The Trip From Hell
by ShimmieShakes
Trip Type:
Paddling Canoe
Entry Date:
06/21/2002
Entry & Exit Point:
Snowbank Lake Only (EP 28)
Number of Days:
5
Group Size:
5
Trip Introduction:
Five People, two heavy crappy canoes, no experience, and no idea what we were getting ourselves into
Day 1 of 5
Saturday, June 22, 2002
It had just been about two months earlier that Beth had conned me into going on this crazy crusade that she, in turn, had been talked into by her boyfriend and his two buddies. Having moved from NY to MN, I had never been camping in my life, not even in a back yard, and had never seen an animal that wasn't in a zoo. Somehow she got me to agree to go along and a month after graduation, there we were sitting in Aksel's driveway. No one had a clue what they were doing except maybe Kevin who had been the master behind our camping excursion. Kevin, Aksel, Ryan, and Beth had planned the trip as a last hurrah before college. We had the diesel van loaded up, hooked to our trailer carrying our vessels. Kevin's car finally came up the driveway but when he stepped out, he didn't look so good. He was really sick and wanted to call the trip off. If Kevin wasn't going, no chance I was either, he seemed to be the one that knew that most about what we were doing. The guys pretty much forced him to get his stuff in the van and quit his whining. The whole drive up to Ely the back doors of the diesel van were open while Kevin laid on the floor puking out the back with Ryan and Aksel holding onto his ankles so he didn't fall off. Great start. We finally made it up there but it was dark. We found a place by the side of a back road in the wood somewhere and pulled the van over. Very safe, I know. We blew up and air mattress and crammed into the back of the van. The air mattress, of course popped from the weight of five people. This was the worst nights sleep I have ever gotten. I was scared of what lay ahead, real scared.
It had just been about two months earlier that Beth had conned me into going on this crazy crusade that she, in turn, had been talked into by her boyfriend and his two buddies. Having moved from NY to MN, I had never been camping in my life, not even in a back yard, and had never seen an animal that wasn't in a zoo. Somehow she got me to agree to go along and a month after graduation, there we were sitting in Aksel's driveway. No one had a clue what they were doing except maybe Kevin who had been the master behind our camping excursion. Kevin, Aksel, Ryan, and Beth had planned the trip as a last hurrah before college. We had the diesel van loaded up, hooked to our trailer carrying our vessels. Kevin's car finally came up the driveway but when he stepped out, he didn't look so good. He was really sick and wanted to call the trip off. If Kevin wasn't going, no chance I was either, he seemed to be the one that knew that most about what we were doing. The guys pretty much forced him to get his stuff in the van and quit his whining. The whole drive up to Ely the back doors of the diesel van were open while Kevin laid on the floor puking out the back with Ryan and Aksel holding onto his ankles so he didn't fall off. Great start. We finally made it up there but it was dark. We found a place by the side of a back road in the wood somewhere and pulled the van over. Very safe, I know. We blew up and air mattress and crammed into the back of the van. The air mattress, of course popped from the weight of five people. This was the worst nights sleep I have ever gotten. I was scared of what lay ahead, real scared.
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