During my youth I trekked along with a consortium of boys, a couple remained intent to throw monkey wrenches at undertakings of the opposite sex. On this occasion a girl embarking upon an out from a metropolis jungle exploratory trek through off the beaten track terra along with males. Adults having away from urbania traversing knowhow led our party of concrete jungle excursors. All in attendance including team leaders were not over 25yrs. Our trek within stunning Bala region Group of 7 canvas backdrop terrain in which our troupe witnessed chiseling effects made via receding glaciers of the last ice age some creating lakes ensued following spring’s ice melt near summer. Preceding our exploration of the river utilizing vessels our troupe partook in a fave early spring exercise of the region involving dipping massive plastic garbage bags riddled with piercings to serve as drains in icy finger singeing swift moving streams swollen beyond usual banks abounding a short span each spring with droves of frenzied smelt. How we gleaned though some portion of our booty flowed back into the swelled river surging past the natural shoreline— as did a couple of overeager partakers of this rite! Fortunately only our booty ended swept past retrieval! Participants learned how to gut and prepare the smelt for pan frying serving as an opportunity to garner a lesson in anatomy as well— definitely the boys let me know not the time to insist upon fussy trappings of refined cultivation!

The entourage trekked through at times an unpredictably oscillating water system nearby under cultivated spots entailing portage and having one overnight stay. Afterwards our group routed to some point in which civilization awaited via individuals bearing clean blankets as over heated automobiles awaited to return the shivering troupe to the starting point after excursing through rugged terrain however our troupe in and out of canoes viewed remains of past campfire pits past brush off the shoreline, reminders we aren’t the first to witness such marvel—

As our canoes surged through incrementally rougher waters members of our line of wayfarers sang. Some banged-out rhythms upon metal cups hung from loops of our knapsacks via lightweight trekking cutlery to enhance our collective rowing and to detract from the weight above our heads while in portage mode. Some sortie members rang-out tunes of the era. Popular among some boys was air-guitar and the timeless drumrolls of Wipeout and twangs of Walk Don’t Run.

We pitched tents upon cleared sections amidst predominantly inhospitable terrain well aback of the bank in less brambly turf more hospitable to tents. Our troupe leader advised caution, insisted our members keep aback of the edge of the dense forest however to not cross paths with easily angered wolverines though I along with a few other excursors skirted an small area near the base to view the seldom glimpsed beauty of a cluster of rare boreal orchids all varieties treats to the eyes. At intervals some boys upon advice from a local accompanier seasoned woodlands traversers yodelling and noise-making via intermittently shaking stones in pop cans kept bears potentially lurking aback from human contact. Such advice resulted in exuberant vicarious vocalization and eager over vigorous shaking of tins containing stones: This advent worked— Our troupe encountered not one bear throughout this trek— nor unfortunately glimpsed much of other wildlife in its habitat throughout our exploring off from the beaten track terrain albeit we viewed remains of quills and tufts of fur in addition to deposits of fish scales at shorelines and I recall one instance of espying one solo beaver at the edge of the forested area chiselling a tree trunk undaunted via the presence of this troupe. Then further along in a less-brambly section our excursion leader called our troupe to further give our exhausted by then wrists respite from non-stop oaring in addition to engage us in a session of campfire cooking along with a step by step lesson in tent-pitching technique amongst uneven harsh terrain.

As we afterwards proceeded through the waterway via the employ of newly gleaned oaring manoeuvres through ever swifter water, attempting waltzing with care through choppy water our collective veered among increasingly tugging scattered whirlpools every canoe attempted to avert via vigorous gesticulating of our oar tips— Good thing water levels remained not above our heads through such sections of white peaked water however a couple of canoeist inductees capsized! Fortunately my vessel remained uncapsized thus we were not doused and remaining uncapsized through rugged water consequently still dry thus warmer within my 3team member canoe where I sat at the bow. At times needing to stay the vessel I applied figure-eights with all my might in collusion to strides my canoe members applied to manoeuvre with safety! Periodically edges of craggy boulders white waves lashed against jutted-up from the face of the water's surface. Fortunately our canoes avoiding via careful oaring amid increasingly turbulent waters traversing one river system into another swifter river section having an increase in a-swirl hissing white peaks breaking its surface remained not bashed— Eventually our sortie swept through a cascading shelf of downward heading gush of rapids drawing our line of canoes with a tug leaving no canoe any possibility of turning back—

Veering our procession of canoes through this staircase of whitewater into an amazingly still corridor of water flanked via tall cliffs to drift into a densely forest-surrounded lake absent via trappings of civilization? Preceding entry our voyageurs withdrew all oars not needing to use such implements as we glided via a smooth ribbon of water alike a neck drawn via some subtle subterranean current to delicately flow our procession circumfrenced via densely-treed remote forest below small puffs of white cotton-ball clouds dotting sharp blue sky above plateaus too high to view what lay there beyond a crest—

after cascading downward through thrashing rapids to then glide through a quiet corridor of smooth-surfaced water leading to a broad lake, some grande finale, huge reward to our collective traversing that corridor flanked via boulder-faced straight cliffs leading to plateaus while gliding too brief a period of exhilaration through serene water immediately after manoeuvring through shelves of frothy rapids preceding entry into the wide lake brightly sunlit out from the shadow of the corridor our troupe remained quiet, clearly held in collective awe—

c-Malka Rozencwajg 2020(ed2021)