Green's Creek Orienteering Meet

Oct. 28, 2011

It was a great day for an orienteering meet, sunny and cool, just like fall should be. Our students joined 6 other schools today, with a total of 240 students spread out over 5 courses. We had students participating in all courses and almost all of our students completed the courses they were on. Some with great stories of wrong turns.

It was really nice to see the enthusiasm that

our students brought to the course. It was mentioned by many at the start and finish that they were really appreciative of the patience and many thanks that our students provided. It is always nice as a teacher of those students to get that kind of feedback, that along with the smiling faces of students completing their courses successfully is always a good way to finish off the fall tripping season.

Congratulations to all!!

The results will be posted shortly.

PAD2O Frontenac Hiking Trip #2

October 18 - 20, 2011

This is the hiking trip that had to be postponed at the beginning of October, which is always a scary proposition as you know the temperatures start to drop dramatically and rain is more prominent in October. Luck would have it, the original trip would've started with two days of heavy rain, but the forecasts for this trip were even worse (50+ mm of rain and heavy winds on Wednesday). Lucky for us, weather forecasters can't predict too far in advance and we had pretty good weather for the middle of October.

The students were excited to get started. Similar to the 1st trip, our goal was to take a new route to our first campsite on Little Salmon Lake. Things were moving along quite well with Josh doing a great job navigating. Then we had two unfortunate individuals twist their ankles, along with the strains of the heavy backpacks for some, forced us to go a bit slower. This made the last few kilometres seem really far and it brought great relief when we finally did get sight of our campsite. The peace and beauty of it all did make all the hard work worth it, especially the wonderful display of stars that night.

The next morning we woke up to a real mixed bag of weather. It started with the sun, then cloud and just when we were ready to pack up our tents, we got two fairly heavy showers (oh, oh, were the forecasters changing the weather back to heavy rains?). Once we got hiking again, the weather settled and we had a mix of sun and cloud with the odd sprinkle. The group knew this would be our longest day and set a solid pace. Arriving at the beautiful lookout on Big Salmon Lake in good time, allowing us to enjoy a nice lunch at campsite #5. The final leg of the day was also completed with great efficiency, giving us plenty of time to set up camp, collect firewood and make our dinners before the winds and rain blew us away.

The winds during the second night were extreme, with winds upwards of 70 km/h. The night also brought thunderstorms and plenty of rain. One of the tents, which a large group of girls decided to huddle in to keep warm, would see the fly get lifted by the strong winds and then they would get blasted with the rains, soaking everyone and all their equipment inside. Needless to say this group spent a wet and chilly night before they decided to get into one of the better tents. In the morning, you could tell which students didn't get enough sleep, as tensions were high in some fractions of the group as we were trying leave camp. Some students also gave up trying to keep things dry, as they knew we were headed home. This was a good thing for the majority of the group.

Camping can be a challenge for some people, add to that having to carry all your gear on your back and the chilly unpredictable weather of October, you get individuals that are brought way beyond their comfort zone. I must say that with this group, some students really impressed me with their ability to deal with some of those struggles and their ability to rise above it to ensure enjoyment for themselves and others. I do hope for those students that were really beyond their comfort zone, that they realize this is part of enjoying the Canadian Wilderness, but for every day you face hardships, there are ten others that will bring you the utmost exhilaration.

PAD4O Moving Water Weekend

October 14 - 16, 2011

The grade 12's had a great weekend of moving water canoeing at Palmers Rapids. Even with the cold temperatures and the rain, everyone made great strides in their paddling abilities.

Friday started a bit rough, with everyone swimming at some point, as we started practicing entering and exiting the current. We followed this with a run of the bottom rapid, which went fairly well until the very end, with Rhys and Cory running the last bit backwards and Alex going for the full on gunnel grab, with both canoes ending up full of water. At this point we decided to pack it in and head back to camp.

Saturday morning was quite chilly, although the rains had let up. The paddling didn't start off very successful, with Cory and Rhys flipping almost immediately in our warm up. Both seemed quite raddled and we decided to change around the partners. Hayden and Cory turned this into a great partnership and were off paddling, with Hayden quickly instilling confidence into Cory. This was not the case by Alex and Rhys who on their first run pinned their canoe in the bottom set of rapids. We decide to put everyone back on the horse (in their canoes) and run the bottom rapid again (slightly different partnerships), which was successful until the very end, when Alex and Steph's canoe swamped and slowly sank in the whirlpools at the very bottom. It was time for a lunch break.

The danger of stopping for lunch by a hot fire on a cold day is that people don't want to get back into their cold gear and go paddling. This is exactly what happened, but I wouldn't have it. We were there to paddle and we were glad we did go back, as we ran the bottom set of Palmer Rapids multiple times successfully. Each time getting more confident and trying new routes and manoeuvres. Rhys and I finished the session of with a great surf and flip at the very bottom.

On Sunday, the sun greeted us for our paddle. The amazing thing about paddling in the middle of October is that you have the place all to yourselves. Where in the spring time there must have been at least 150 people. We started the day like we finished the last, running the bottom set a couple of times with great success. This was preparation for the top set, which was a bit more challenging, with more power behind the water and bigger waves. We had a blast as we ran it many times and only Hayden and Cory flipped their canoe on the last run at the very bottom of the rapid. It was very impressive to see how far people came in such a short amount of time.

