Splash! Swoop Splash! Swoop. That’s all it ever was for a week, from dawn to dusk. Only stopping for lunch and to sleep. When we began this canoe trip I didn’t think I would make it, we had to canoe 25 miles in 5 days. The first day was the worst because we were new to it all and there was a wind storm so we had to work twice as hard, then that night when we thought we were done our campsite was infested with black flies and every inch of your body that was exposed, a fly was there, and it wasn’t that they inched, they bit you like little needles on your skin. Eventually, we got a fire going and the flies went away. I was starving for dinner, but when I saw what it was my appetite died, dehydrated chile, we put water in, it was all sloshy and watery. It reminded me of puke. But I was starving, so I just closed my eyes, held my breath, and powered through it. After all of the things we did that day my body felt like a brick dragging itself around, I just wanted to go to bed. So I did, I put up our tent, set up my sleeping bag, and as soon as my head hit the pillow I was gone. 

The next morning we made oatmeal, which I also hate, but I ate it anyway. We packed up all our things and got the canoes ready. Today we had our first portage, which is when you switched lakes. We had to pack all of our stuff up and carry it for a mile, and you had to make two trips! After the first trip, my legs felt like noodles carrying a boulder, and on the second trip, I felt like I needed to rest for a day. Thankfully the next lake wasn’t as big and we flew through it pretty easily and the rest of the portages were short. So that is all we did for the next 2 days paddle to the end of the lake and portage, some nice views that made you sit there for a bit and just enjoy life, and then some windy days made you wish you were home eating chips and watching a movie. 

But, on the fourth day, it was nice and sunny and we were almost to our pick-up spot. We just had one more portage to get to that final lake, and on that trail, there was a waterfall! It was amazing, I flew to get the rest of my things to the other lake then I jumped in the water and swam to the waterfall. The booming sound it made was calling me in like a fish to a lure. I slid down into it and it was amazing. Everything that I was hating about this trip washed away. Just at that moment when I was laying there the pounding against my back seemed to synchronize with my heart and I realized this place isn’t so bad and all that I thought was horrible was me being in the first person. When I left that heavenly place I was a changed man. I learned to see the good in the things I thought were bad and even if I didn’t like a trip or something we do I should take advantage of it and have a good time. After that everything was a breeze, the wind was on our backs and we flew to our destination. Then when I heard the welcoming buzz of a motor that pierced the sound of nature because out here there isn’t the hum of the closest city everything is still and the only noise is the wind and the birds. So throughout the drive home, I thought about how nice it is to be able to go 60mph, eat pizza, drink soda and just live life leisurely. Because life isn’t about working easy to live easy, it's about working hard and living with reward, and that’s what I learned on that trip.