Surviving a 75 Mile Canoe Trip
Introduction
I. Attention-getter: 75 miles, 9 days, countless lakes and portages. These are the ingredients for the trip of a lifetime to the boundary waters of Minnesota and Canada.
II. State topic: Being stuck in a canoe in the middle of the wilderness may not necessarily be people’s ideas of a great time, but it is an incredible experience that everyone needs to do at least once.
III. Establish importance: This type of canoe trip is difficult, but it is possible and it is worth it.
IV. Establish credibility: I completed this trip over the past summer, and looking back at it there are certainly some things I would have loved to be aware of going into it, that may not have been told us for a reason.
V. Preview key ideas: There are a few tips I would like to share with you before you pack your bags and rush off into the wilderness, these include some basic information about your canoe, the infamous portages you will experience, and the most important part about a trip like this, the people you share it with.
Body
I. Canoeing
The first and largest obstacle you encounter when on a canoe trip is naturally canoeing itself. You
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I am going to say it again, this trip is not an easy one. You are tested and tried in ways you may have never even imagined. Having a friend by your side makes a world of difference. It is a helpful reminder that you are not along, there is another human being crazy enough to take this trip. At times allegiance will be tested, and you may never want to see each other again. But you’re in the middle of nowhere, and it is a lot easier to successfully paddle a canoe with two people rather than one person. Eventually something will click and your friendship takes on an entirely new light to a level you never thought possible. Whether that comes from sticking out a thunderstorm on the shores of a lake, joking around the campfire, or sitting in the calm waters, your friendship will take on a whole new
“History of the Dayton Canoe Club.” Daytoncanoeclub.org. Dayton Canoe Club, n.d. Web. 22 March 2012. .
In the story, A Long Walk to Waters, written by Linda Sue Park, the readers are introduced to many different individuals that were able to survive challenging environments. Those individuals used those factors, perseverance, cooperation, and independence. Those factors have allowed individuals to make it past through the harsh environments throughout their journey. Perseverance shows how those individuals kept on going without giving up. Meanwhile, cooperation represents how struggling individuals are able to work together in order to achieve their goal. Last but not least independence shows how individuals can conquer a hurdle by him or herself.
...of our canoes and drag them across the Everglades. (Though I did get out of the canoe for the fun of it) We just canoed and were able to enjoy ourselves because of people like Willoughby who made the journey before us. I am certain that many who did not like Willoughby before their canoe trip at least admired him after. After one day of canoeing, my arms ached, by knees were bruised, and my face was tan. Willoughby canoed a lot longer than a day and through much harsher conditions.
“Two roads diverged in a wood and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” At some point in life one is faced with a decision which will define the future, but only time will tell whether or not the choice was right or wrong. The Boat by Alistair MacLeod demonstrates that an individual should make their own decisions in life, be open to new experiences and changes, and that there is no way to obtain something, without sacrificing something else.
When I finished this article I started to realize that the life of pioneers was not just one big adventure, but they had to face some really difficult problems like dangerous river crossing, bad weather, different kinds of accidents and diseases along the way without any chance for medical treatment.
Of the lessons of this course, the distinction made between story and situation will be the most important legacy in my writing. I learned a great travel essay cannot be merely its situation: its place, time, and action. It requires a story, the reader’s internal “journey of discovery.” While the importance of establishing home, of balancing summary and scene, and other lessons impacted my writing, this assertion at least in my estimation the core argument of the course.
For almost two centuries the TSW, in dealing with public pressure, has pointed to its original mandate. The concern is that in doing so it fails to recognize that increasingly, the entire waterway is an expanding recreation base, which not only requires water for navigation but also requires an equitable supply of water to support recreational uses and to maintain and enhance the natural environment. The TSW, although maintaining their original position, has over the years made provision for “new” uses of water including diverting vast amounts to white water canoeing events, water filtrations plants and increased municipal uses. Clearly times have changed and the TSW must recognize that it must adapt through not only a change of mandate but also a change of governance that would recognize and better co-ordinate the vast amount of stakeholders within the system.
Lindholdt, Paul J. "Introduction." The Canoe and the Saddle: A Critical Edition. Ed. Paul J.
“The Boat”, narrated by a Mid-western university professor, Alistar MacLeod, is a short story concerning a family and their different perspectives on freedom vs. tradition. The mother pushes the son to embrace more of a traditional lifestyle by taking over the fathers fishing business, while on the other hand the father pushes the son to live more autonomously in an unconstrained manner. “The Boat” focuses on the father and how his personality influences the son’s choice on how to live and how to make decisions that will ultimately affect his life. In Alistair MacLeod’s, “The Boat”, MacLeod suggest that although dreams and desires give people purpose, the nobility of accepting a life of discontentment out weighs the selfishness of following ones own true desires. In the story, the father is obligated to provide for his family as well as to continue the fishing tradition that was inherited from his own father. The mother emphasizes the boat and it’s significance when she consistently asked the father “ How did things go in the boat today” since tradition was paramount to the mother. H...
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Living in the wilderness is difficult, but understanding the meaning of such lifestyle is even more difficult. One of the Christopher’s admirable qualities was that he was well aware of what he was doing. He knew about the difficulties and dangers that he would face into the wilderness, and was mentally prepared for that. Author Jon Krakauer says that “McCandless was green, and he overestimated his resilience, but he was sufficiently skilled to last for sixteen weeks on little more than his wits and ten pounds of rice. And he was fully aware when he entered the bush that he had given himself a perilously slim margin for error. He knew precisely what was at stake” (182). McCandless was an educated youth, who loved nature and dreamed of living in the Alaskan wilderness. Although he ignored to take many necessary things with him on this
Throughout history man has made many journeys, both far and wide. Moses’ great march through the Red Sea and Columbus's traversing the Atlantic are examples of only a couple of men’s great voyages. Even today, great journeys are being made. Terry Fox's run across Canada while fighting cancer is one of these such journeys. In every one of these instances people have had to rise above themselves and overcome immense odds, similar to a salmon swimming upstream to full fill it's life line. Intense drive and extreme fortitude are qualities they needed to posses during their travels.
Chris McCandless’s story, in Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer is an important story to be heard, but it should be read as a cautionary tale for all people wanting to go into the wilderness unprepared. Anyone going into an inhospitable region should be aware of this story and should not make the mistake of being
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