Lancaster farming. (Lancaster, Pa., etc.) 1955-current, July 09, 1994, Image 47
Week-Long Trip (Continued from Pago B 2) hints. Before the end of the day, I felt better and 1 think my skill im proved. Bruce, however, thought I was deliberately meandering with the canoe as a way to explore. By the end of the week, I could keep the canoe on a straight course. Rain In the midst of learning to pad dle, getting adjusted to sitting in the bottom of the canoe, and sort ing out where we were going, it started to rain. Some of us got our rain gear out, but I became con cerned about James. He was get ting wet, but would not put on the rain coat As a fashion-conscious youngster, he considered it ugly. The sometimes-on-sometimes off sprinkles turned into a steady drizzle. About lunch-time we SPECIAL SAWDUST For More Information Contact: Wes Geib, Secondary Hardwood Products Department Walter H. Weaber Sons, Inc., Lebanon, PA 800-344-3114 or locally 717-867-2212 Fax 717-867-2271 came to a portage and Cheryl strung up a tarp for some tempor ary shelter while we had lunch. We paddled about 10 miles that first day in the rain. When Cheryl pointed to a camp site, we were ready to rest. As we unloaded, I was very tired but pleased that the waterproofing on my dumb hat had kept my head dry. As the in termittent rain continued while we set up camp, drying out and warm ing up became our first big task. During that time, James began shivering, and even admitted that he was cold. That spurred me on to gefthe fire going for him and myself. The underside of a slanting tree yielded some semi-day splinters to get a fire going. As some of the damp wood began burning, we Call for were able to shake off the chills and get some food. Before settling in for some sleep, we clustered around the fire, told stories, and listened to the night sounds: far off wolves and the closer loons. As the morning sun burned down on that first campsite, we could hardly believe our despon dency from the previous night. The sun on the warm rocks by the lake shore warmed and dried our wet fabrics. We were ready to move on again. Protecting our food from wild animals especially bear pre sented our group with a unique challenge each time we came ashore to make camp. Our first task at each campsite was to find a limb or crossbar from a previous camper and hoist the food bags out of danger. Though on one level, it i 7 ng and scheduling $ WEABER' The Food £cu/mgA SHAVINGS ctor might sound like fun to see some wildlife, Cheryl assured us that we’d rather not see a bear going through our camp looking for food. That was the kind of excite ment any trip could do without. We shared food preparation, clean-up, and other camp duties. The trick came in preparing just the right amount of food. To keep the campsite clean and discourage marauding scavengers, we did not discard any food. Some items, like the gorp we snacked on each day after an hour or two on the water, could last for months if kept dry. Other food supplies, when prepar ed had to be eaten. Some Observations The trip at times became a test of our physical endurance. The word portage has new meaning af- Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, July 9, 1994-B3 ter carrying a 60-pound canoe and 30-40 pound backpack through the 179 rod portage from Insula to Kiana Lake. Our skill and endurance were also tested as we came out of the lee side of an island and faced a fresh freeze and white caps on the waves. Ahead, the other canoes were looking small. Did we really want to face this or wail until the wind relaxed its persistent push? Virgil, at the back of the canoe, waved me on, and we started some serious paddling. The wind push ed so hard that if we stopped pad dling together, we would have gone backward. Slomc waves splashed over the sides but we paddled on. Twenty-five strokes on the left then twenty-five on the Her Loads (Turn to Page B 4) only.