It’s 1985 and i’m preparing for a High School canoe trip for a natural science class called “You In Nature”. I have my clothes packed and all the supplies I needed for the eight day canoeing adventure in Canada. Food was going to be an issue for me, I thought ahead and mixed up twice the recommended supply of an energy snack called “gorp”. Gorp consisted of mixed nuts, raisins, M&M’s, freeze dried banana chips, pineapple and pretzels. I figured I would just eat that instead of whatever it was I knew I wouldn’t like. After boarding the bus and a 13 hour ride we finally reached our destination, The boundary waters of Quetico. It was breathtaking, and my first hand-full of gorp.
The next morning, after a proper breakfast in the comfort of the lodge, we loaded up the six canoes with our supplies and started our adventure. Learning how to steer a canoe didn’t take long and soon we were at the shore of our first beach. This is where the fun turned into work. We unloaded the canoes and we each strapped an 80 pound packpack of essential supplies to our backs. I was one of the lucky kids who also had to hoist the 60 pound aluminum canoe over my head and rest it on my shoulders. Then we started the 120 pace portage to the next lake. To make our destination, we had to cross one more lake and hike over another portage of 320 paces. About 50 paces in, I realized this was going to be a very difficult endeavor. I paused, balanced the canoe’s back tip on the ground, and quenched my thirst drinking water while getting some needed energy from my stash of gorp. Feeling rested, I started down the trail again, and in no time reached the beach where we loaded the canoes and started paddling. We had some time to get the fishing poles out and caught some nice Walleyed Pike for dinner. I have to mention, while we were in the canoes, we had tied to the side these tin cups. The water in the lakes was so pristine and cool, we dipped that tin cup in the water and drank the best tasting water I’ve ever had. After an exhausting day of paddling and portaging, we cleaned those fish, fried them up in some butter, and feasted like kings.
After our dinner we cleaned the dishes in the lake and set up our tents. We collected the firewood from the already fallen dead trees. After the campfire was blazing and we settled around it, we shared stories of our first days adventure. As the flames burned down, the night skies above the boundary waters showed their eternal beauty. So many stars, so bright and countless. After witnessing what had to be a distant meteor shower, we called it a night. Most everyone else crawled into the tents, zipped up and got comfortable in their warm sleeping bags. My teacher, Mr. Carl Johnson, lay his sleeping bag on the ground and stared up at the sky. I asked if he was going to bed and he said, tonight he was going to sleep under the stars. He asked if I’d like to do the same. We talked for a bit, then I offered to share my precious gorp. That night we were not student and teacher, we were just two dudes, surviving in the wilderness, sleeping under the stars.
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