What a busy last month (or two)

So I may or may not have told you that I have been the YM Pres in our ward here for nearly a year now. In my eyes, part of that calling is the annual high adventure for the Priests (and sometimes the Teachers). In talking with the YM in the ward, many of them (well, many is all relative--in our case that means 4-5) expressed some interest in going to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. For those who have no idea what that is (which is most people who have never stepped foot in Minnesota) it is a huge wilderness area full of many little lakes that are all connected by either a river, small stream, or some type of trail. Having never been there before, I said, "Okay, sounds fun! Let's do it!" What I didn't realize at the time is that I had never been on that side (the planning side--the responsible side) of a high adventure. I was in for the ride of a lifetime. I'll spare you the details, but let it suffice to say I had fun, I'm glad I went, but I'll probably never go back.
This is a picture of the food pack--7 people for 6 days. It didn't all fit into one pack so...


I had to put the rest (and six cylandars of gas) into my pack with my gear. Poor planning, I know. Next time--we split the food up and we all carry some.
This is how you carry these blasted canoes--there is a not comfortable pad that "rests" the canoe on your shoulders. Doesn't look bad, but I am a personal witness that old borrowed aluminum canoes are not the best way to go. These 65-75 pound beasts get very heavy really quickly when you are jumping from log to log to avoid mud up to your knees. Even on flat ground, 3/4 of a mile seems like forever when you have mosquitos the size of bald eagles eating through your long sleeved shirt. Not mention you usually end up making each portage 3 times--once with the canoe, once to go back to get your pack, and then obviously once more with your pack. Too much gear = too much work. Trust me.

This is a quick shot of what the small rivers look like that frequently connect one small lake to another.

There are some truly beautiful moments in the secluded wilderness. This was one of those. Especially when you would take a quick break, look up and see a huge bald eagle drop out of a tree and swoop over head. It's moments like those that make it all worth it.

I couldn't have snapped this picture at a better moment. Too bad I don't have a better zoom. We made a day trip up five lakes (making four portages) and rewarded ourselves in some crisp cool water.
As you can see, some of our trails weren't really trails...

We finally started to two-man carry these beasts.
You sure you're going to fit between those two trees? When you're carrying those canoes, you can't see anything but ground and even then you can only see about 2.5-3 feet in front of you.
THESE ARE NOT MY LEGS!! Not my hairy legs, but this shows what happens when one thinks one doesn't need bug spray. Not smart.

I DID USE BUG SPRAY AND HAD NO MAJOR ISSUES.
This was a self-portrait on the last leg of the trip home. For the record, they had some horrible storms blow through that night. After six days of nearly perfect weather, I felt extremely blessed!

I don't get many chances to grow some scruff, so I have to take pictures of myself when I do have it. Don't get me wrong, we had a great time, it was just very tiring. My idea of travelling on a water does not include a paddle and a canoe---I'm more for the boat or at least a jet ski. It's a lot of work to paddle 5 miles only to have to turn around and come home in white-capped water because the designated camp spots were full.

Less than a week after returning home from the high adventure, I went to Wisconson for scout camp. Thankfully, our bishop isn't much for camping with the bugs. Hence, he bought a new tent, and nailed the thing down to the platform. I loved it. No hammack and bug net inside an old stinky army tent.
Now that was a heck of a good smore!!!

I had to add these last few pics just because they were cute! While I was out roughing it in woods trying to find a tree big enough to hand my food away from bears, my family took off to Utah for the annual trek. I know they had fun, but living alone for a month without my kids (and wife of course) is way too long!

Our good friend from Michigan--Christine--gave Rylie an adorable little baby doll that Rylie just loves!

Mmmm, watermelon!

Rylie came home from Utah to have graduated from the crib to a big girl bed. Mel was not-so-secretly hoping to have the room painted pink when she came home. I reminded her that I don't reward month long vacations which leave me out. :-)