Lessons Through Getting Past What Makes Us Uncomfortable

The second BWCA was the one where we conquered Billy Goat Portage along with 4 other portages. It was a grueling trek in. We got in and were fatigued physically and mentally from the work of getting in. We stayed up to see the full moon but even this seemed like a lot of effort because of our fatigue. We went to bed that night and I thought we would sleep very very well. I was so wrong. It is normal for me to not sleep well the first night. The ground is hard; the outfitter provides us sleeping pads but they are less than an inch thick and really not much of an improvement from the ground.

            Another reason for impaired sleep is the noises of the forest. Emy and I love to be in the forest but the noises are so different then what we hear at home it is always a little tricky to block it out and sleep that first night. I did start bringing a battery operated fan the 2nd year. This did help to block out the noises of the night. I am telling you if we could figure out how to make the kitchen sink fit we would have packed that sucker in too.

            I woke up in the middle of the night. I am not sure what woke me or why I woke. I turned and noticed that Emy’s sleeping bag was empty. This made me nervous! Where was she? Had she been eaten by a bear? Was she okay? Was she sleep walking off to the land of Rumpelstiltskin? I had never woken in the middle of the night to find her space empty before. I put my hand down to push myself up and it splashed into a puddle. UGH! Wet Tent! Unfortunately, I had not put my clothes back into my waterproof bag before bed. Darn darn darn, wet clothes too. I made my way out of the cocoon like sleeping bag, and navigated myself out of the soggy tent.

            It was raining outside. Emy had brought solar lights in this year and the moon was full and seemed to light the night even through the cloud cover. It was easy to see that Emy was not near our “kitchen” around the cooking grate. I did not see her sitting near the beach. The camp chairs were empty. I was going to have to look a little harder to find her. My anxiety was increasing now. Where could she be?  Although the day had been warm, the night was chilly. I rounded the trees and headed toward our “bedroom” where we had put the cots up under a tarp.

            It was there that I found my poor little soul sister. She sat on one of the cots, exhausted, wet, cold, and all together miserable. “Hi”, I said as I settled myself on the opposite cot. Emy explained to me that she had awoken in a puddle and come out here. It was easy to see she was not doing well. I cannot stress enough what a physical battle it had been getting in that year. We were sore everywhere and I am sure that we had completely depleted the little bit of food we had eaten the day before and probably our caloric intake from a few days before had been burned through.

            Emy and I have a gift for feeling other people’s energy. We are especially good at feeling each other’s energy. Emy’s energy was not feeling good at all and in fact it felt like she was on the verge of really getting quite sick. I hated seeing this lovely soul feeling so miserable; having someone in the Boundary Waters who is not in good health (especially my dear friend) is not something I was wanting to deal with.

            I set to work to get a fires started. I piled up some wood near the end of the cots. I hunted for some dry kindling and got everything stacked up. I worked at it until I managed to get a small fire burning to get rid of some of the chill. It was not an easy task since all of the wood was wet. Persistence pays off in the Boundary Waters, also I knew a few tricks. I used a little of the cooking oil we had packed in and poured it over the top of the wood. It was enough to burn away some of the moisture.

            Now that the fire was combating the cool air I thought about what should happen next. Well “First” breakfast of course. We are both up and, although it is likely still not at all anywhere close to day break; we need the nutrition to replenish our bodies. So I gaily announced to Emy that I was going to make us hot tea and breakfast. I am a morning person. I must always remember that not everyone is a morning person. I wake up happy and motivated. I am chatty in the morning, and for my own self-preservation, I try and remember that not everyone is like me.

            Non-morning people can really be annoyed by my morning bubbliness; can you imagine that? I went down to the lake to scoop us up some oh so not tasty water. I brought the two propane cook stoves over by the cots and got the water started on one. On the other I put a fry pan and started sautéing some of the peppers and onions that Emy had chopped up prior to us coming in. I so appreciated all the thought she put into our food. She would get fresh organic fruits and veggies and have them all cleaned and chopped up and ready for us to pack in.

