A quick update from trip leader Abby:
For the last four days our crew split into two groups for a paddle on Clearwater Lake, one of the most pristine places we’ve ever been. Here is a short blurb from each group!
Group 1: On day one of our canoe trip, we paddled out to Stellars campsite where we played Celebrity, cooked a delicious stir-fry dinner, sang for dessert, and watched a storm over the mountains in the distance. The next morning, we took down camp and continued further down the lake to Huckleberry campsite, stopping along the way to swim in the amazingly clear water (thus the name), take some artsy photos, and soak in the short-lived sunshine! In the evening, we enjoyed deliciously chocolate s’mores while watching an incredible sunset over the lake. Day three started out with a initiative in which the students had to find their way out of a maze while blindfolded. Afterward, we began paddling to our final campsite at Bar View, where we made quesadillas, had an amazing dance party on the beach, and played some epic rounds of headlight Camouflage! It was certainly a night to remember. Our last day was a wet one, but the students persevered through the pouring rain to the takeout and were stoked to be back in the warm, dry vans! We’re very proud of their positive attitudes!
Group 2: The first day started out beautiful but quickly turned into thunderstorms, so our group went to the closest campsite. Luckily, the storm cleared up and we got to swim. After dinner, another storm came so we had to take shelter in our tents and hear the thunder, which was pretty impressive. The next day, we took down camp and set sights on a different camp farther down the lake—but not too far because we were preparing for another storm. Once we got to our new camp, we played a few games until it started to rain. Luckily, the third day was sunny, and we all paddled to a nice beach where we played for a few hours. That evening we had s’mores around a campfire then went to bed. The final day was very wet and rainy, but we managed to paddle back to the boat launch in high spirits.
The last three days have been full of beautiful beaches and great friendships! It has been so fun to see how this community has grown over the last three weeks. We are all looking forward to our final day in Canada as a big group rafting on the Thompson River!