony answered with he learned he was the weanie of the group-haha he sure is a character though and a weanie loved by us all. I came to realize this expedition is all learning whether it may be a specific lesson taught or skills we learn as we use them every day. This is taking us closer to the goals we are hoping to accomplish.
To all back home reading this- I hope all is well and we are looking forward to sharing our stories with you. We couldn’t ask for a better classroom and I couldn’t ask for a better group.
“If you always do what you did… you will always get what you got.”
Peace and Love to all,
Brittany Abrams
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