Appleby College - Argus Yearbook (Oakville, Ontario Canada)

Page 97 text:

Lost Expedition Lost Expedition may not be the most appropriate title for this tale - we simply did not have suf- ficient time to finish the day ' s hike. The day that our group chose to depart on this trip was a very pleasant one. We paddled towards the high cliffs that loom to the east of the island. Our problems began when we reached the mainland, pulled up our canoes and began the por- tage inland - from the wrong point on the map! Unaware of our misdirection, we trustingly let our compass guide us through the dense forest, aptly referred to as ' jungle ' , for a distance of about four miles. After wading through a stretch of swamp, we finally came upon a small lake. At first glance, I thought that it was our expected destination, Red-mountain Lake (see map, p. 97); but after a few minutes of mapwork and a close scrutiny of the terrain and land- marks, I realized that we were not where we should have been. This was Indigo Lake; we were miles from our desired destination. The boys had no notion of our plight and I decided that they would be happier in their ignorance for the time being. So while the boys had lunch, I deter- mined the proper bearing for the trek over to Red-mountain Lake. Thus it was, that at about three in the afternoon Kink ' s group pushed off. Hiking in and out of valleys, hills and swamps, we finally reached the tip of Red- mountain Lake. While working our way along the shoreline of the lake, I took another bearing, this one to Slide Rock Lake, where we had said that we would rendezvous with the other trip- ping groups. By this time the boys in my patrol began to realize that something had gone wrong, but since the sun was setting rapidly, I decided that they had better keep moving while we still had some daylight: if we could make it to Slide Rock, perhaps another one of the groups would be there to meet us. While following our new bearing, we ran into many new obstacles and got disoriented once again! As soon as we reached a clearing I decided that we would spend the night there. As the boys organized the collec- tion of wood, I started a fire. To make a long story short, we all spent a terribly cold and un- comfortable night. With no sleeping gear or shelter, most of us remained awake, huddled around the ever-dwindling fire. When it went out at about 3:30 a.m. (no one had enough energy to collect more wood) it began to rain. By the time the sun came up and I decided to move out, a few of the boys had fallen into the first stages of hypothermia. We followed a very dubious course due West, for we knew that sooner or later we would come upon Lake Temagami once again. After four grueling miles through the underbrush, we finally reached the shore. Once there, we had our breakfast of left-over bologna. At this time I was very worried about the condition of a few of the boys, but with a frozen smile I pushed the boys down the shoreline, to the spot where we had left our canoes the previous day. By a life-saving stroke of luck, John Wright had spotted our canoes from the powerboat (he had been combing the shore looking for us); we were rescued! The boys recovered after some warmth and rest; as for myself, the experience showed me just what the title instructor is all about. The experience that I shared with the group made me realize that they were foremost in my mind when danger threatened. It taught me something else to live by - on tight situations, always keep a smile, be it frozen or real. David Stuart I DMj£ stoart ' s ckouP Uhew — l jj

