| A Day by Day Glimpse of a typical trip with Mink Lake Wilderness Outreach! | |||||||||||||
| SUNDAY: Arrive at Mink Lake Camp about 5:00 PM. Meet staff, eat dinner, and sign out equipment, paddles, and life jackets. Spend some time getting to know the staff and campers. Try to learn some of the goals the group would like to reach such as unity or becoming closer to God. Set some ground rules and safety rules of camping in a wilderness. Things like, no food or toiletries in tents because of the attraction for bears. Also, shoes must be worn at all times whether swimming or just walking around camp. No one wants to be carried out because of cutting a foot on a rock! Spend that night at Mink Lake Camp and get a good night's sleep. |
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MONDAY: Eat breakfast at camp, load up and head for the BWCA. The group will be responsible for transportation to and from the entry point. Arrive at entry point; go over canoe etiquette and safety. Learn how to carry canoe and how to load packs on your neighbor. Have a word of prayer and set out on our adventure! Lunch will be had along the way, maybe on a rock or right out on the lake in the canoe. Lunch for the most part will consist of cheese, peanut butter, crackers, and G.O.R.P. While eating, take some time to share with each other and to have some fun like swimming or camping games. A nice campsite is next on the agenda. The first night in the woods, the staff goes over the proper way to set up tents and the best areas to place them. Our meals are prepared over an open fire that is made possible with a lot of work from the staff and a few volunteers. Our camp is a working camp where everyone is asked to help at one time or another. When we help with firewood or another chore, we feel more involved. Dinner is prepared by other helpers and enjoyed by all. After dinner and the pots have been scrubbed, we will have a time for devotions. The staff, the chaperons or the campers can share in devotions. No one is put on the spot. After that we play some more games or just sing around the campfire, then off to bed. |
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| TUESDAY: Wake everyone up sometime before 9:00. The staff needs help with the preparation of breakfast and camp needs to be packed up. There is a quiet time for Bible reading. Once again those pots need scrubbing, then we load up, pick new partners to canoe with, and off we go again. Lunch once again is somewhere along the way. Most of the day is spent just paddling along enjoying some of Gods most beautiful creation, singing, and just getting to know each other better. Along the way we come upon a portage. This is a place where there is an obstacle in the water, like a set of rapids. At this time everything has to be carried across, on a trail by foot. The first portage may be rough, but as we get used to it and the food pack gets lighter, it gets easier. After everyone is back in their canoes we continue on. The number of portages we encounter along the way depends on many things. The age or the experience of the group is taken into consideration. Every trip is planned before we set off and there are certain places we have to be each night to ensure a successful trip. Finally we find the perfect campsite. Tonight it's up to the campers to set up camp, but the staff is always there to help. Dinner is prepared and then another time for devotions. After some quiet time we stay up and look for the Northern Lights. Then it's off to bed. | |||||||||||||
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| WEDNESDAY: Wake up, eat breakfast, strike camp and have quiet time again. Today we plan to get to a good campsite early and take a side trip. We're to go cliff climbing which is something enjoyed by all. Today we also have three portages. No one is very excited about that, but everyone is willing. As the day goes, the group really starts to come together and instead of thinking just about themselves a few people help others with their packs and canoes. By the last portage everyone who wants to, gets a chance to carry a canoe. Some will never forget this experience. Sometimes when we are on a portage, other groups will be coming the opposite way and to be a blessing, we help them get across. We set up camp and by now everyone understands what needs to get done and things go smoother than ever. We are all rewarded with a great time at the cliff. Don't worry, its only 20' drop to the water and fun is had by all. We stress safety, but it doesn't mean we can't have a good time. Dinner is special tonight because we had time to bake a cake. Even in the woods we still can have the good stuff. During devotions we talk about what we've enjoyed so far and what we would like to do again. | |||||||||||||
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| THURSDAY: We wake up to the sound of rain. Not a storm but it does dampen a few spirits. We can't control the weather so we just have to deal with it. For some reason it's hard to get the campers up. We have to convince everyone that it is better to move during the rain rather than stay put and get wet anyway. We finally get moving and it's not as bad as it seems. There is a peace we feel when the lake is calm and the rain is dancing on the water. After a while everyone is enjoying themselves and singing and laughing. By noon the rain has stopped and the sun begins to shine. Everyone is in a better mood. During the paddle that day the campers start to open up to the staff and share more about their life. We spend our last night in the BWCA and some of the campers are sad the trip isn't longer. They are anxious to have a hot shower. Tonight camp goes up quick and we dry out our stuff. We play some more games, eat dinner, then off to bed. | |||||||||||||
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| FRIDAY: Today everyone is up and ready to go. The hope of civilization gets everyone anxious to go. We have some fun racing each other along the way. When we arrive at the landing we load up the canoes and pack back into the vans and head to Mink Lake once again. When we arrive, we check in our equipment and scrub the pots one last time making sure they are clean for the next group. We load back up, drive into town where we can get cleaned up. We head for the pool where chlorine works wonders on a week's worth of dirt. We load the clean campers back in the vans and head for the beach. The beach is a place to camp when the trip is over, yet still away from distractions. It's also a time to reflect on the trip and thank God for the special time. We want everyone to remember the adventurous times and take home memories that will last a lifetime. Tonight we sleep under the stars and enjoy the last night by Lake Superior. Until the mosquitoes wake us up at dawn.
SATURDAY: We head back to Mink Lake for breakfast, take some group pictures, |
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