Almost everyone showed up on time to board the charter bus on Monday. In addition to my required item, I carried Michael’s camera along with extra film. My chosen research topic was mushrooms. I had decided to do a slide show for my presentation. I figured I might not be as nervous in a dark room. So, now I had to make sure I had great pictures of at least ten different kinds of fungi. Jim, the only student that was late, sauntered in at 6:15 with a tightly packed backpack.
“It’s about time, Pasquale” laughed the instructor. My bus seatmate, Sue, looked at me and rolled her eyes. “I guess we know who the teacher’s pet is.” she concluded.
Our canoe team consisted of Sue and I along with a woman named Marty who was about 20 years older than us, Jim (now known as Pasquale), Jerry, and Eric. Eric and Jerry seemed to be very sweet, unassuming young men in their 30’s. Pasquale and Marty hit it off immediately. Marty saw herself as the “mom” of the group with Sue and I being her bratty girls that she had to “keep in line.” Pasquale did his own thing and pretty much only talked with Marty.
Each group would have 3 canoes (2 in each canoe) and 2 tents (3 in each tent). When we arrived at the outfitters, we were sneeringly called “pork eaters.” This was the term given to eastern voyageurs during the fur trade era because they were considered “soft.”
At the outfitters, during the morning we practiced canoeing and emergency procedures in the bay. In the evening, we gathered around the bonfire to hear story after story about the history of the French voyageurs and tales of their trade, legends of the birch bark ghost, along with other ghost stories.
The next morning, we began our trip along a historical voyageur route. I was unsure of what voyageurs had to do with science, but I went along with the whole fantasy since I was kind of stuck without return transportation. We were on the water for 8 actual days of canoeing an average of 6-7 hours a day reading maps, switching canoe partners, portaging an enormous amount of equipment (including Pasquale’s backpack), cooking our own meals, and then when I didn’t think I could move another muscle, I had to hike into the woods to find mushrooms to photograph.
The trip went surprisingly well. It likened itself to a miniature “survivor” experience. We all grew weary of Pasquale’s lack of “team player” abilities and Marty’s bossiness, but for the most part, it went well. I was thankful that I didn’t experience any “disorientation” while looking for mushrooms and Sue laughed all the time so I could join in and relieve some of my stress.
When we returned to the outfitters, they had us all sit on the floor of a small cabin in the woods. The walls were covered with animal skins. The “bourgeois” or “boss” of the camp came in and questioned us as to why we should no longer be called “pork eaters” and be granted the title “voyageur.” More fantasy, I guess. I thought to myself. But after the each of us had been “defended” by our instructor, the boss left in what seemed to be an angry stupor. We sat silently. I leaned over to Sue and whispered, “This is really weird!” She smiled. “Silence!” our instructor shouted. “We must be silent if the great bear is to grace us with his presence. Sue and I rolled our eyes in unison but became silent lest it affect our grade.
Suddenly through the door, with a loud roar, came the boss. Only now a huge bearskin hung from his head. That was it. I was exhausted and I couldn’t find an ounce of control left in my poor body! It started as a chuckle and grew. While the boss performed some ceremonial dance, I laughed uncontrollably, trying to hide my face. I was unsure of whether my laughing at this moment was “inappropriate.” I mean, how “appropriate” is it for a grown man to be wearing a bearskin on his head and growling at a group of biology students from Indiana?
After the growling ceremony, we were instructed to file out and kneel on the dock (with our back to the water) for the “Christening” ceremony. The boss came to each of us, offered us a chug of whiskey. After we drank (or pretended to drink), he said, “You are now a voyageur!” He randomly shoved people backwards into the water with his foot.
It was definitely an interesting “field trip.” I was proud of myself for surviving. My presentation was excellent and I successfully completed my first class toward my certification with an A.
By the way, my mushroom pictures were beautiful!
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