Kristan Ward September 10, 2006 Wolf River Reflection

“I am going canoeing. No, I am not kidding. Seriously, I really do have a mandatory canoe trip.” I never thought that I would be uttering such a phrase to my friends as an explanation as to why I would not be able to partake in various activities for the first few weekends back at Rhodes my senior year. Although I was questioned numerous times as to why in the world I had decided to take an Ecology class my experiences at the Wolf River are surely ones that will stand out. In my three years in Memphis I have not traveled too far from the gated compound that is Rhodes. I had no idea that this incredibly unique city had something like the Wolf River to offer. Being from Minnesota I know that there are countless opportunities for me to have gone on canoeing trips and to have experienced the incredible beauty of the boundary waters and the various lakes and rivers that the state has to offer. However, the only canoeing I have done is on the pond in my neighbor’s backyard in elementary school and on Lake Okoboji in Iowa where I worked as a camp counselor. I wasn’t necessarily looking forward to the first trip but I wasn’t dreading it by any means either. I assumed my experience would be pretty boring and that the only memories I would take from the trip would be how sore I felt the next morning. The first week on the river proved to be completely different than what I expected. There were a few things that surprised me about the river, including how many fallen trees and debris blocked our path. I assumed that the river would be clear and straight, I didn’t even consider having to make sharp turns or maneuver through tight spaces which we did a lot of. I was also surprised at how green and full the vegetation was, how I went multiple hours without hearing police sirens, and how I was actually in Memphis. I loved that a few of the guys tipped their canoes multiple times and that even if we didn’t get to see them go over it was so quiet that we were able to hear either the splash or the shouts of them capsizing once again. The scavenger hunt proved to be fun and I surprised myself by actually recognizing a lot more things than I thought I would be able to. The only snake I have ever seen in the wild is a garter snake in my yard at home so being lucky enough to see a big dangerous snake on the side of the river was another highlight. I also loved that there was a downpour of rain for about five minutes and that we were all soaked for the last hour of the trip despite the beautiful sunny weather we had had the rest of the day.

The second week of canoeing was definitely more challenging than the first in more ways than one. After two weeks of rush, which is more of a time commitment and work than one would think, I was a little disappointed I had to miss bid day for the canoe trip. Being anxious to get done in hopes of making it back caused me to not have as good of an attitude about the experience as I did the week before. Another challenge was the state of the particular portion of the river we canoed. The river was so low it felt like we were on a nature hike and had decided to carry canoes along with us for an added challenge rather than us actually being on a canoe trip. When we were actually sitting down in the canoe instead of carrying it, we were mostly scooting to get off of the sand or pushing to get off of a log. It wasn’t as enjoyable because we never had the opportunity to just glide along and enjoy the surroundings the way we had the previous week. The river in this section was very different, it almost felt more industrialized because the banks were so far from you and the vegetation was not as dense. Like the previous week there are certain things that will stick out in my mind. Getting stuck in the “rapids” everyone else eased through, watching a few guys grab a keg to turn in for a deposit, and listening to a few certain students complain, definitely served for some good memories.

To me everything in life is an experience and a chance to see or do something you have never done before. My absolute favorite part of this experience was seeing the ghost section of the river. I have never seen anything like it and loved that there was a hidden treasure within the river. I enjoyed dodging all of the trees and getting stuck in huge canoe pile ups. Even more so I loved how each group somehow managed to spread out and that we each emerged into what was almost a lake for the last few miles of our journey experiencing solitude and silence. I wasn’t able to describe this portion of the experience to my friends who inquired about the mandatory canoe trip; there weren’t words to describe it. I laughed as I told them my other memories and justified to them that what I thought would be a pointless and boring trip, was a great experience. The surroundings I was able to see the first week were something only a few of us are now able to appreciate. Although the experience was one I never thought I would have in the first few weeks of my senior year it has proved to leave me with many more memories than being sore the following day.