Brent Hubbard

The Wolf River is pretty beautiful. I had gone on canoe trips before, lazy rivers on which we floated in our life jackets while my dad paddled the canoe, but on these trips I was challenged to keep up with the group. While this was helped by my eager oarsman in the back, it was nevertheless a strenuous pace. Still, I truly enjoyed my time on the river. At certain points I would ask him to stop paddling so that we could listen to the birds and insects in that diverse area (It wasn't fatigue, I swear!). It was peaceful on the water. The Ghost section was probably my favorite part, since it was not only challenging to navigate but also incredibly unique; to paddle through a forest was surreal to me, and it will be a long time before I forget it. The degraded section on which we paddled the second week was almost like a 180 degree turn. There was very little natural riverbank and the toppled trees slowed our group more than once. Also, the areas in which sewage was dumped compelled me to remain balanced in the canoe even more than normal. Still, it was awesome to see some wildlife (like a Belted Kingfisher) thriving in that alien condition and habitat. I still remember coming back to campus on Sunday thinking to myself "Man, you slept in today? Well I canoed some miles on the Wolf River!" It was a relatively short-lived pride, as I realized that most of the people who did not complain on the river were girls and middle-aged men. Still, there was some glory and peace enjoyed from the ineffable rejuvenation of Nature.