Sunday, August 8, 2010

A Summer Almost Gone and a Little Piece of Home



The blackberries are already in season and I can not believe my summer here in Canada is almost over already! In less than three weeks, I will be packing up and heading home. A lot has happened in the past two months and sometimes the days seem very long but in the grand scheme of it all, time is flying faster than the Skookumchuck rapids are running.

I recently guided a trip of adults from a church in Bellevue on the Sea Sechelt Route. They were nice people but it was a challenge leading adults from the business world when I enjoy high school kids the most. I learned a lot about guiding business driven adults and how they like to have control of situations and know the plan. Here at Beyond, we guides do not disclose much information to our campers (of any age) for a few reasons, one reason being to allow them to relax and not worry about the time or what we are going to do next. Another reason is because when you tell campers they will be waking up at 5am and paddling for eight hours, they generally don’t think they can do it or just don’t want to. With this adult group many of them wanted to know the plan and the time of day constantly. This was a big struggle for me because I think it is important to keep campers in suspense but it wasn’t going to happen with this group. It was also hard to gain respect as a young female among these adults. Many of them just wanted free time and would have rather not participated in our planned schedule. Most importantly, I learned I want to work with and minister to kids into my future.

My mom and stepdad, Eric came to visit me for a few days and we had a blast! We went hiking, ate at the tree house bakery, watched kayakers at the Skookumchuck rapids, ate dinner at the Back Eddy, saw bioluminescence at night and went kayaking. I was really happy to show them the place I have been living and the things I have learned about kayaking. It was nice to spend time and catch up with two people I love so much. A little piece of home this summer was great.

I am going out on a trip next Wednesday with two great guides and a co-ed group of high school kids. We will be paddling on my favorite route, the Jervis Inlet. Needless to say it will be a great way to finish my summer here at Beyond.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Discovering My Love for Kayaking and Guiding


I have returned from both a 10 day training trip and my first trip as a guide. Wow time goes by fast up here!

To start with my 10 day trip, our group consisted of our trainer, John Guppy, and my fellow guides, Justine, Marshall, Anna, Danielle and Ryan. All of these people are great and I am getting to know them very well in our small community. The seven of us paddled through our two routes we take campers on. These inlets are the Sea Schelt and the Jervis Inlet. Look them up online if you want.

Generally, we would get up early, have quiet time with God and paddle into the late afternoon. Our 18 mile day took 8 hours on the water and I was exhausted! The weather was generally sunny with high clouds and calm waters. In the evenings, we would sit around a fire and share our life stories with each other and drink Mate (a hot tea drink). The beauty amazed me the farther up the inlets we would paddle. Every time we traveled around a point, the mountains would only grow in size and number. They are so majestic and so vast; I am truly humbled by these mountains and waters. I didn’t go one day without seeing a handful of eagles and seals. This wilderness speaks so strongly to me.

One of the highlights of my trip was the bioluminescence. It is one of the coolest things I have ever experienced. The water lights up with bright green sparkly flecks every time the water is stirred up. It only happenes at night so I got to see it when we went on our night paddle. We went about 11 miles during the day then pulled ashore to have dinner, a campfire and take a power nap before we hopped back in our boats at 12am. We paddled with a hazy moon in the sky, quite water gliding by our boats and only silence to accompany the trails of green sparkels left from our kayaks. I felt like I was in Neverland from Peter Pan. It was so cool! Some parts were kinda scary, like hearing a crazy seal make really weird noises like it wanted to attack us. It’s easy to let your imagination wander and lead you to thinking about illogical things in the dark waters. At one point there was a whole school of fish swimming under our kayaks and the water went bright green tracing the shapes of each fish! I cant describe with words how moving this night paddle was for me.

I gained a lot of kayaking and camping skills and now I feel very comfortable on the water. The more I kayak, the more I love it. I have been up the Jervis Inlet before this trip but on a larger boat. Going up the inlet this time in a kayak allowed me to slow down and notice the little details of this wilderness: the wildlife, the rocky and sandy shores, the changing waters and currents to name a few. I have discovered a very relaxing yet challenging sport.

