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.