SSI Olympics

   Today was Day 8 of the session. To fill the day, there were lots of activities planned. First, after breakfast we had the cabin cleaning contest. For the contest, there are three categories for judging; cleanliness, theme, and bribe. For our theme we did the Sue Spa. I dressed as a construction worker that had just finished building the private spa just for Sue. In the cabin we had all the girls in floral outfits demonstrating all the parts of the spa, including facials, mani-pedis and massages.
   After cabin cleaning it was time for camper evaluations and postcards. While the campers fill out evaluations on their guides, the guides write each camper a postcard that they will receive in the winter.
   After lunch the campers had time to work on and present their projects to all the teachers. They give a quick presentation on what their trip was, what they saw and what personal experiences they will take away from this experience.
   Following presentations was the annual SSI Olympics. In the SSI Olympics there are six competitions for the trips to compete against each other. The games started with Voyager Wrestling, then Cat and Mouse, Dress Your TA, Flip Cup, Wheelbarrow Racing and a Watermelon Eating Contest. My trip got last place, but they said they had fun doing it so I was happy for them. The rest of the day was mostly free time around dinner and we ended with the closing campfire.

   At the closing campfire my trip did a skit that was filled with songs they had remixed to tell the story of our trip. At the end of the campfire the T.A.s in every group gave out awards to everyone on their trip. My award was “The Demon Distractor”. Sue ended the campfire with her talk and we all sat under the stars in silence until it was time for bed. Bright and early tomorrow morning the campers leave.

Day Five: Back to Basecamp

   The goal today was to make it back to Basecamp first. We succeeded. We woke up early to make trip donuts and were on the water by 8:00 a.m. As we paddled passed two other campsites we didn’t see anyone at either, so we worried that we were going to be fourth or fifth into the island. 

   The wind today was rough and added a little time to our journey, but we were still able make it to Pee Rock by 10:00. We stopped for a quick snack, but had to quickly leave because we saw another group coming.

   From Pee Rock we paddled to Big Rock Beach; which has been renamed by a few campers and quizzes as Large Stone Landing. The name change comes from the question; What is the difference between a rock and a stone? Any thoughts?

   At Big Rock we had our Genny Raid. On the last day of trail we open our general that holds all our food and eat everything we have leftover. Kelby and I also concluded that the trip we saw behind us was the camper workers, so we watched and waited for them to get in first and followed shortly behind and were the second trip in.

   Day five is always filled with cleaning canoes, putting gear away, washing dishes and finally, the best part; sauna. After dinner, the rest of the day was spent as free time before we went to bed.

Day Four: Layover

   Today we were able to have our layover day. We were able to sleep in and just wake up whenever we woke up. To start the day we had French toast for breakfast and started our relaxed day. The boys on our trip enjoyed being able to fish and we even were able to have a walleye for lunch. Also, they were patient enough to teach some of the girls how to fish as well. There was also swimming, song writing and more lightning questions throughout the day.

   For the campers academic lesson on trail, they all had the opportunity to ask Kelby and I questions. They asked survival question, Laketrails specific questions and of course a few what if questions. We used this time to answer their question and even teach them a few first aid tips. Kelby and I also opened the med-kit and went through every item we carry and explained what they were for and how to use them. A few items we explained what to do if you do not have them or if you run out.

   In the broad daylight today the campers decided that they wanted to hear the end of my story that I told last night so I finished my story and also told them the stories we tell to campers at Laketrails. We filled the rest of our time with mafia. Our mafia games involved accents and from this we developed The Peach Society.

   The Peach Society takes place in the Deep South, and we all lived on a peach farm. Sadly, the mafia was there at our precious peach society and we had to find who the killer was. 

   Today was definitely one of my favorite parts of this trip. I would do a layover day every trip if I could. 

