MIRANDA BROOKWELL/Youth Correspondent
“Two roads diverged in a wood and I, I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference.” – Robert Frost
On a normal weekend, I usually find myself hanging out at a friend’s house, taking a trip into the city for some shopping, or catching up on homework. Basically, I relax and sloth around. However, there are always exceptions to every routine.
By the time you are reading this article I will have returned from my adventure, most likely sore and covered in bits of forest and bug bites. But at the moment I am sitting in my warm house looking out at the gross weather that I will soon be experiencing.
What I’m talking about is the PCHS Outdoor Leadership Hiking Trip. On Sunday morning a group of my peers, some teachers and will be leaving to the David Thompson area near the Cline River to hike, camp, and explore until Monday evening. I don’t camp much at all, so I’m not really sure why I decided to sign up, but I can honestly say that I am incredibly excited. Rain or shine, I’m looking forward to this trip with an unnaturally positive attitude.
I guess lately I’m all about experiencing new things — putting myself into new situations, trying to find some new passions, and maybe trying to get to know myself a bit better. I’m confident that building a tarp shelter in the middle of nowhere will be a good new situation. It’s going to be a blast – spending time with my friends in a beautiful area of the province. I’m sure I’ll be left with PCHS leadership hiking trip opens students’ eyes some funny stories, most likely at my own expense.
Preparation for the trip wasn’t easy. For someone who doesn’t camp or rough it out in the wilderness much, I was completely lost at first about what to pack. Thankfully, it was my dad’s time to shine. A hunter, fisherman, and total wilderness fanatic, he knew exactly what I needed to bring. He’s creative too — I’m sure I’ll be the only one with a pot made out of a coffee can and a coat hanger. You can’t even handle how cool I am. My darling mum is the one who makes sure I’m full of food — even if it is astronaut food. I’ll be enjoying freeze-dried apple cobbler, pad Thai, and pasta primavera. And just in case it tastes terrible, I’ve got my stash of beef jerky.
So after I had everything bought and set out, I was met with another challenge – packing it. I’ll skip the details, but basically packing involved my friend holding the zippers while I performed an excellent body-slam on my humongous backpack. That was the only way to get it to close. I look like a navy blue turtle with it on, and feel ridiculous, but that’s not the issue. I’m more worried about collapsing from exhaustion — it isn’t light.
From the beginning (my parents’ surprised looks) to the moment of truth (hobbling around my house in my turtle shell) it’s already been an adventure. Now it’s time to actually test my skills in the outdoors.
Yes, Miranda Brookwell is going camping.
Yes, she’ll be sleeping in a tarp lean-to.
Yes, there will be bugs.
And yes, she will have an absolutely amazing time.