BONUS POST - Crew Olympics

This somehow got lost in our drafts, so here is the actual last post.

Every year before the 1st session crews leave for their trip, base camp holds the Crew Olympics. This past Sunday, every crew battled to showcase the skills and knowledge gained through the short preparation phase in a competition of 6 events. These events included portaging, paddling, packing kettle pack, setting up a tarp, starting a fire, and using the rescue throw bags. Though our crew, being second session and having less meetings thus, did not win the Crew Olympics, we showcased a valiant effort and came in a very close second (congrats to the Ward/Noeske crew). Reflecting on the loss allows us to spend the rest of the summer focusing on skills we need to improve on to have a successful trip and make the most of the time we have out there.

The Final Update...

Now that prep has wound down, here is a glimpse at the last couple of days.

Last week, all the guys were given the week off to spend with family and friends, but we gave them an option to practice their whitewater skills. Two seperate times a group of them paddled a portion of the Sauk River which helped strengthen their ability to read river features and enhance their reaction time when paddling in a swift current. It was a lot of fun doing something different than flatwater.

This past Sunday was the final big meeting for the crew. We all got together and packed our personal packs. It went very smooth and felt nice checking the last item off the to-do list. After packing, we headed out to Basecamp for our crew date with the girls crew. Crew dates are a long standing Voyageur tradition and are a great way to break the ice before sitting in a bus for 12 hours.

Even though we didn’t schedule any more meetings, yesterday morning Jackson and Grant ambitiously drove to basecamp bright and early to attempt the portage record. The record is the furthest distance to carry a canoe without setting it down. It must be completed by a first year participant before they leave on their trip. The two of them DEMOLISHED the record bringing it from 7.5 miles to a whopping 9 miles, portaging for just over 3 hours straight! Absolutely mindblowing, amazing work Grant and Jackson and shoutout to Jacob for walking it with them, keeping them motivated and hydrated!

Last, but not least… Bus Packing. By 11am this morning all the guys’ hard work packing was officially loaded onto the bus. And as of 4pm today we are only 24 hours away from departure!! We have an exciting month ahead of us!

Sewing & Food Packs

The rest of this past weekend went pretty smooth. 

Besides a little bit of food packing and doing finishing touches to our route. The main focus of Saturday's meeting was to escape the heat. We got on the water to paddle and eventually in the water. It was a great way to cool off.

When Sunday came around the heat was inevitable, even with moving food packs packing inside. Additionally to that, the guys sewed their ditty bags and paddle cases. The word of the day for Sunday was PERSEVERANCE. Everything took a handful of hours longer than we were predicting, but we got through it!

Refining Skills and Route Planning

It’s crazy to think how close our departure date is becoming. The guys have come a long way since our first meeting, and at this point, we have covered all the skills that needed to be successful during this trip. So now, we are focusing on refining skills. It’s usually said that the more you do off trail, the more you can do on trail. 

Wednesday we did just that by starting off the meeting with more portaging practice. The guys were able to push through and make it all the way to Pine Point Road almost doubling our previous furthest distance. After portaging, we put the canoes right into the water. The main focus of the paddle was cleaning up and practicing various strokes that help with canoe control like draws, cross-draws and prys.

Today was an exciting day that we all had been waiting for! Route Planning! All the maps were laid out, the guys were shown various starting point possibilities and a couple ending point spots. The rest was all up to them.

Figure 1. - Credit: Chat GPT

Around lunch time, we took a quick snack break that quickly turned into critical thinking about very realistic ideas that Les Voyageurs may add to future trips to allow crews to be dropped off into even more remote areas quickly and fuel efficiently. The first question at hand… would a canoe survive being thrown out of a plane if properly oriented and correctly targeted towards the water? It took a lot of consulting of Chat GPT and a use of many physics equations that went way over my head to come to a conclusion. The canoe would survive! We will be bringing our scientific findings and ideas to Jack Grabinski. 

On a more serious note, by the end of the meeting we had a solid rough draft of a route that we will touch up during our next meeting. It gets really exciting to see marks finally being made on a map!

Camp Skills 🏕️

Yesterday, we started the meeting with our last major food-focused activity. The guys filled up various sized nalgene jars with different seasonings and spices. It didn’t seem like much in the moment, but those nalgenes hold great value on trial!

Next, we revisited camp skills focusing on knots, packing the kettle, and setting up a tarp. Becoming efficient with these skills can determine how quickly we can get in and out of camp. On trail, as these skills become very proficient, some crews attempt a “voyageur morning” which is when you get out of camp and on the water in under one hour, while having a hot breakfast, all before the sun rises. This is a long standing voyageur challenge and always a fun goal to strive for.

Food, food & more food

This past week was very eventful with some of the most important meetings: Beef Jerky Day, Food Packing Day, and Baking day. 

Beef Jerky Day-

Monday morning all crews started bright and early for Beef Jerky Day. We were given thin slices of meat that were then cut into strips for jerky. The guys also removed all the fat off the meat otherwise it wouldn’t fully dehydrate. The jerky spent the next 24 hours soaking in a marinate before being placed inside the dehydrator.

