On My Watch

Posted byGary FultzPosted inabundant life, accomplishment, adventure, Adventure story, Boundary Water trips, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness photos, camp fire story, camping, canoeing, canoeing adventure, deception, expectations, Gary Fultz, Gary Fultz Blog, gone fishing, Nature, nature pictures, Outdoor Adventures, perspective, portaging, quality of life, relationship building, story teller, story telling., wilderness adventure, wilderness adventuresTags:, , , , , , , , , ,

After 72 wilderness adventures to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, I can say with absolute 50% confidence that I am more aware of potential dangers then on trip #1. The other 50% has to do with the unpredictable nature of the wilderness. This is a picture of such danger

A nice portage and entry into the next lake. Obviously, there is current and a rapids runs between the lakes. The danger: once past the last log, there is a very strong current that can pull a canoe down the deep part of the rapids. The river is deep, roiling and turns a sharp corner against the rocks and tree roots. Stay to the left and it’s safe. Push the canoe out before looking for one’s paddle and the canoe will subtly but swiftly begin to be sucked toward a point of “no return.” One could lose more than their fishing rod going down those rapids.

We watched it happening. A group of teenagers came through with two adults. We held back to give them space to get through the portage. The last canoe to push out beyond the logs did not pick up their paddles. No awareness of the water moving them toward the rapids. Our group expected the adults to take charge quickly. No awareness on the adult part either. I took charge.

“Start paddling or the current will suck you down” I yelled. Puzzled looks came from all the canoes of the teen group. “Paddle on the right side” I yelled and kept yelling. The teen had picked up his paddle as he began to panic but only shifted it back and forth...”paddle right side” I yelled. He did. A couple of hard strokes from both teens and they propelled forward and grounded on an underwater rock but had gone into less current. They somehow made it out of danger.

We took our turn at the portage as it’s a bottleneck portage in the wilderness. Most groups in this particular entry point use this portage to camp in the next huge lake or go through to disperse into the hundreds of lakes nearby. Four of us chose to travel each day for a total of 25 portages and 55 miles.

“Life lesson guys” I said. “We all know people who didn’t intend to be sucked into the point of no return with life stuff. Drugs, having affairs and wrecking marriages, poor friends, gambling and so on. Then there is the spiritual area. Life is dangerous without any awareness, much less any relationship with our creator. This little moving water doesn’t look dangerous. The point of no return is closer than anyone thinks. End of sermon…let’s go”

One very rocky portage

We talked of other life lessons on our wilderness trip. Later on, as we were meeting friends and family, I said to my 16-year-old grandson Aron…”Hey, tell them a story and the life lesson from our BWCA trip. He did. Proud Grandpa here!

Gary

Smallmouth bass caught from campsite

Published by Gary Fultz

Outdoors Man, Hunter, Fisherman, Guide, Writer / Author, Photographer, Public Speaker, Musician, Song Writer, Story Teller, Follower Of Jesus. Love God and family and total strangers

32 thoughts on “On My Watch”

  3. Powerful life lessons, indeed, my friend. Some of which I wish I had learned before I went over some rough rapids and almost lost my life. But Father is a GOOD, GOOD God! And He even redeems the likes of me!!🤠
    ❤️&🙏, c.a.     

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    1. “Almost” seems to be a fortunate word so I’m sure you didn’t escape your rapids without a lot of pain. I seem to need a fair amount of pain to become more aware of life’s dangers and God’s ways of rescue

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  4. A great post, Gary. The wilderness is unpredictable for sure. Anything from ankle to a fall or capsize in the water can change everything. You had some great adventures! Well done.
    Captiain Oblivious indeed!

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    1. Thanks Dwight. I was quite spoiled on this trip to have guys around me with a good head on their shoulders and a decent sense of awareness. I did have to use the “old guy” card on portages and not tackling huge waves in a big lake. I did carry a canoe most of the time and downsized from a canoe and a pack…ya, feeble old guy here.

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  5. Thanks Gary. Sometimes a brother puts forth a lesson based on a life circumstance or occurrence such as what you have done here, which actually involves much more—adventure—with both the right decision and it’s good and necessary outcome, as well as what happens when the one right decision is not made.

