School started a little earlier this year for 14 intrepid Outdoor Leadership 30 students from Bow Valley High School as they embarked on a summer expedition into historic David Thompson Country.
Mr. Scott Thompson and former students Bailey Serhyenko and Darielle Smith guided the group. The eight-day expedition consisted of 45 km of backpacking in and 80 km of canoeing on the North Saskatchewan River. Conducting this expedition in the summer “lets us have an intensive trip experience while letting us focus on our studies during our Grade 12 year or, at least try to focus,” joked student participant Hannah Tucker.
The trip kicked off with four days of remote backpacking through the White Goat Wilderness. The journey started with a monstrous 19-km day but instead of letting it deter them, the crew powered through and managed to have fun along the way. The hard work paid off when they reached the remote Lake of the Falls campsite.
The second day was well used as a rest day with rock climbing and scrambling up a local peak.
“It was awesome to summit a peak and enjoy the incredible views,” chimed Brad Hillier.
“Rock climbing in the heart of the mountains was a challenge for me but a great experience” noted Brad Willms.
Students enjoyed the equally beautiful Landslide Lake with the piercingly cold water for those students who dared to venture into the alpine Lake. However, the stay was short as the students packed up and headed out the next day with the ending hut on their minds to push them over their last hurdle.
This day proved as challenging as the first with a steep uphill summit, and ended with 13,00m of elevation loss over rugged terrain.
“Our final hiking day was hard but we really worked hard as a community to encourage and help one another,” said Jordan Popoff.
All of the hard work was worth it when “we reached the hut and enjoyed the best shower of our lives,” exclaimed an excited Keanna Rapin
It felt like a fresh start when the students set off the next morning in the pouring rain for the final leg of the trip; three days of Class 2 canoeing. The rain tried to dampen their spirits but hard as it tried, the crew persevered. However, this was not without more than their share of suffering. The river was high and fast this year as students endured 50 mm of rain in 30 hours.
Once at camp, the students worked together to hold up tarps while tent groups feverishly put their tents together. After that, the students scrambled into their tents to warm up and find reprieve from the storm.
Later in the day, “we grudgingly emerged from out tents to cook and eat before we scurried back into our tents – I really was not impressed,” laughed a “hangry” Olivia Niewchas.
The second and third day proved a little more merciful, the rain eased up a touch as the students packed up their things and set off down the river. The Bow Valley kids had suffered for several days and enjoyed a final day of sunshine but the icing on the cake was a chance to see civilization again and the chance to eat greasy, fast food again.
The trip was finally done and after all the work and hardship along the way a tight-knit community was formed. The students came into this trip as a ragtag group of kids, all coming from different peer groups with different interests. But in the end, they came out of the trip as a community or, rather, a family.
“This is such an incredible group of people,” reflected Megan White.
Through the suffering, the students had time to laugh about something and that brought them together, more than any friend group or classroom could. Whether it was the stunning views, games along the trail, daily debrief or evening conversations in the tent, they found a way to come together and laugh their way through their suffering.
After all, after every uphill, there’s a downhill to follow.
Madison Blackwood
Grade 12 – Outdoor Leadership
Trip Participant
