Go Outside

I haven’t really posted much about the latest adventure. I went on a weekend trip with David from The Passionate Paddler. Let me tell you… it was quite the experience! His trips look like they are always quite an adventure!

Anywho… as we were paddling along, he told me to look over to my left. I did and although it was quite scenic, I had no idea what I was supposed to be looking at. Then I spotted it… Someone had left a canoe paddle behind in a pile of rocks. I threw my hands up in the air and yelled, “Oh! We found a Paddle in the Park!” In my head it was promising, (for about a millisecond). I haven’t been watching the contest too closely but I have a feeling all the paddles have been found? Not to mention we were in an area that isn’t well traveled and very difficult to get to. Plus, as we inched closer I could tell this was no Badger paddle. The paint is chipping off, the bottom is falling apart and it was stitched together. If it once was a good paddle, it’s surely an antique now. I did have to chuckle though… I had spent some time looking for the “Queen of the Portage” paddle earlier this year with some girlfriends of mine, only to find out later that we weren’t even close to where it was hidden.
We decided to take the paddle with us. Just for kicks really… But as it turned out the paddle would become quite useful on our journey. You see David doesn’t do just your average canoe trip. He likes to go to places that haven’t been explored by anyone for a long time… lost canoe routes so to speak. Where there were no trails, we had to find our own, (or make our own!) We had to bushwhack our way through the forest. Sometimes this meant carrying a heavy pack up a very steep incline. Now… I’ve done a lot of hiking in my day, but nothing like this! Every time I got loaded up to go behind David, I was more than happy to carry the nasty paddle. I find that paddles can come in handy when you’re hiking on uneven terrain. However it’s not really good for your paddle to put all your weight on to them. So having this handy junk paddle show up when it did was perfect timing! I have to say I put that paddle through hell and back. Every time I didn’t have the strength to push myself and the pack on my back up the hill I would jam that sucker into a rock or into the dirt and it would help me to pull myself up.

It also makes for an excellent brace when you feel yourself slipping. I must have wiped out a handful of times on this trip. (Okay maybe a couple handfuls!) But having the paddle with me definitely saved my butt a few times!

So although it wasn’t the Badger paddle that I imagined when I first caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye, it definitely helped me along on our adventure. It pays to work hard for it sometimes. We definitely know that #rewardsareoutthere! Every single time we reached the top of a peak or the end of a portage the reward was always there!

Our reward was in the journey. Especially for me, if I do say so myself. I’d never been on a trip this challenging. Just to say I made it home in one piece was awesome! And we were rewarded with the most incredible views and a new friendship.

If you haven’t been following, you can see a bunch of nice pictures on David’s Facebook page, or Instagram. Or of course my Facebook or Instagram as well.

Have you ever found anything cool out there? Leave a comment below!