There’s
nothing better to me than a cup of coffee to start your day, except when you’re
enjoying it on a beach you just spent the last night on sleeping under the
stars. It’s the little things we take for granted that I thought about over a
steaming hot cup of Joe while sitting on a log, on a narrow sand beach, on the
eastern edge of Manitowik Lake. As refreshing as the cool breeze from the lake
was and how soothing the warm coffee felt, my bliss wasn’t meant to last. The
peace and calm of the morning erupted into frenzied chaos as our fearless
leader started barking out the fact that we had less than twenty minutes to
have all our gear loaded into our canoes. Today we had our first experience of
portaging (two experiences actually). Portaging is taking our gear and boats
from the water and hiking it over land at points we aren’t able to paddle
through or past. Our first portage site was about a mile away. As we paddled in
formation to the portage it welcomed us with a beautiful set of falls. We all
coasted into the landing of the portage trail taking time to admire the scenery
and delay the inevitable hike across dry land. The trip across was only a ½
mile but three spate trips needed to be taken (one for heaviest bag, one for
the rest of the gear, one for the canoe), so three miles total. The trail was
overgrown with many logs down over it but it was apparent it had been used for
many crossings. As we hiked back and forth I eerily thought of those who
traveled before us. The Cree Indians used the same routes for thousands of
years and passed them down to European fur traders hundreds of years ago. To be
traveling these same waters and portage trails left an interesting feeling of
attachment and pride within me like I was a part of a long, proud history of travelers
on these waters. Eventually all our gear was back in the canoes and we were off
again, this time another mile and a short walk to our campsite. Our minds and
bodies welcomed the campsite and all the luxuries it afforded like grass, not
sand to camp on, a nice area to swim and fish, and most importantly rapids to
wash the funk from our clothes. AS I lay and write at 2230 I am reminded to
appreciate the little things in life and just how lucky I am to be paddling
this beautiful route; at least until it decides to rain a few days in a row.
Steve Acuff
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