Monday, September 24, 2012

Day 36, September 15, 2012 - Sarah Welsh

I woke up this morning and it definitely was not like any other Saturday so far. The alarm went off at six-thirty and on a typical Saturday I would snooze it for another two hours, but today I climbed out of my toasty sleeping bag and unzipped the tent door to step into a thirty-nine degrees Fahrenheit brisk September morning. I opened up my crisp dry bag and pulled out my stiff paddling clothes to prepare for another day on the river. We all knew what had to be done to complete the toughest week out here; we had to make it to Big Beaver Rapids. We set out after a hot breakfast, dressed in many layers including wool socks with our sandals (a very strange but efficient method for staying warm). After paddling for about an hour through the rock gardens, layers of clothes were being peeled off as the sun warmed our bodies fast. We came to one small set of falls and got to use our painters to guide the boats for the first time. We arrived at camp and got a little free time which I used to do a little fishing and take senior pictures with Kelly, Jeremy, and Jon. After doing the typical Saturday evaluations and LOW debrief, Jeff assigned new tent groups. Ruby got put with the three guys (bless her heart). And Dalton got stuck with the presence of us three girls. Well, he has it pretty good if you ask me. We finished the night with a cake made from scratch by Jessica and some popcorn as well. As I ay here next to the giant hole in the Taj and freeze my little nose off, I realize that we only have a day and a half left on the river. It’s all a little bitter-sweet, so I am going to try to soak in every last moment of it. I’ll miss my temporary home in the Canadian wilderness, but I am ready to head west soon! Sarah

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