Dear Boundless Families:
Both cohorts return to port after their stints in the wilderness in a matter of hours.
They will celebrate their accomplishments with a feast of beast, the luxury of a bed and porcelain toilets, and with happy tears that will flow like the waterfalls they navigated on the Dumoine River.
I visited both groups on Lac Robinson on Saturday night, and got a taste of the older group, while spending a full day with the younger group yesterday, so naturally I have more juicy gossip on the younger.
But first the Weiners. They have waged war on nature and are returning home victorious like the bug bitten Trojan Achean warriors they have become. But the challenges of “nature” were more internal than the river. Many in this group, by nature, battle internal demons – these were far more formidable than the river itself. Such drama in one moment, then sheer gaiety the next. They emerged triumphant on all fronts – and you will see this on their faces tomorrow, as they will stand taller, buffer, bolder and more confident. I cannot express the pride we feel in their extraordinary inner accomplishments. But this aint nothing compared to the pride they feel. The demons are still there – no 13-day magic elixir exists for the beast within, but man, they have learned that with discipline and support from others, the world can be their oyster.
Now to the younger group. All the superlative adjectives I used in my third update were an understatement! This group has had no conflict. Like, never once. It is crazy odd. You must think I am embellishing but I am not. Some magic chemistry happened. Love at first paddle dip! Check out this story:
We were descending Red Pine Rapids rather effortlessly yesterday – a nasty chain of 5 rapids that will consume you alive if not handled just so. At the bottom of the fourth rapid, we saw another 12 person, five canoe group get into trouble. And I mean big trouble. Not knowing what they don’t know; ill prepared, utterly ignorant and cocky, 4 of their 5 beer laden boats dumped simultaneously, and two of these were in limb threatening, if not life threatening trouble. Ethics and a strong moral compulsion meant that our guides had to rescue them while your kids waited in an eddy for 45 minutes, their mouths agape that in fact this river doesn’t really give a f..k about anyone, and it cast some perspective on their accomplishments.
But that’s not the half of it. We asked the other party if they wanted to join us through the remainder of the tricky part of the river. Pride made them initially refuse the offer, and the entire Boundless group were unsure of our next move – do we leave them at their own peril and carry on, or do we insist, which means we delay the flow of our descent by hours.
Your kids insisted we stay and support them. And as we endured the inevitable delays that ensued, I observed your kids happily and patiently waiting around, feeling like the disciples of Mother Theresa they have become. “Of course we can’t abandon them” was their rallying cry. This group has become among my favorite in Boundless history. I just adored their emerging maturity, and being with them felt like the party that the other 5-boat yahoo group could never attain in their post river trauma.
Enough stories for now…you will hear them all first hand soon enough.
