The end of the beginning.

Well after two and a half long, wonderful, stressful, exciting, boring, intense, and relaxed weeks I am finally done with staff training! It has been a great process and for me went much faster that I was expecting.

Our first half week was spent in base going over trail standards and starting wilderness first aid training. So lost of long days spent sitting and listening to lecture material and doing some discussion and practice of various skills. Then as we approached the first full week we got ready to go out on trail for the first time.

The first full week was then spent out on two of the rivers that we take trips on during the summer, the Namekagon river and the Bois Brule river. This was so we could get a good feel of how our trail standards actually played out in real life and to get some experience paddleing in current and running rapids. The first night was on the Namekagon and very relaxed paddleing, and the next day we moved to the Bois Brule river and immedately jumped into rapids. Then a day of slow water and our last day on the river was spent running the Lenroot and Mays ledges. The ledges are where the river has cut through all the top soil and is cutting then into the bed rock below. They are so much fun and I got the chance this year to solo paddle down them which is a real confidence boost and affirmation of my paddleing ability that has grown over the last two summers.

After the river trip we returned to base for three days to finish our "book" learning and then we split in to guiding groups and got ready to go out to the Apostle Islands. The Apostle Islands is where we take our giant Voyageur Canoe that is 34 feet long and fits 16 people and go Island hopping. The only day that we had even remotely adverse weather was our first night, but after that the rest of the week was absolutely beautiful. I love the Apostle Islands and the Voyageur Canoe, there is just this amazing sense of traveling on Lake Superior under human power and in a canoe!

After several good days of paddleing in the Islands and many first aid senerios for the practial half of our first aid class we returned to base once again and finished off the last of our training. Now it is my day off and tomorrow the first set of camper shows up for the first week!!! It is so very good be back in the swing of things up here.