Day Three: Poachers

  We were up and going early this morning to complete our goal of getting a layover day. We had a quick breakfast of oatmeal, joined by another deer friend, and then set out for Poachers Campsite.
  As we left Deadman’s we headed for Picture Rock and took a moment to admire the large carving of a face on the cliffs at the northern part of the lake. We also tried to see a few pictographs, but they have been painted over.
   We would have stayed at the site longer, but Kelby and I wanted to beat the winds if we had any chance of making it to our campsite. All morning the winds were at our heads and the paddling was slow, but we made it to La Verendre for lunch. We stopped for a long lunch of bay bread and oranges as we let a rain cloud move by.
   Once the wind changed directions, we took advantage of the tailwinds and made our way for Poachers. After a short while the winds shifted again and we had headwinds one more time. This only slowed us down some and we made it to our final campsite with plenty of time to spare.
   Being our last campsite and our hardest day of paddling we decided that tonight was the best night for pita pizzas and super s’mores. We made the super s’mores out of roasted marshmallows, girl scout cookies, Hershey’s chocolate and chips ahoy thin dipped cookies. We also took this time to do lightning questions to get to know each other and we ended the night with one and a half scary stories.
   The first story I told was the story of the Russian hikers that got lost. Next, I started to tell a story that takes place in the Umatilla Forest in Oregon. Unfortunately, I will not be sharing that story on here because it is a trail exclusive story only. As I was telling the story there comes a part were there is a dark spirit involved; a demon. At this part the campers decided that they did not want to hear the story tonight and the ending was left untold. At this point the mosquitoes started to come out and we all piled into our largest tent and finished the night with lighthearted stories and more lightning questions.
   Kelby and I stayed up late and talked in the tent as we have every night on trail. We talk about the day and how it went and we share stories of our lives in college. I am super grateful that I am on trail with her as my co-guide and only upset because it means I won’t be able to guide with her again this summer.

Day Two: Helldivers

  Today we made it to Helldivers! After a late start we paddled over to the mine. During one of our paddling breaks we were fortunate enough to see a deer come to the water and get a drink. Also during this paddling break Kelby and I realized that we had missed the turn to the mine and ended up making a big u-turn around the nearby island to get to the location. Luckily, our campers did not notice that we were not navigating correctly (sorry, if you are reading this now). Even with the missed turn we made it to the hike by early afternoon. Before we went to explore the mine we had a quick meeting with everyone to decide our options for the trip. Of our three options, the campers decided as a group that they wanted to do Deadman’s portage again today and stay at the Deadman’s campsite.

  Kelby and I let our eager campers lead the way to the mine and we followed with the canoe. They all waited for us at the nearby cabin that was abandoned and missing most of its outside shell. Once we got the canoe into the mine Kelby led the front and we put three campers in the canoe with her. After we had filled the canoe with campers I went to push it off and send them into the mine; but it didn’t move. 

  There was a log blocking the entrance and we could not get the canoe around it. We tried angling the canoe a different direction, we tried pushing the log to the side, and we tried to lift the log out of the water. Nothing worked, and Kelby and I quickly gave up due to our feet going numb in the freezing water. I also tried walking around the mine, to the hole in the mine and further back to see if there was any other entrance point, and I concluded that there was not any safe way to enter the mine. 

   After the unfortunate event of not being able to truly explore inside the mine as I was able to last year, we took out the canoe and headed back to the rest of our canoes. 

   We confirmed with the campers one more time that they wanted to do the portage tonight and they did, so we headed back to our campsite, had a quick lunch and then made our way back to the portage.

   This time to make the portage easier, we unloaded the canoes into the marsh one at a time and sent the campers with gear packs in groups of two and three. Once they got the gear pack to the other side of the portage we had them walk back to help with the canoes. Once all the gear was at the end of the portage we had three people carrying canoes over mud puddles, downed trees and any other obstacles until we came to the open clearing and were able to one-man the canoes. Even with having the campers shuttling gear and canoes back and forth, the portage took us almost half the time it did the first time through. 

  As promised we stayed the night at Deadman’s Campsite. After gear was unloaded, tents were up and firewood collected we let the campers go for a swim. As Kelby made us spaghetti for dinner I lifeguarded the campers. While they were swimming a painted turtle swam at the shoreline near me and later came up to a nearby rock and laid its eggs. 

