Monday Meeting

After a weekend to rest, we got right back at it on Monday. We finished up our baking day items by mixing together the traditional hot chocolate mix (Hot C) that we bring and drink daily. We bring about 39lbs of it, so we had to use a tote bin as our bowl. There was quite a bit of powder inhaled and worn throughout the process :)

After bagging the Hot C, we packed up our kettle pack! It took a little bit to remember the process to get a flat and self-standing pack. Jack gave the girl’s first attempt a 4/10. After some tips, their next attempt was given a 9/10! Fast improvement!

There’s still quite a bit to do, but the girls have been learning so much and working hard!

Baking Day

Fastest baking day in voyageur history! Or that I’ve experienced :) With only 5 out of the full 6 we got it done in less than 4 and a half hours!

We made Hudson Bay Bread, which is a homemade oat granola bar that we added some fun flavors to. The girls made some Reece’s peanut butter cup, craisin and pecan, peanut butter and m&m, and white chocolate raspberry flavored bars. We’ll eat these for lunch most days. The other days we’ll bake out, on trail, a Bannock bread. We mixed together and bagged the flour mix that we’ll bring with.

Lastly, we cooked out 32lbs of ground beef to dehydrate and bring for dinners!

With a 7:30 start, it was a long, but fun morning cooking and baking with the girls!

Week Update

THESE GIRLS ARE INCREDIBLE!!

For the past two weeks this crew has been making an effort to portage at least twice a week (usually more) on their own! Since they’ve got busy schedules they’ve been coming at 6:00am to get a portage in together. I was able to tag along one morning and was so impressed by how hard they are working! I’m so proud of their ambition!

A few paddle sessions have also occurred. Once in the early morning and once while it was sprinkling. Those J-strokes are coming along so well :)

These girls are going to be so ready for trail!!

Friday Meeting

Today we started by finishing the food packing, getting all the nuts and fruits we missed on packing day. There was a little chipmunk that kept us company and tried to feast on everything we dropped. After food packing we all headed to Twisty’s and took an ice cream break. Once we got back we got right into setting up the many maps. It took us a very long time because we didn’t realize there was a key showing where they all went. We discussed our hopes and dreams for the trip and brainstormed possible paths we could take, one common goal is seeing the pictographs! Then we got some of our gear and took a pizza break! Finally we settled down to catch up on our blogging. - Sabrina, Ava, Ina, Kate, Anna, Gracelyn

Crew Olympics

Here’s the girl’s thoughts on crew olympics from last Monday:

This year for Crew Olympics we were the first co-ed team to compete. We merged with the Hanson-Larson crew due to both crews not having everyone there! We started on the water with paddling. While paddling we heard a wall of rain coming towards us, we all got drenched!! We did great on the portage, we definitely carried with our ideas with how to knock off some time. Next was our tarp and the boys did not know how to do it but we definitely did. We managed to have the fastest tarp time! Next was packing our kettle and we all worked together and got a pretty good time even with time added. Our final skill we had to do was rope throwing and we did not do so good and got last place in that skill. After finding out we got first in almost all of our skills besides the rope throwing we all decided to jump in the river and go for a swim!! The results were announced after we returned from swimming and tied with another crew!! Since the other crew didn’t paddle they had to paddle and try to beat our time! They were unsuccessful so our crew won! We are officially part champions of the 2026 Crew Olympics and got to have our crew name on the Olympic paddle!

Food Packing Day

Annual food packing day was a success! All the crews took over the Cathedral high school cafeteria to bag majority of the food we will be bringing on trail!

The girls fueled up with some scooters coffee beforehand since a percentage of the cost supported Voyageurs. We also coordinated as a crew to dress up as pirates! It was a long day but the girls cranked it out.

At one point, the other second session crew (the Cvancara crew) called for everyone’s attention. They boldly and sweetly asked our crew to go on a crew date with them! One of the guys had drawn a very impressive picture and gave it to us as well. The girls were surprised I think because two of them responded with “sure” after a pause :) It’ll be fun to get to know their crew since we’ll be traveling on the bus up to Canada for a long time with them!

One big step closer to being ready for trail!

And more trail skills...

Thursday we had a full day together at basecamp! But first, we headed over to Anna’s house where we put the beef jerky on our dehydrator. Not the most appealing job but at least it smelt good!

Back at basecamp we went through our kettle pack that holds a lot of the cooking gear and equipment we’ll use at camp each night. We went through inventory and then learned the best way to fit it all in one red pack.

After that, we finally got to paddle on the water! We took two canoes out on the river and each girl practiced their steering strokes in the stern. Just a couple “straight arm” reminders and a little zig zagging, but no one dumped the boat so it was a huge success to me!

It’s been so cool getting to see these girls expand their knowledge! They’re killing it!

Learning trail skills...

On Wednesday we worked on a lot of our skills we’ll be using every day on trail. We kept practicing our knots, flipped up the canoes again and did our first portage together, learned how to set up the tarp, and learned the power stroke, J-stroke, and C-stroke. It was a lot of knew information for everyone, but they learned quickly! It was a fun afternoon outside at base camp together :)

Beef Jerky Day

Last Tuesday, for our second time with each other, we got right to work! All the crews got together for the annual beef jerky day where we cleaned up meat by taking off the fat to help it dehydrate faster. We marinaded the strips in the traditional Voyageur sauce mix that smells so much better than the meat looks. It definitely helps the cutting process. This is the first food that we are going to dehydrate and bring with us on trail!

Afterwords we had some lunch together on the dock at basecamp. Then, we learned how to flip up the canoes! It was a little daunting, but the girls did so well. They did a great job helping each other flip up, we had very silent canoes! How cool that they know how to put a boat on their shoulders :)

First Crew Meeting!!!

First meeting of the summer officially in the books!

What a fun time these girls are :) We met at basecamp where I gave them the tour of our home base for the summer. Our first task was to get our menu filled out. The girls decided to bring along a bit of everything, for the most part- tuna must be widely disliked. They are getting me excited to try make some dumplings, bake some cakes, and potentially fry some fish!

We learned our first 3 knots together: The square knot, bowline, and double half hitch. They caught on really quick! We did a fun relay to test our skills, but the real challenge will be next meeting where we’ll see if they remember them :)

Lastly we talked about “What is a Voyageur?”. The girls brainstormed some adjectives and characteristics that make up a Voyageur. Some of our top qualities are positive attitude, resilient, brave, problem solvers, united, respectful, patient, and can’t forget, tan. We had fun with it but also acknowledged that where one of those qualities are a weakness, it’s a strength for another.

To wrap up the meeting we went over a few scheduling things and simply chatted. I’m really looking forward to this crew this summer, and I hope the girls are too!!

Until next time,

Gracelyn

Hi all, I’m Gracelyn!!

I’m really looking forward to getting to know these girls and to explore the incredible Canadian wilderness with them!!

Please reach out with any questions/concerns you might have, I’m always down to chat!

I’ll be guiding this crew this summer!! Here’s a brief introduction about myself: This is my third summer with Voyageurs; I went on my first-year trip in 2022 and co-guided last year! I’m currently finishing my second year studying civil engineering and Spanish studies at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. This spring semester I have been studying over in Spain, but will be back home in May!! When I’m not working or studying I love to read, drink coffee, mountain bike, go on walks, throw some frisbee, and spend time with my fam or roommates.

Welcome!

Welcome to our crew’s blog!

You can receive updates on our crew’s progress through photos and the blog on our page. Check back soon to get an inside look at the different skills, knowledge, and steps we are taking as we prepare for our expedition of a lifetime this summer.

Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns!