ProRanger Leadership Camp - Day 4

Day 4, July 8th 2011
This morning we began with an individual mountain run. It was the same run as the day before, but this time we were being timed. The times reflected how far many individuals have come since the initial PEB run. Although it was extremely mountainous, there were some individuals that beat their PEB time. First was taken by John, second by Ben and third by Jeff. After they completed their timed portion, instead of stopping and sitting on the ground relaxing they hurried back to the mountain to help cheer on those individuals that were further behind. This same thing occurred with all of the other runners. By the time the last runners were coming in, there were quite a few running behind, making sure to encourage the whole way. It was quite a sight to see. Each day we have continued to get closer together, making sure that we reach our goals and push each other.

We then went off to white water rafting at Wilderness Voyagers. The day had started off without a drop of rain in the sky, but as soon as the unloaded from the bus, the skies began to open and let loose quite the rainstorm. That didn’t stop us, though. We were there to white-water raft and that was what we were going to do. We got on our gear, sat in our rafts for a brief safety information session then headed down the rapids. Due to the rain that we had gotten, these rapids were classified 1-3. The key to this whole experience was having good communication within the raft. We lost some individuals along the way but they were quickly recovered and put back in their boats.
While on the rapids, the rain didn’t seem to bother us. It wasn’t until we stopped for lunch and were trying to make sandwiches that it started to become an issue. We found that we were getting cold because we had stopped but it was important that we ate our lunch before we continued. By the time we got to the end, we found that we were tired. White water rafting was a true test of physical endurance, team work and communication. Without those three, we all would have been floating down the river without our boats. The whole trip lasted about four hours. Just as this whole week has been, it is going to be one of those experiences that we will never forget.
After arriving back and putting on warm clothes. We got to have a BBQ dinner out near the pond with another group of younger kids who were also spending time at the camp. We played a game on the sand court with them then continued on with eating.
Dinner went quickly and we found that we were able to do an orienteering course that brought us all around the camp. Not all of is knew how to use a compass so we immediately had to rely on those who had worked with them before. We set off throughout the camp to find seven pre-marked areas within our teams.

For some of the teams, it was difficult to get the hang of it. The skills that were learned are important because we will not always have a GPS sitting with us. Basic compass and map skills are extremely important to have knowledge of. Although it was a little frustrating for some of the teams, these are skills that we all now know.