   These are the moments I live for on trail. The moments campers are having fun and enjoying each other’s company. Nature unbothered by humans. And the feeling of accomplishment after doing something hard.

Day One: Spike Point

   After a very busy day on the island preparing for our trips yesterday we set out on trail filled with excitement this morning. As we left the island and the bell rang to send us off we pushed north with great speed. We stopped for lunch at Old Rope Swing Campsite and made PB & J’s on bagels. After filling our stomachs and singing Happy Birthday to John we set out to our final campsite.
  We arrived near our first nights campsite with plenty of daylight left so we pushed on to make it to our night two spot. This meant that we had to cross Deadman’s portage today. Once we made it to the start of our portage, my co-guide Kelby and I scouted the path while we let the campers eat a quick snack.
   The portage was more difficult than it was last year. The path was still just as muddy and very likely to take your shoe, but this year it also had some downed trees blocking the path. At the end of the portage, the marsh had grown much bigger than it was last year. With gear on your back a step that would have been knee deep quickly became a swimming hole. There was especially one large one, and when I had the tent pack on my back, I went from walking to swimming in just a single step. After the portage Kelby said, “Yeah, I saw you go in, but then I also saw your head above water so you were fine”.
   Finally, after completing the portage and getting back into our canoes, Mother Nature blessed us with a light rain to help wash away the smell of bog.
   We ended the night by arriving to our campsite just as the sun set. We quickly made stir fry and set up camp for our first night on trail.

Session 1: Eagan School Group

   For the last 25 plus years Eagan High School has been coming to Laketrails for the first session. This balance between Laketrails and the school is called Summer Science Institute and it allows high schoolers to have an experience where the can combine education with real world situations.
   For this session I am guiding with Kelby and we have chosen to go to the location called Helldivers.
  Helldivers is a location on the lake where campers can explore an old abandoned gold mine. I went on this trip last year and at the mine we took a canoe into the mine. After using the wall of the mine to push the canoe, there comes a spot where the ceiling has caved in. There is more mine to explore, but that is as far as I made it last year.
  What I remember of the portage last year, is that it is a big open ATV trail, but there comes a place where it is too muddy to walk through. At this point there is a smaller trail to the left with only a few mud puddles that are deep, but easily avoidable. At the end of the trail is a small marsh, but it is only really wet at the very end where canoes are loaded back up.
  I’m very excited to go back to the mine to explore more and maybe hike around the location a little more as well.
  We set our tomorrow morning after breakfast.

Up North

 

Today I finally arrived at Laketrails. After a flight to Portland, another flight to Minneapolis, a drive to the lake and a boat ride to Little Oak Island. The island is so small you cannot see it on this map, but I promise it’s there; in the very northeastern corner.
   My three day journey of traveling has finally finished at the location of my childhood memories. I’ve arrived just in time too. Tomorrow is the first day of the first session and once campers arrive I will be offline.
  The first session is a Minnesota school group from Eagan. Tomorrow they’ll arrive in time for dinner and after they check in and eat everyone will sit down for my first campfire of the summer. Filled with skits that make you cry from laughter and songs that connect your hearts, it’s the perfect start to any session.
  The day after the fire is spent preparing for our trips out for five days. I’m excited for my trip! More to come in a week!

Introduction

Hello friends, family and random internet strangers! I have created this blog so that everyone can be updated in my travels and as a personal memoir to this exciting time in my life. Feel free to subscribe for email updates or just read as you want. Additionally, I will also be writing a second blog for my senior capstone project. It is more educational based and is designed to be a platform for students to ask questions about South Korea while I am studying abroad there.

Laketrails Base Camp View

Starting June 14th I will be at Laketrails Base Camp for a summer job. I worked here last summer and had tons of fun, so I am very excited to be going back. Over the summer I will be working as a canoe guide for middle school and high school age students, living and interacting with nature.

Following the summer I will be traveling to Seoul, South Korea for a semester abroad. While there I hope to explore South Korea and learn the language through immersion. I also hope to end the year with a trip to Japan.

I am excited for my adventures to come, I hope you follow me on my journey!