1st Meeting:
We started the meeting out by having a little tour of basecamp and we got to know each other a little bit. Shortly after we went over some crew expectations and goals we had for the summer. We then went out and learned how to flip up a canoe onto our shoulders the proper way, and went for a short portage. The boys went out in pairs to the tennis courts on Pine Point, switched half way and came back, a 0.3 mile portage. They then took some time and tried to put all of our maps together, after learning a little trick they made quick work and had a complete map of the whole park. I pointed some things out like, 4th of July falls, the famous fire tower, some big portages, and much more to the boys. The boys used this time to brainstorm a little and voice their preferences for a route and an idea of what they may want. Shortly after we took some time to learn some knots, the bowline, square, and taught line, and that was it. Very successful first meeting!
Second Meeting:
The main agenda of this meeting was figuring out our food for the summer. The whole crew decides what food we are bringing and how much of it. They were very diligent with this, planning for around 80 meals can be a big task. They were working together well, and were also smart by looking ahead on how it may be to cook the meals, and how it may be to pack and portage some of the food. Afterwards we crushed a quick half mile portage, and came back to learn the paddle strokes. There are three fundamental strokes, the power stroke, J stroke, and the C stroke. The power moves the boat forwards while the J and C strokes turn the boat. Learning how to paddling correctly can be tricky and feel somewhat counterintuitive, so we first practiced it on land, and then we did some practiced it on the dock. Shortly after we worked on our knots a little bit, and wrapping the p-cord, and we finished up!
