Sometimes, being a priest can be - in my friend Cayo’s words - "a whole whack of fun." And exercise. Our annual teen canoe trip left Thunder Bay on August 8th, and returned on August 13th.
We spent a week on Northern Light Lake, nestled up against the eastern edge of Quetico Provincial Park. As canoe trips go, this one was our most leisurely to date. The weather was warm, and not too spicy. On Friday there were high winds, and we were due back Saturday morning - so we went exploring on foot, all the way back to Northern Lights Lodge, a distance of 10-12 kilometres. We had GPS (global positioning) with us, so finding the lodge was intentional. The road took us past the lodge, then looped back, and that was hard - walking past the lodge with no way across except through heavy bush. We went around, staying on the gravel.
Genesis was our theme this year, and we talked about creation, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and Noah’s flood. Since the first few pages of Genesis speak about the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden, we also spoke about the Tree of Life at the end of the Book of Revelation.
Recreation on a canoe trip involves lots of "dip, dip, and swing." We had a chicken. Not an ordinary chicken, but a rubber one, with a noisy squawker in its throat. It could cock-a-doodle doo, and burp water. There was no telling where the chicken might be, except that it always crowed at the break of dawn. Evenings, you could watch the squirrels - scampering and chattering - lots and lots of squirrels. Without cold water to take your breath away, swimming was great. And then there was endless telling of stories and forging of friendships.
Seven canoes, six adults, and a great time.
Rev. John Sovereign
