It's All About the Adventure

       My name is Amanda Wofford, a southern girl, from Manchester, TN. I do not consider my self the typical Southern Belle, because I am also an outdoors enthusiast. My dad introduced the outdoors to my sister Brianna and I at a very young age. Most of my fondest memories and family stories are set in the outdoors.

    I believe that the outdoors has played a huge role in shaping me into the person I am today. I love to entertain, cook, decorate, and have girls nights, but I also love to go on adventures in the outdoors, whether it;s with family, friends, or introducing students to the outdoors by leading. I have always reflected about my experiences, travels, or about big life changing events. It was not until my junior year of college where writing started to impact my life. My fall semester of my junior year I observed at a Chattanooga magnet school for PDS (an education requirement), and began to journal often about my tutoring experiences, mentors, and anything that impacted me. Writing throughout that event of PDS helped me to digest what was going on and reflect on my thinking just as I would do with my travel/ nature reflections. I realized that writing acted as therapy (for the one who internalizes everything) and helped me figure out my purpose in life. I have discovered that there is Grace everyday, and I can make mistakes. However writing still scares me, so how I am choosing to approach that fear is by writing about things I know.

   My spring semester of my junior year I tool a Writing Beyond the Academy class where I had to write a creative piece that consisted of a short story or a poem, and I mentioned how this type of writing intimidates me. So I chose to write about an outdoor experience, and it was actually a really positive experience. The short story that I wrote encouraged me to start a blog, and it is only natural to have it as the introduction.

So only one of many adventures to be shared . . . "It's All About the Adventure".

 

It’s All About the Adventure

            My life revolves around the outdoors and adventures. Every trip that I go on there’s always a story and many experiences that are worth a lifetime. One of the many trips that I’ve been on that has stories worth telling is the journey to The Great Woods of The Boundary Waters. The Boundary Waters are known for their many lakes that exhibit natural beauty, and are nestled in the Canadian and Minnesota Wilderness. I think of this trip, and the first thing that comes to mind is how the redneck South meets the North.

            The adventure begins with a car ride Northbound. We arrive in the little quaint town of Ely, Minnesota. Ely is the Canoe Mecca for paddlers, and we walk the Ely strip by window shopping in outdoor outfitter shops, similar to the tourists who travel to the South to go antiquing. We try to fit in with the Ely locals by shopping at Zupps supermarket, where we learned the word beg, as in a paper sack to put our groceries in. Then we treat ourselves to a Britton’s omelet and then a blueberry soda before we head into the wilderness.

            We are in the Canadian wilderness traveling like the native Indians, by canoe until we reach the end of a lake. 

Everyone is always curious to know what’s on the other side or what lies beyond. In the backwoods when a lake ends, you have to pick everything up and trudge across a portage to see the beyond. The portage is where the adventures are turned into memories.

Taking my turn at being a pack mule (Duluth pack and cook kit)

Dad still has it, as he is carrying a canoe over a portage, and about to place it back in the water!

 Portages are known for mosquitos, which seem like they are bird-size. The mosquitos are the enemy; they are blood- sucking little vampires that are out to attack. They aim for your neck while you are carrying a canoe or the arm and knee bends. Mike Corley, one of the guys on the trip, chose a self-defense method of bobble head hat. The bobble head hat was a personal invention that Mike came up with that consisted of a rimed hat that looks like it was from the civil war time period with corks tied to fishing line which bordered the entire rim of the hat. Just imagine seeing a southern boy walking on a portage with gear looking like a pack mule, being attacked by mosquitos that are coming at his face aggressively, and then seeing him simply bobble his head to swat at the blood sucking creatures. Mike is a character, who reminds me of Katz or Bryson from A Walk in the Woods , by Bill Bryson. His trail attire consisted of confederate flag swim trunks, a bobble head hat, and a “Git ‘er Done” lighter. Now one can see how the description of this journey is the redneck South meets the North. Mile sets a goal to barter for trade goods with the other outdoorsmen that we come across on the trail. The famous “Git ‘er Done” lighter was traded for a pair of men’s chacos that were lying in the beyond in some muck at the end of the portage.

            Portages are famous for the attacking mosquitos, but the leeches at the launch zones are out for blood too. I remember standing on a rock protecting my feet from the leeches. If this snapshot of my canoe mate and I standing on rocks scared of the leeches, it would resemble a Jaws moment. There would be a squeal with every advancement of the leeches towards are feet. My boat made it away unscathed by the leeches, but Mike was not as fortunate. His wife Amy had to pull out the multi- tool and “operate” to remove the leech from Mike’s big toe. Similar to a horror or suspense film, just when you think it’s all over, then the other shoe falls. Once the monstrous leech was removed, there were more. There were tons of baby leeches that came from the great big one, and tons of squealing from the canoe. It’s all about the adventure.

