First Week of OL

So I have arrived here at Columbia Bible College, and things have been pretty interesting so far. Already we are pretty loaded down with reading and assignments, and we have only just started. We start our first aid training tomorrow, and it sounds like it will be pretty intense. We have also started a physical training program, where our first job was a light 5.75 km. Eventually, in second semester, they will have us working on a similar program as that of the Navy Seals. No jokes, thats what they said.
Today, we played around with radios, learned about tide line and charts, learned how to keep a log book, and played with stoves. The stoves was really cool, because we had an MSR Dragonfly that wasn't working, so we ended up taking the thing completely apart, and then putting it back together again. What better way to show us how it works. By the way, it did get fixed.
I have met lots of people so far, though it is difficult as of yet to maintain any kind of internet use, since we don't have access to computer labs yet. In any case, I'm looking forward to the upcoming coastal trip.
And I'm out.

Out There

I have just spent one of the most amazing weeks of my summer paddling the Noir River in Quebec. Working with camp I had the chance to help lead a canoe trip down this river. It was by far the best 5 day canoe trip I have done.
I do not exaggerate when I say that everything about that week was epic. Things were either epically slack, or intense. On Wednesday we did a 1.34 km portage, with a sheer drop at the end of it. My feet are still recovering.
The rapids were sweet. In the picture, we are running a class three, with empty boats, while the other trippers carried the gear to the bottom of the rapid.
Our game plan was as such: paddle down around the first rock, then eddie out, then do a c turn down to another eddie, then ferry across to the eddie on the opposite shore to pick up the gear. By some stroke of luck, we tried to eddie out 3 times, and failed 3 times. However, we instead of things going south, we just went straight into our ferry, and things went mostly perfect. Except when we tried to start with a back ferry (going backwards), that just ended up being sloppy.
The blue canoe that you see in this picture took quite a beating. Not ten minutes after running this rapid beautifully, we came upon another rapid, where disaster hit. When all was said and done, water was coming into the boat like a severed artery. We did our best to repair him, but I fear the Big Blue has seen better days.
Big Blue, I salute you.