Grade 9 Kayaking Trip 2013 - Group A

     For the 2013 grade 9 kayaking trip, I was put into Group A, or the Tadpole group. There was around fifteen people in the group. After the initial lunch and packing of the kayaks, both groups embarked on the three-day trip. The trip to the first camp site took around three and a half hours, around three hours were spent kayaking and around half an hour was spent on breaks.

     The group's first camp site was at an old abandoned children's camp. The group stayed here for one night before moving on to the next camp site. Once the group had docked all of the kayaks in a secure area, each tent group had to set up a tent. Once this task was completed, lunch was had. The group generally did not do much while at each camp site, but the first day concluded with a camp fire. 

     On the second day, the group did a short one-hour expedition before returning back to the camp site. Once the group had returned, the journey to the second camp site began. This journey took around two hours and concluded at the Oyster Beach campground in the Mount Richardson Provincial Park. Once there, the group again hauled the kayaks onto a safe location and then set up camp. The second campground was considerably smaller than the first, but it still had enough space for everything. 

     On the last day, the group left the camp site at nine o' clock and traveled back to the original starting point for around three hours. Once the group arrived back at the home base, each kayak had to be cleaned. The group also reunited with Group B; both of the groups had lunch and then went back to the school.

     Overall, I thought that the camp was quite enjoyable most of the time. The time spent kayaking was quite intense and physically demanding, and it was rewarded once a camp site was reached. It was also nice to be so detached from civilization and technology; this allowed me to bond with the people around me. This was probably the best part of the kayaking trip. The two days away from technology also made me realize how fortunate I am to have all of the things that I have, and it gave me a fresh perspective on my life.
     My goal going into this trip was to become a more open-minded person. I tried to be open to new things and to approach tasks and challenges with an open mind, and I think that I succeeded at this.

Rock Climbing 2012

In December, 9SV went to the Cliffhanger rock climbing facility in Vancouver for three sessions. Each student was encouraged to challenge themselves with a course that was a bit more difficult that what they were used to.
Last year, the most difficult course I completed was a 5.9. This year I managed to complete a 5.10a, with some difficulty. I also learned how to belay someone that was climbing. I completed the required test and successfully earned my belaying certificate. All in all, I am proud of what I accomplished in these three sessions.

"The best climber is the one having the most fun."
- Alex Lowe

Cross Country Skiing 2013

Through the month of February, 9SV went cross country skiing a total of three times on Cypress mountain. Once on the mountain, the group was split into two levels of skill: higher and lower level. The higher level group went on more challenging parts of the mountain while the lower level group stuck to the more flat and easygoing parts of the mountain. Both levels of skill focused on skill development and re-enforcement.

I myself mostly re-enforced what I already knew, but one skill that I was in the process of learning was stopping with parallel skis, as opposed to the snowplow way of stopping. I had a lot of fun skiing with my friends and classmates, and it was made better by the great weather that we experienced for two of the three sessions.

“Winter is coming.” 
- George R.R. Martin

The Lion Mountains

The Lion Mountains, also known as the Twins Sisters, are located North of Vancouver. The legend goes that the two peaks on the mountain are a certain tribal chief's daughters that have been immortalized on the top of a mountain. The Sagalie Tyee had two daughters that were about to go into womanhood, and he decided to throw a massive celebration for the occasion because that is what is typically done. However, the tribe that the Tyee was from was at war with another tribe, but he decided to ignore the war for one week while the celebration happened. His daughters, however, requested that the celebration should be a peaceful celebration, and that they should invite the tribe that they are at war with. The Tyee accepted their request, then proceeded to throw the best celebration in the history of celebrations. The Tyee was so overjoyed that he decided to immortalize his daughters in a high place: on the top of a mountain. And they remain there to this day.

Kayaking 2012

Last year, the kayaking OEE trips focused on simply going out and having a good time. This year, we are actually practicing the skills necessary to be a skilled kayaker. We went in doubles kayaks instead of singles on the first trip, and we covered a fairly large distance in the one and a half hours that we had on the water. There was nothing particularly fancy about our first outing, we simply went around on the water, and crossed from island to island on one occasion.

Sailing 2012

This was the second time we went sailing this year, and it was definitely more exciting than the first time. We experienced a squall wind while we were on the water, and more than half of the boats got capsized because of it! I learned how to properly bring a capsized boat back upright, which was also made harder because of the harsh winds.

There was very little wind when we first got on the water, but within half an hour there were 15-knot winds coming from the West. This made sailing a whole lot more challenging. The boats were not made for such winds, so as a result everyone either capsized or lost their mast to the wind. 

Other than learning things on the water, I also learned some new sailing terms like Broad Reach and Jybe. 

Canoeing

Today the 8HV OEE class went canoeing at Deer lake for one and a half hours. Some of the newer canoe-ers learned new strokes and how to get in and out of a canoe. Our instructor provided some good advice and some interesting side conversations to boot.

Overall, while I already knew how to canoe fairly well, it was fun to do it once again after not canoeing for a while.

The IB characteristic that I think I showed the most was being principled because I helped out others, mostly Gavin, when they needed help with learning a new skill.