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A Leader ' s Impressions This fall David Stuart, Peter Bloemen and I went to the Nor- thern Campus for the first month with the 10 A-1 class. I had been an assistant leader the previous summer but despite this, I im- mediately noticed the weight of responsibility. We did not have the benefit of assistants, so we had to be constantly present to supervise every activity. This af- fected us somewhat after a few days and we began to look for- ward to the evenings in our cabin while the boys were working on their projects. The first day I asked boys to per- form certain chores and they were not done properly or else not at all. I found it difficult to give orders to the boys or to supervise them as they did as told, but I soon realized that it was my responsibility to make sure that activities were com- pleted. Fortunately, as the month progressed, I found that I could ask certain boys to do things and by then they were responsible enough to do it. Most of the members of the class were only two years or so younger than myself and some had been friends at school. Though I found it easy to relate to them, this posed problems in some situations. Often while trip- ping, my group would complain of severe physical exhaustion bordering on a condition close to death. Obviously they had to be convinced that we could not stop after only two hours on the trail. Amazingly enough, after an average day most of them seemed to have more energy left than I. As I became accustomed to their limits, I tried to extend them further and now for the first time I had to decide when they truly had had enough. This did a great deal for my own self- discipline. While we were camping I tr ied to impress upon the members of the patrol an appreciation of the wilderness and chiefly how to camp without scarring the site. The other major stress was on community living. By the last trip we were working together un- selfishly on every portage and campsite. In this latter area each boy had found his niche: one boy preferred to cook, while another would start the fire, etc. I no longer had to worry about petty things like one unwashed dish, and who was to wash it! The leadership skills that I learn- ed at camp were very subtle things which I find difficult to label. Suffice it to say that David, Peter and I were considerably enriched by our experience, and that it made definite positive changes in each of our charac- ters. Scholastically, I do not think that we suffered a great deal. We managed to somehow complete our assignments in our spare time. Most of this time was spent in our cabin, however, simply relaxing and ' shooting the breeze ' , for we found a need to talk to someone of our own age after a full day in camp or on a trip with the boys. When we returned to Appleby we felt that we had only missed about two weeks of school work and this was mostly made up before the examinations. Reflecting on the whole ex- perience, I can now realize how much I matured in such a short time, as did David and Peter. All of the boys at camp had benefited in a similar manner. I feel as strongly now as then that the Northward Bound Program is one of the best experiences in living that Appleby boys will ever receive. John Wright

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A Typical Day at Northward Bound The usual awakening was to a brisk October morning which oc- curredduring the later days of the first session involving 10 A1. What I am describing here is a hypothetical day which excludes groups arriving from or departing on excursion. The general format consisted of three groups, in- cluding one leader and seven boys. These groups, known as patrols, shared the responsibility of running the show on Rab- bitnose. then straight to breakfast which by this time should be ready. Af- ter an enjoyable breakfast comes clean-up procedures, which beyond serving the useful pur- pose of cleaning also promotes patrol cooperation, and a chance to demonstrate leadership qualities. After a while the fellows begin to realize that nobody is finished until the entire task is completed. While we clean up John Wright supervises the clean-up of the boathouse and Dave Stuart is getting his equipment ready for his canoe trip to Kokoko Lake. The weather is dry, and clear skies prevail, so Knobby decides to have John ' s patrol stain the new siding of the main lodge as well as chop wood. For the rest of the morning my group works on various projects with Mr. O ' Leary who is the master up for the week. This leaves me free for the morning and time for an at- tempt to catch up on some of my school work. When 1:00 P.M. rolls around we get lunch on the tables, co n- sisting soup and sandwich followed naturally by another clean-up. Then John ' s and my patrol switch activities, my patrol staining and John ' s working on projects. At about four o ' clock everybody is looking forward to a hot sauna to gain relief after the day ' s work. On Rabbitnose this is the only means to get clean and it is very successful. One not only feels clean but also very relaxed. The next hour or so is spent in whatever way one wants to, fishing, paddling or reading, banging away at the piano, or just lounging. Meanwhile Knobby and a couple of boys are racing around trying to get dinner ready. After the gluttons (this is no un- derstatement) are finished with their meal which ever contented everybody ' s stomach, the boys are told to get on with some work. They can either write in their daily journal or work on their projects, or just read a book. Usually there is some hot- chocolate and biscuits to round off another day in the North . Then remains the most difficult job of all: getting the boys to bed for some serious sleeping. This is the instructor ' s nightmare, mainly because we too want to get some sleep. So, good night. P.P. Bloemen Today I am duty instructor with the help of my patrol. On waking up at seven o ' clock, I go over to the boathouse to wake up two of my boys and assign them to help our illustrious coach-director Knobby with breakfast and to read the data on the weather- station. I then continue on to start the fire and attempt to start the electricity generator (The Beast). At 7:30 A.M. I wake up my fellow instructors, Coach and Kink and wake up the remaining boys. Next is the short jog of about three quarters of a mile, twice around the island, 94