            Emy was still looking quite miserable. “You have got to get out of those wet clothes” I gently suggested. “Do you have anything that is dry?” I asked her. “I am not sure” she grunted in misery. “Go and try to find something, you will feel better if you are not wet”. I pushed, carefully. It is a fine balance when we are out in the wilderness together to allow each other independence, as we are both strong willed, independent women, but also caring for each other.

            We love each other and both have a healthy respect for one another. Experiencing the things we do together on these BWCA Adventures brings up a lot of emotions and we also needed to allow space for us each to process whatever emotions we need to process. Because of this mutual love and respect, no matter what we have faced while in the Boundary Waters, we have never fought. Emy set off in search of warm clothes. I continued to cook us breakfast. Emy came back with dry clothes on. I gave her a cup of hot tea and a plate of potatoes and eggs with sautéed veggies scrambled into them. We ate, drank tea, and got warm inside and out.

            The warmth of the fire, the warm food, and tea in our tummies started to make us sleepy. We then used an item I brought in on the first BWCA but had not used until this day. After this day it’s one of the items I would recommend everyone bring in with them when going on a BWCA adventure. An emergency blanket. It is a funny item and really is more of a trap that is red on one side and silver on the other. It even has rivet holes around the edges. I added wood to the fire to keep it going. I pushed my cot closer to Emy’s and covered us up with the “emergency blanket”.

            This was defiantly and emergency, our sleeping bags wet, our tent full of puddles, and it still the middle of the night. When we were packing the cots in, I thought they were the worst idea, big, bulky and heavy; in this moment they were the most wonderful item I could think of. The plastic of the emergency blanket rustled and rattled with every little movement Emy and I made, but joyously we slept, anyway. We got the rest we needed to recover from our journey in, or at least start to recover. It took us pretty much until our trek back out to fully recover.

            When we woke again it really was morning. The rain had past, thank goodness! We set to work stringing ropes all over camp to hang sleeping bags, clothes, and towels to dry. After “second” breakfast, of course! Here are a couple of hints; keep you clothes inside their waterproof bag and pitch your tent on the high spot in camp. One more hint, take this trip with a friend that you love like a sister. You will need this love to get you through the more challenging moments. When Emy and I talked about this experience at a later time, she said she was so miserable in the moment she could not even think to figure out how to get to a less negative state. Luckily Emy and I balance each other quite nicely and she supports me when I am low and vice versa, after all we are the Adventure Sisters.

            We first name ourselves the Adventure Sisters at the end of our first BWCA adventure. We were sad to be leaving such a beautiful and peaceful place. As we were cleaning up our campground and following the “leave no trace” standard we realized we had extra wood. Fire wood in the forest is plentiful but not always easy to come by. Nature does not deliver it to your door in neatly cut manageable lengths. Emy is a wizard with the hand saw the outfitter provides. My legs are strong; I enjoy hiking, cycling, and running. Emy gardens and moves dirt, lots of dirt, with a shovel alone. Also being a massage therapist she moves muscle. Her upper body strength is nothing to take for granted. I tried to do my share of the sawing but it quickly became apparent that making tea and hauling wood back to camp were my talents.

            Anyway, at the end of year number one we had a few of Emy’s finely sawed logs left over. We discussed how nice it would be for the next people who used the sight. We leaned them up against a tree. “Let’s leave a note”, one of us suggested. Of course the other whole heartedly agreed. We wrote a note about the beauty of this place and how it had affected us. We asked whoever stayed in the campsite after us; protect the beauty and the sanctity of this amazing place. We signed it, “The Adventure Sisters”.

The note was placed in a plastic bag with a couple of tea bags and fastened to the logs. We have always wondered who found the note and did it make a difference in their life? We hope so.  Inspiring and caring for others in this life, is what makes life worth living, in my opinion.  There are so many ways to inspire and care for others. It can be a kind word or a smile, a little bit of advice, or just being there for someone who is facing a time in their life when they are miserable. Kindness goes such a long way and it is such an easy thing to share. Smile at each other, be kind to each other, and watch the world change!