Food Packing Day-

On Friday all crews got together again for Food Packing Day. All the food that didn’t need to be baked or dehydrated was bagged and labeled. On this day it's also a Les Voyageur tradition for each crew to dress in a theme. The guys were dressed as Redneck USA.

Baking Day-

The last food focused meeting was Baking Day. There was a lot to be made, but we were fortunate that Cathedral High School allowed us to use their Culinary room to make the work go a lot quicker. In total we made a total of 27 meals worth of bannock mix and Hudson Bay Bread. Bannock is like bread that we bake in a reflector oven and Bay Bread is similar to a big granola bar, both are high calorie foods that provide a lot of energy. Then we made over 50 pounds of hot chocolate mix and cooked 80 pounds of ground beef! These days can feel long, but are definitely worth it once we get on trail!

Kettle pack and more paddling

Today's meeting started with packing our kettle pack. The kettle pack holds everything we need to make camp while on trail. From pots and baking pans to p-cord and tarps, there is no camp without our kettle. After learning how to properly pack the kettle pack to prevent lumps and bulging, the boys did it themselves and were very successful in the process!

To gain some energy for the more physically demanding parts of the day, we created a sizable fire and roasted sausages for lunch, along with some other snacks to fuel us.

Next up, we portaged the same distance as last meeting, but it was evident that strength and resilience was already building in the boys. They portaged faster and more efficiently than before, and it is clear that they will become great portagers by the time we get to Canada. 

For the rest of the meeting, we paddled up Little Rock Lake and learned J-Leaning and the teeter-tot game on the canoes, as well as how to rescue a flipped canoe. We did a lot of paddling, and the paddle skills are quickly building up within everyone. 

More portaging, More paddling...

Just like life on trail, we didn’t get lucky two meetings in a row with the rain. We gave the guys a quick run down on setting up tents, but as we were putting them away the rain rolled in. It was a great example of what not-so-perfect conditions may look like. 

Next, we did some portaging, continued to practice flipping up the canoes and adding distance to our portages. Today, we portaged over one kilometer! Following the portage, we loaded the canoes right into the water and did a lot of paddling. We covered different river features that we may encounter and cleaned up their paddling form to be more efficient. 

Now, we just need to show them what to do if a boat dumps and also ways to avoid dumping. We will definitely be getting a little wet on Sunday!

First Day Paddling

The rain held off for a bit, making it a great first day out on the water. We may not have gotten any pictures, but we can assure everyone stayed dry and no one ended up in the river, which is always a huge success!

We explained the anatomy of a paddle, which is useful when learning how it should move through the water. We also covered the power stroke for both the bow and stern, as well as steering strokes performed by the stern paddler to help keep the canoe moving straight, like the C-stroke and J-stroke.

In addition to paddling, we revisited knots and placed more emphasis on coiling the p-cord, practicing on how to make the coils look and hold nicely. Each crew member was given 25 feet of p-cord to practice knots. They’ll also be able to bring it on the trip to keep in their personal pack.

First Meetings

And just like that, preparation has begun! It was a productive weekend with a lot packed into it. With everyone's busy schedules this summer, we were happy to have the full crew together for our first meeting!

Saturday-

When everyone showed up on Saturday evening, we gave a quick tour of basecamp, provided a rundown of expectations, and then got right to work. The guys were given a big stack of maps, and with very little instruction, they connected all of them together to show every possible area we could choose to explore this summer. Next, we wrote down ideas of what we might want to incorporate into our route this summer including named portages, cliff jumping, a night paddle and lots of fishing. I definitely won’t be upset if fish is a frequent menu item this summer.

The crew then went outside and learned how to flip the canoes onto their shoulders (each canoe weighs about 75 lbs!). We explained different parts of the canoe and also emphasized the importance of handling them gently. We concluded the meeting by planning our menu which was no simple task. When you’re gone for a month, there are a lot of decisions to be made, like what kinds of desserts to bring.

Sunday-

Sunday morning we got right back to work, and before long, they had learned four different knots: bowline, double half hitch, taut-line, and square knot. The crew then headed back outside, completing their first portages, learned some paddle strokes and got to see their knots put to use by setting up a tarp. With the tarp, they learned how to set up a ridgeline using the trucker’s hitch and got a brief tutorial on how to coil up the p-cord before wrapping up the meeting (no pun intended).

It was great to finally be at basecamp and we’re excited to continue with preparations!

Hello family and friends!

Hey everyone, I am Owen Kluempke one of your co-guides for the summer. I went on my first trip in the summer of 2022 after my sophomore year at Tech High School. and far north on the Coppermine River in 2023. I am currently a freshman at MNSU in Mankato studying to be a history teacher. Outside of school, I like to play rugby, work out, play video games, and generally do anything active and outside. I am very excited for our trip this summer and can’t wait to get started.

Hello!

I’m Blake Fleege, one of the guides for the crew this summer. Currently, I am finishing up my freshman year at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, where I am studying business. Outside of school, I enjoy staying active with sports and spending time on the water whenever I can.

This summer will be my third trip with Les Voyageurs. In 2022, I went on my first-year trip, which ended on the Bloodvein River on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. Then in 2023, I went on my Far North trip, where we paddled the Coppermine River in Nunavut.

This is where you will be able to check in to see what the crew has been up to as we begin our preparation! Also, if you ever have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to Owen or I.