Kansas State University - The Royal Purple Yearbook

“Group members make their way along the river. Most of the students learned how to handle the as they went since they did not have previous canoeing experience and were not given formal instruction. German foreign exchange students and graduate students in foods and nutrition, Ulrike Hillmer and Antje Banning, swim, taking advantage of the warm weather and the group ' s early arrival at Maumee North on Sept. 7. " I thought, ' We could have slept a little bit longer, ' " Banning said. " But, we had plenty of time to relax and swim. " Weekend Warriors continued from Page 9 Sept. 5 9 a.m. - After sandwiching 12 people and their gear into a 15-passenger van and shoe polishing " KSU porn stars " on the windows, the group began the eight-hour trip to Arkansas. Students talked about cultural differences the exchange students observed. " I was very confused, " Hans Jacobs, an exchange student from the Netherlands, said. " My roommate was speaking very enthusiastically about something, but he kept saying it was ' the shit. ' I wondered if he needed some sort of medical attention. " 6 p.m. - The van rolled into the campsite at Tyler Bend campground. Six tent set-ups later, campers began cooking shish kebabs, potatoes and ' smores over the grill and campfire. " The food was OK, which means really good in Germany, " said Ulrike Hillmer, German foreign exchange student and graduate student in foods and nutrition. " I liked the marshmallows together with these crackers and chocolate. " 10 p.m. - The group turned in for the night after a couple hours of conversation and excitement about an armadillo sighting. " I saw the first armadillo the first afternoon in camp, while we were all eating dinner, " Steve Butler, freshman in fisheries and wildlife biology, said. " I woke up sometimes, in the middle of the night, and there were about a dozen of the little guys running all through the campsite. Most of the armadillos I ' ve seen have been smears on the highways while I ' ve been driving through the South. " Sept. 6 10 a.m. - The campers headed east on the Buffalo River in six canoes. The goal was to cover as much of the 16 miles as possible Sunday and finish the trek by noon Monday. 1:30 p.m. - The group took a break on the shore for lunch and pumped drinking water from the high spots of the river. Lack of rain had left the river low, and group members often had to drag their canoes through shallow spots. " Sometimes I thought ' we will never reach our destination of our trip, ' " Hillmer said. " You could swear a bit, but that was all. We just had to accept the fact that the river was in such a condition. " 3:30 p.m. - Andrew McCoy, junior in civil engineering, discovered a rope swing, and campers took turns flinging themselves into the water. About 20 minutes later, the group encountered three poisonous snakes — two water moccasins and a copperhead, which sped the pace of those dragging their boats nearby. " They usually just mind their own business, but one was real aggressive and struck at my oar, " McCoy said. " I got out of the boat to keep them to shore while everyone else passed. While Steve and I were looking up close at the water moccasins, a copperhead came out from under the rock to our feet. " 5:30 p.m. - The group stopped for snacks and decided to row for two more hours. The leaders estimated they had covered 11 miles at that point. " I had conferred with a member who had gone the previous year and the canoe outfitter, and they both informed me it would take approximately 11 hours to canoe, " Hall said. " We feared we would not make our destination in time, so we pushed the group on the first day. " 7:30 p.m. - After pitching camp, the canoers roasted hot dogs and marshmallows over the campfire. A tipped canoe and water in the bottoms of boats left some equipment wet. " My plastic bag apparently got a hole in it and my sleeping bag got wet while canoeing, and it didn ' t dry out before evening, " Griggs said. " I had to sleep without one, and it got kind of chilly. " Sept. 7 7:30 a.m. - The group broke camp and packed the canoes. The canoe outfitters were meeting the group at the Maumee North area at noon, so the group left early because they did not know how much distance they had to cover. 8:15 a.m. - As group members prepared themselves for another four hours of rowing, they unexpectedly reached their destination. " I didn ' t expect to get done so early, " Butler said of canoeing the distance in less than 10 hours. " It seemed like we were all in some sort of race. " Noon - The canoe outfitters arrived, and the group loaded their gear for the ride home. 9:00 p.m. - After eight hours on the road, the van reached the K-State Student Union. " The trip went better than could be expected, " McCoy said. " Everyone got along and learned from each other instead of finding ways not to get along like humans so often do. " Tyler Bend Visitor Center 10 student life ”