Blog #4

The vast valley consisting of shoulder to shoulder trees, Rapid white water streams and countless species of blood thirsty parasites was the epitome of the Canadian Wilderness. This foreign thicket would be my home for the next several weeks. I was not taking on this risky excursion by myself, the group I was traveling in consisted of nine teenage boys including myself and two older guides who were also male. During this travel across the untamed outdoors we were forced to confront many of natures formidable obstacles.
The main way of transportation during this trip was by a three person canoe made of a very heavy aluminum canoe unlike the much more portable fiberglass and kevlar options. However, to get from our starting point to our destination would require several other means of travel. When a portion of land would appear we would have to dock our canoes on shore and hastily unpack all of our belongings. The act of portaging is physically overwhelming and often times very dangerous. There were hundreds of miles through out that trip that we had to balance huge aluminum weights on our shoulders and proceed up and down steep and windy trails.
At one monumental point in travel we came across a portaging scenario but this would not be a normal right of passage. As we ascended up a steep hill with seventy pound bags on our backs and these unorthodox aluminum mosquito traps swinging on our shoulders. Trudging onward through the trail the physical exhaustion and relentless swarm of ravenous mosquitoes was nothing out of the ordinary. It was what we laid our eyes upon when we reached the top that would disrupt our pathway to carry on any further.
I was the first person to reach the peak we had been pursuing towards for almost an hour and when I saw what lay before me I was both frustrated and astonished. I forced the massive piece of metal onto the hardened dirt ground, lacking any technique as it created a whirlwind of dust from all angels when it plummeted to the ground. When the shower of dust began to whisk away in the breeze I gazed down from the towering cliff that I had conquered. I became petrified as I peered over the thousands of century old trees. Each one waving in the wind in unison as if they were taunting my inability to proceed onwards. The distinct yet miniscule stream of blue tore right through the sea of green. The reflection of the glaring sun on the water surface glistened like the north star illuminating our destination.
The rest of the group piled in beside me each having similar reactions to yet another one of natures adversities. The sun began to recede behind the colossal horizon of stone and tree motivating us to act fast. The solution to proceed would be half of the group and one guide go back down the portage trail and paddle as many canoes around the mountain to the stream which lay a death defying drop below where we stood. The rest would take the direct route, to repel down this highly elevated and loosely packed cliff.
As the rest of the group vanished down the trail the other five of us began to gear up. I grabbed the largest harness I could find. I stepped my right leg through the frayed harness and then proceeded with the left. I cinched the harness tight to my waist to ensure safety and clipped a rusty metal clasp to the front of my gut. I meticulously wrapped the safety rope around myself making sure not to miss a single belt loop. Lastly I placed a paper thin helmet on my head and formed it to my head size. I was ready for my descent. As I shuffled with my back towards the cliff sweat began to seep out of my pores and my previously firm grip began to let up as wiped my palms on my T shirt. As I neared the edge I pulled the threaded black harness against my waist three times to make sure there was no give. I hesitated before becoming parallel with the floor of green before me, not even able to distinguish the ground from the canopy tops. With every slip of traction descending down the cliff side I became less confident. Watching the stones and pebbles plunge downwards I began to envision myself doing the same. With every release of slack from up top the cliff I soared downward free falling in mid air. I repositioned my dirt covered boots into two holes in the cliff side, regained my composure and began the second half of the drop. With each step dust flourished every which way and masked the immense drop which waited below me. carefully inching my way foot by foot rock by rock I reached the bottom and stared up at the monumental feat I had just conquered.