destination: Northern Rock-N-Wilderness Adventure

By: Hunter F.

In the summer of 2012 I travelled to Ely, Minnesota to Northern Lakes Girl Scout canoe base.  My trip lasted two weeks. The trip I went on was called Northern Rock-N-Wilderness adventure, a Girl Scout destination. A Girl Scout destination is when Girl Scout goes on a trip inside the United States or goes to other country on a trip without her troop to other Girl Scout bases. Mostly younger girls like me can only go to domestic or US destinations but that doesn’t stop me from having great bunches of fun! 

The main part of my trip was canoeing but we did a lot more stuff than you would think we did. On every trip you have a choice. You can rather drive or fly to your destination. I always pick flying. Saves gas and it’s just a whole lot of fun taking off! On this trip I had to take two flights: one to Minneapolis and then from there to Duluth. Both flights were fun and I could see beautiful scenery from my window on the plane.

When I landed in Duluth, cheery faces and girls from all over the US greeted me. I met girls from the following states: Georgia, California, Wisconsin, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Arkansas, and Maine. There were 13 girls. Three from Georgia, three from California, one from Wisconsin, one from Virginia, two from Pennsylvania and one from New Jersey and Arkansas and Maine. All of the girls were very cheerful and bright.

When we left the airport and went into Duluth all I could see out my window was a city on the shoreline of a mini ocean called Lake Superior. We visited Lake Superior and took some photos. It’s such a beautiful thing to look at. We also got a chance to swim in Lake Superior and I learned how to skip rocks! After that we went to the cabin where we would stay at for a few days.

At the cabin all we had to sleep on were mattresses on the floor but it was fun because the floor was very creaky. After a few days we went to Ely, Minnesota. We kayaked at camp Wolf Ridge where we learned how to get out of a kayak safely if we flipped over. Then we went rock climbing on Ely’s Peak. That was so beautiful. We all had to climb a hiking trail up to the peak where we met the instructors who taught us how to belay and climb. Once I got to the spot where I am in the picture to my left I could see across Ely’s beautiful forest and mountains. After we went climbing we made it to our canoe base. We spent a whole day learning how to portage, where you carry a canoe across your shoulders on trails, swamp, and how to paddle. Then the next day we became female voyageurs without the beaver fur hats though.

For the rest of the trip we saw bears, ate around a campfire, slept in the tents we set up every night, ran from mosquitoes (because apparently they are immune to bug spray), saw ancient Indian paintings, and paddled under the stars while listening to the Loons call. When we got back we all had something in common. We all were mosquito bitten, tan, muscular and very dirty and we were all family.

                                Even though this trip sounds like it may be hard I promise you it was the most fun I have had in a long time! I loved this trip and you will to. If you don’t want to go on this trip there are always many options to choose. I just hope you all get the chance to go on a destination in the future. Click here to learn more about Girl Scout destinations.