            This portage experience paints a bad picture of the Canadian wilderness. A positive experience in Canada occurred on the water of Lac La Croix. We paddle to Warrior Hill rest are boats on a nice mossy spot on a granite boulder, and hike to the top. At the top of Warrior Hill you can see “The Rest of the World” at least the world of the Canadian Wilderness.

The view from the top of Warrior Hill!

 Of course the redneck South meets the North, Mike has another big idea to leave a little piece of the south in Canada, or claim a piece of land for the South, by leaving a confederate flag bandana tied to a tree at the top of Warrior Hill. I do not understand the infatuation, but it provided comic relief for the group. However, the whole time I was thinking about Leave No Trace Ethics, and that confederate flag bandana was definitely not native to the land, and I was worried about the Canadian border frowning upon us for leaving something in their pristine wilderness full of mosquitos and leeches.

            The Boundary Waters has some majestic creatures to write home about. We experienced a bald eagle soaring across the sky over us at our camp site. Of course due to our Southern roots and American pride, we all looked at the Bald Eagle with reverence and said “America!”. At our campsite, we finally get to see the solitude that the nature that we are surrounded with enforces upon us. Some sit journaling about the day’s adventures, fish, read about the journeys of others, but my sister and I decide to skinny dip or bathe on the other side of the campsite. Here we are at a campsite in the Canadian wilderness, two Southern lily-white girls skinny dippin’. Paranoia sets in, and we feel like we are being watched. The first thought that came to mind was that the boys were spying on us since we were the only girls on the lake, unlike at the beach. It is not the boys who are the spies, but the majestic bald eagle sitting in a tree peering over us in our naked state. Our solitude was interrupted by a part of nature itself. 

A bald eagle near Rebecca Falls

            Solitude was regained a couple of hours later during a gorgeous Northern sunset.  

 We all sat on the granite shoreline looking out over the water and towards the horizon at the beyond. We sit in awe of the beauty that we are surrounded by sharing stories about the day. Thankful for all the beauty and great fellowship. Psalm 19:1 comes to mind “the heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.”  After the sun slowly sets behind the horizon line the stars begin to appear bringing a whole new beauty to the sky. 

 

As we lie on the granite basin at camp looking up at the panoramic view of the sky, my sister and I sing 

Beautiful by Paul Wickham,
“I see Your power in the moonlit night
Where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright
We are amazed in the light of the stars
   It’s all proclaiming who You are

 You’re beautiful, You're beautiful”.

Sitting on our granite rock admiring the beauty of The Boundary Waters!

 Solitude was reached and had a quiet moment in Nature, and with a smile as large as life, I said “It’s All About the Adventure”. The night under the Northern stars was such a blessing. It made me have a whole new outlook on The Boundary Waters. I even approached the portages with a whole new attitude. We approached a portage with excitement for the next lake through the trees. We trudged along the portages singing a modified version of I Would Walk 500 Hundred Miles by the Proclaimers. We sang “I would walk 500 rods, And I would walk 500 more, Just to be that man to walks a thousand to fall down at shore (Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Undela Undela Undela la la la)”. We ended the adventure on a high note.

We had good fellowship, great experiences, and grew a greater love for God’s creation. This trip taught me that there are unexpected variables that nature brings, but they are mostly positive. Those variables create the greatest memories. I discovered that I am at peace in nature and want to take people on adventures to have a special experience. I want to lead students into the greater classroom, “"Where nature is the classroom and experience is the teacher, what you learn is about yourself" (unknown).  I learned that I can overcome being attacked by mosquitos, chased by leeches, and stocked by an eagle. I learned how important group dynamics are to the making of a good trip  in the outdoor environment. I found value in quiet time, fellowship, and being at rest in nature. I learned that I am so blessed to live in such a wonderfully created world. I carry my philosophy into the woods now. “I will hold myself to a standard of Grace, not perfection”, which points out that not everything is going to fit into our ideal molds, for instance the leeches and mosquitos. However I can still appreciate the beauty and Grace that God has provided us with. When I returned back to the South, sure I appreciated normalcy and familiarity, but I had a different outlook on nature and our surroundings. Even though I was born and raised a Southern lady, I have respect for a beautiful place that lies in the North Woods. 

B (my sister) and I blueberry picking! Just another memory from the Boundary Waters!

 It's All About the Adventure!