Personal Narrative Essay: The Wilderness Trips In The Wilderness

Our laughter echoed across the Rangley Lakes and throughout the Maine wilderness. It was the first time we had laughed in two days. For a moment we forgot about our sunburnt arms, blistered hands and the howling wind. This moment of relief, joy and appreciation made the previous days of hardship seem worth it.

The wilderness trip was nothing I could have prepared for, and the fact that I did not want to go in the first place did not help. The first day on the lake started off beautiful with sun, but quickly turned into a hellish nightmare. After our lunch stop clouds rolled in and covered the Maine sky. The wind picked up making white cap waves on the lake, but we had to push through. The waves lapped up over the bow of the canoes making …show more content…
We had packed, loaded the canoes and had gotten on the lake by 8:15 in the morning. The wind had been increasing becoming stronger, the whistling of wind was the only thing we could here. By the time we reached the dam in which we had to portage over, all I thought about was that this was not what I wanted to be doing. I did not want to heave a aluminum canoe over a ledge, and carry it for 500 yards. I was over the trip. I was told that wilderness trips had “changed lives,” but I was not buying it. So far we had paddled straight into the wind for two days. Two days that I could have spent back at my camp hanging out with the rest of my friends. My fingers felt like they were going to fall off once we reach the second lake from the weight of the canoes. The palms of my hands had blisters from the constant rubbing of the wooden paddles. My thighs and arms had been sunburned to a crisp due to the reflection of sun on the aluminium. I was exhausted both physically and mentally and the fact that we had to cross another lake made me feel defeated. Slowly one by one we started our way across the rough lake. The task felt daunting and unachievable. The wooden paddles hitting the gunwales of canoes was silenced by the crashing of waves, but that did not silence the constant self talk in my head that I had wasted my …show more content…
We tied the canoes together with frayed rope which only made my cold, blistered hands ache more. For the first time I finally took in the scenic views. The chaotic lake had a mist which blanketed the tall white pines that surrounded it. I noticed how exhausted all my friends were, and finally we started looking at each other. As we looked at each other we began to laugh. Laughing to release the stress of the morning and previous day. It was the first time on the whole trip that we had laughed and it was glorious. I took a moment to reflect on the trip. I realized that even though we felt exhausted, we were able to have the moment of blissful joy. It was in this moment of solace, with tears of laughter running down my face that I realized the greatness of the trip. For the first time I realized how lucky I was to be surrounded by the beauty of the wilderness, and my friends that I call family. This realization of my luck made me understand the value of living in the present. I had been so focused on what I could have been doing, I missed out on the importance of being with friends and taking in the scenes. Living in the present has caused me to appreciate the small moments, taught me to consider more choices and has granted me the gift of happiness. The Rangley Lakes changed my life for the better, and I am forever