May 20th, 1999
Edward “Ted” Holland: Senior

The day had begun quite well. We all met at Mr. Hooker’s with our gear, which we then proceeded to load into his truck. After all the gear was loaded and the canoes were placed securely upon various vehicles, we, the fifteen intrepid explorers, were driven to Center Rutland to begin our expedition North. Sally and i loaded our boat without sacrificing our gear nor our artistic integrity. After all the boats were loaded, the entire crew, under the observing eye of the local press, moved all the boats onto the water. Here is where my day really began. Sally and i hopped into our boat and found the current to be moving quite quickly, much more quickly than i had anticipated. About 150 yards from where we put-in, a tree was blocking about 3/4 of the river, creating a very narrow shoot with a very fast flow of water. The boat ahead of Sally and i got caught up on the tree and, in an effort to avoid hitting them, i steered the boat next to the tree, so that the boat and the tree were parallel. This was a stupid mistake and i apologize to Sally for it again right now. Once we were parallel, the river pushed us with greater intensity than i had estimated and when Sally and i shifted our weight to balance the river’s force, the canoe quickly filled with water and was thrust under the tree and pushed out the other side, leaving Sally and i grasping to the tree. Quickly i climbed up onto the trunk and then helped Sally to do the same. Down stream, Mr. Peterson retrieved our boat while Sally and i swam to shore. This entire incident occurred incredibly quickly, yet played much slower in my dreams that night. Once on shore, Sally and i walked to meet our boat and i apologized to her profusely. As the one steering the canoe, i felt responsible. Luckily, none of our stuff was lost because we tied it all to the boat. However, some of our stuff was wet. Sally and i got back into the canoe and continued paddling, stopping along the way to change into dry clothes. The rest of the morning’s jaunt was uneventful, stopping for lunch and a portage in Proctor, and the afternoon’s paddle followed suit. We reached Brandon at six o’clock, about one hour behind schedule. Tom G. and Emily were to have met us in Brandon, but we missed them and now we are told that they will meet us tomorrow morning. Camp was set-up and dinner was begun. Sally and i assessed our “Wetness Damage” and concluded that, it could have been worse. Perhaps her confidence in my steering abilities was shaken, but we made it to our destination, we had an adventure, and we had a great time doing it. This is all that really matters.