2006 Canoe Trip Comments

Wilderness Canoe Expeditions

2006 Expedition
August 12-19 :: 6 Days on the trail

:: Photo Album

:: Team Members - 6

Comments

Why did you go on this canoe trip? What perked your interest?

Dan

To be with my sons, and to experience a very unique trip.

Stephen

The wilderness aspect of this trip is probably what perked my interest most. I have been raised in the city, and so the chance to live in the wilderness for a few days was nearly irresistible; it sounded more like the kind of things one would read about in a book.

Nathan

I have always wanted to go on a trip like this.

Brian

Like many Christian families, we have provided our boys a steady diet of war histories, pioneer stories, G.A. Henty novels, Sugarcreek Gang books and Ranger Bill radio shows. This has fed their natural boyish appetite for adventure. So from an early age, they would talk about, or pretend to be, participating in some type of 'Lewis and Clark' exploration or some swashbuckling epic.

   During these same years, I have been increasingly confronted from scripture to turn my heart to my children, to seek out opportunities to lead them in The Way and to call them into manhood. I too had been dreamt of taking my boys on wilderness activities where I could give them my undivided attention to teach and to listen. But it was only a dream, because I had never known any camping beyond pitching a tent at some campground.
Campground stays can be fun, but they aren't any boy's idea of 'adventure' and it isn't far from the daily distractions of cell phones, radios, peers, etc. Moreover, most nature events provided at private or state campgrounds are presented from an evolutionist's viewpoint.

   When my wife heard about this trip from akronfossils.com, we thought it could be an opportunity to give my sons a sense of adventure and to learn some wilderness camping methods with others who also worship God as Creator.

   We were not disappointed. As a guide, Bill Sanderson, was experienced, knowledgeable, patient and equipped for adversity. But Bill also projected a love for the Boundary Water's wilderness and for The One who created it to the fathers and sons.

   One special moment was dropping into the canoe after the last portage before paddling to the designated base camp. Exhausted, but with a sense of accomplishment, we feasted on the extreme beauty of the nearby rocky ledges and emerald clear water. The goal was within reach and God rolled out the carpet.

   Another memorable moment was reclining on the granite boulders after a late evening dinner of freshly caught northern pike to view meteor showers against the most star filled sky I had ever seen. It reminded us of the passage in Genesis where God, the best Father, challenges Abraham to 'number the stars, if you can'.

   We would refer to the trip as a 'once in a life time opportunity', except my sons are already wanting to return next year and are thinking of ways to include our whole family, how to save money for the trip etc.