As for my first trip as a guide, it was so much fun and I loved almost every minute of it. All four of us female guides went on the trip so there were times when I didn’t get to lead as much as I wanted but overall, it was a good first experience. The 10 campers were from New Jersey and in high school. The paddling was difficult for some of the girls, especially our day full of wind, waves and an opposing current. We had two girls cry and say “I just can’t paddle anymore!” But fortunately they made it without me having to tow them but it was a close call. In the middle of our 7 days on the water, we went to Beyond Base Camp where the mountain guides live and there was a cougar roaming around the camp! We didn’t tell our campers because the girls would have freaked out so we just told them have someone else with them at all times. We never saw the cougar but people living at Base Camp saw it the morning before and it wasn’t scared of people at all, just looking for something or someone to eat. I’m not sure what the status is about the cougar at this point.

One of the greatest things I learned about my experience was when I was reading the post trip evaluations from the campers; so many of them learned a lot about themselves, God and each other. My favorite camper, Ryan, began the trip not really knowing what he believed in and at the end he said the trip changed his view on religion and he cant wait to learn more about God and the Bible. I can’t believe I get to be a part of this. It’s truly amazing.

For the next week or two, I will be living at Malibu Landing doing projects around the area and getting ready for my next trip. It is going to be nice to relax, go for runs to the Skookumchuck Rapids and read in my hammock in the woods.

I miss home still but I am very happy to be here this summer.
Keep me in your prayers.
Peace.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Goodbye Bellingham, Hello Malibu Landing


My summer at Beyond Malibu as a sea kayaking guide has begun and I have been here in Egmont, BC now for five days and time seems to be going by really fast. At the same time, it feels like I left home so long ago.


The first four days here consisted of Wilderness Advanced First Aid training for all of us who are first year guides. The days were long and there was so much material to remember but I feel much more confident in my skills to provide treatment and maybe even save a life!


All the guides I am with have been really great and it has been nice to have a few days in Egmont at the Malibu Landing before I jump into the summer of kayaking, although it will be really nice to get on the water. Tomorrow morning at 5:45am, we leave for a 10 day trip with only the guides and I can't wait! We mapped our route, packed our dry bags and set our alarms to wake up at 5:30 am. It's going to be hard work but I am in one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The mountains jut straight out of the inlet waters while eagles soar above.


A few days ago, we walked down to the Skookumchuck rapids. This rapid is the 2nd largest in the world in its classification and the waves get up to six feet high. My kayak leader and WAFA trainer surfed the rapids in their white water kayaks and it looked so fun! I think this is the closest I will get to surfing in Costa Rica this summer.


Within walking distance is a bar just down the road called the Back Eddy. I will be able to have beer this summer and use the internet. This bar is exactly what you would find in a small town up in Canada - strange folks and random groups of people on vacation. I'm hoping to make friends with a few locals.


It has been nice to be up here but the things I am missing from home have been difficult to deal with - my little brother's high school graduation, spending time with family and friends and living in beautiful Bellingham. I am hoping it will get easier to live up here once our trips begin. Fortunately, our summer is packed with trips and I think time will go by really fast.


I will write about my 10 day trip when I get back!


Keep me in your prayers.


Peace.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

A New Summer

In about one week I am off to Beyond Malibu, a Young Life camp on the beautiful Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. Here, I will be a sea kayaking guide for high school campers who come up to the wilderness for a 7 to 8 day kayak trip in the Jervis and Sea Schelt Inlets. The next two and a half months will be an experience unlike any other I have had. This volunteer position demands long hours, physical, mental and spiritual strength but I am very excited to see how my weeks will unfold.

It is bittersweet to leave my family, friends and the city of Bellingham I love so much but very exciting to paddle into an uncharted adventure that I know will grow so much from.

Base camp, Malibu Landing, has no phone service but fortunately I do have internet access so I will try my best to write about all that I am experiencing.

Until next time...

"Live as if you will die tomorrow, dream as if you will live forever." James Dean

Check out Beyond Malibu at www.beyondmalibu.younglife.org