PAD2O Frontenac Hiking Trip #1

October 5 - 7, 2011

The amazing weather set the tone for an excellent Fall hiking trip. Although the colours on the trees were just starting, the perfect blue skies and temperatures in the mid-twenties were a rare treat in October. When was the last time you said that you went swimming while on a hiking trip in Frontenac Provincial Park in October?

Our trip began at the Arab Lake Parking lot and the group was excited to get going. We took the northern route via Birch Lake and the old mica mines to our campsite on Little Clear Lake. We made excellent time as the group moved really well together and the navigating done by the students was excellent. Well, I guess almost excellent, as Ben did try to take the group up a crazy steep hill. With a few quick stops at some nice lookouts and a bit of exploring of the mica mines, we reached our camp around 5 pm. Just enough time to collect firewood for our dinners and to watch the sun go down.

Once the sun went down, you could really feel the Fall chill. The night was really chilly, as I am sure we were close to the freezing point, but that was well worth the beautiful display of the moon and the stars. It also meant that the next day was going to be another sunny one. By the time we were ready to start moving, the layers of clothing came off quickly, with most of us hiking in shorts and t-shirts.

The 2nd day saw us hiking from campsite #9, around Big Salmon Lake to campsite #4. The route was part old cart track, as we passed a few old homestead ruins, and part small windy hiking trails. The group moved at a record pace, which gave us plenty of time for lunch. We had lunch at the Big Salmon Lake lookout, which was one of the big highlights of the trip, as the students had plenty of time to check out the amazing view and take a swim in the beautiful clear water. Even though we spent a good 2 hours enjoying the sunshine at lunch, we were still at our campsite by 4 pm, giving us plenty of time to collect (good) firewood for our evening. Campsite #4 also gave us the perfect vantage point for the beautiful sunset delivered to us across Big Salmon Lake.

The night was not as chilly this time and things seemed to warm up really quickly in the morning, they did predict that temperatures would be in the high twenties for this day. That said, we were looking to get going a little earlier today and for some of us (Ms. Lacroix and I) that worked, but for the rest of the group they were left to organize themselves (as we hid in the trees about 100 m away). It took the group an extra half an hour to finish cleaning up and decide that they should start moving, but they left the campsite spotless and were moving up the trail in the right direction as a group. That says a lot about this trip and this group, they worked well together, they moved as a group, they listened to the instructions and teachings, and they had a lot of fun together. That combined with the perfect weather, the group sang all the way to the end of the trail.

PAD3O Algonquin Park Fall Canoe Trip

September 26 - 29, 2011

We did the traditional Achray to Squirrel Rapids trip in Algonquin Park in the opposite direction last week. This was due to the fact that another school had booked Opalescent Lake on the dates that we wanted it. This meant that there was no easing into the trip, the toughest day would be right off the start and lucky for us this set the standard for the trip.

At 12:00 pm, we set off at Squirrel Rapids on our adventure through the Barron Canyon. The sky was blue, the sun was hot and everyone was excited to get going. This was obvious on our first portage, as everyone was working hard and it was done in no time at all. We followed this with a beautiful paddle through the Barron Canyon. It was at the end of the canyon that our most challenging day would really begin.

Three portages back (440 m) to back (100m) to back (740 m). The entire team worked hard through all of them and although on the long one people were hurting, we finished it in excellent time, putting us on Opalescent Lake by 5:00 pm. While half the group went to camp to set up, the other half went for firewood. The beautiful benches at the campsite provided for a well deserved break while we waited for a dinner of hamburgers (lots) and salad. This was capped off with an amazing display of stars and Northern Lights.

After a good night's sleep, we awoke to bacon and eggs. Which was a good thing as our day would start with a 660 m portage. Nice thing about that was that from here on in it only would get easier. We made quick work of all our portages and short paddles this day, even opting to go a little further to Stratton Lake, as someone was occupying the two nice campsites on St. Andrew Lake where we had planned to stay. This meant that we would spend two nights at the same campsite. We enjoyed our hot dog/left-over hamburger lunch, before we headed to High Falls for a slide down the Otter Slide and some impressive jumping from the jump rock.

The spaghetti dinner, with caesar salad and garlic bread, was truly enjoyed before the festivities of the evening. Some people headed off to bed early (these were the smart people), while others stayed up late to enjoy a solid game of 'Mafia'. You could tell by the tiny eyes the next morning (and we slept in, breakfast at 10:00 am) who was up late. Not having to pack up and move made for a real relaxing start, something we deserved as we really worked hard the previous two days. We talked about clouds, knots, hanging food and spent the morning solo canoeing. This was followed with a make-shift grilled cheese lunch (we forgot the margarine) and another afternoon playing at High Falls. That night the entire group joined in for 'Mafia' under the tarps, while the rain came down.

It rained pretty hard for most of the night, but as we finished cleaning up camp and were ready to get in to our canoes, the clouds opened up to provide us with a beautiful blue sky. A great way to end a fantastic trip.

I will let the students explain what happened 100 m from the end of our trip.