    How many times there are in which we come into contact with such decisions, especially when still relatively young, rightfully immature, and likely unaware. I say that because even first times demand a general awareness. There must therefore be something in the individual in which he senses that such a choice involves a specific demand in which the right choice MUST be made even though he is yet to know what it is in the moment. This means his general awareness allows for a coming forth of the necessary specific awareness which means the latter is firmly based on the former which means if one does not possess the general inherent awareness to begin with he will be going down rapids totally unprepared and will lose pretty much all.

    I would think, according to your fine photos, that going down such rapids in an unprepared state might cause an injury or maybe even a serious injury (and maybe worse). I did some white water rafting early in life and am well aware of the great power of swiftly moving water. Once you’re in it you’re not getting out. It is why when rapids were doable (the fun part—relatively mini rapids with a bulky metal canoe but still with a decent element of danger) we would get out beforehand and plan our course. There is no guarantee in this, of course, but one has a much higher probability of success. Most of the time things went well.

    I cannot say, Gary, why some people have a strong inherent general awareness and why others have little or none. It could be because some learn early on what a bad choice can do. We can call these learning choices because they don’t have much overall effect but certainly get their point across. Or it could be that a few people simply KNOW they must assess (evaluate/consider/judge/measure/gauge) EVERY choice because it will be the choice you don’t consider consequential that will get you. And I would imagine this is all the more important out in the wild.

    If you were not there yelling last second instructions to make up for their lack of awareness… Thus, in order for the Lord to work in our lives He must work through people. The further thus means that those who end up going down rapids backwards or sideways completely unprepared or doing it because they (1) either refused to listen to the Lord and His assistants or (2) such assistants were not present. And the latter could be because they were not wanted which means they were rejected. So there you go.

    Those guys could have looked at you, thought you were an idiot, scoffed, and didn’t listen. (Sound familiar?) Thank the Lord and His servant on the scene that they didn’t.

    Good work. Good story. Good lesson. Glad you were on your watch.

    Onward

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    1. All true RJ. My sense in this case was a youth group with poor leaders who were not aware of the dangers of moving water, thus unable to “warn” when they should have. Leadership should be earned and not just assigned. I have a sense that the kids who almost went down the rapids backwards are now more aware of that danger from now on…not sure if the adults ever got it. This story can be applied to so many areas of life. Our whole culture is out of touch in knowing about and operating within a relationship with God… Our leadership (assigned) cannot warn in their lack of awareness. One must have it to pass it on.

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  6. Nothing like experience, and learning from it! Lessons for spiritual fathers and mothers, and grandpa’s and grandma’s… 1 Cor. 4:15 (v. 14-21) So needed in the Ecclesia. And youth willing to be apprenticed.

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    2. So true Erroll. There are so many lessons to be learned- taught from this one experience. I had to put the lid on a bit of ptsd from another experience rescuing a guy from tipping a canoe and being drawn toward the really bad waters….he would have died.

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  9. Aaack! I have done some (minimally “some”) canoeing down a river with rapids. I knew first that it was a safe rapids. I loved the feeling of flowing down, of using my paddle to steer around the rocks and rushing down the “right” parts. One of my favorite places to be is in a kayak on God’s waters.

    As for living dangerously when you don’t even know it’s dangerous: Without a guide, we can’t know what’s ahead, in water or in life. God’s Holy Spirit is a wonderful gift to us, giving us a heads-up / tap on the shoulder / 2″x4″ bonk on the head when we need it. We have but to learn Him (though His Word), and listen for His voice. And I join with RJ, that sometimes God sends people to give us that heads-up – He’s that good to us. AND so good to us that He redeems when we really mess up; that might mean living with consequences, light or severe, or even death. We accept as from a loving Father’s Hand all that He allows.

    Great lessons, and thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thanks Kathy. Like you…I love a good rapids as well. I know my limitations and a canoes limitations. The story as it was lived out has many applications spiritually. I need the bonk on the head from the Spirit and yelling from some God sends my way.

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    1. oh yes…beware of thinking we have arrived and by our great knowledge, beliefs and sheer skill, nature itself is overcome (until a huge 100 mph wind comes up or one steps on a wasp nest…or…)

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    1. Yes to both Barb. Nature doesn’t give any leeway to the unaware. It’s probably more dangerous for me driving in heavy city traffic. My old monster truck with dents in bumper helps tho.

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  12. Praise the Lord you witnessed the danger that was transpiring with the canoers and persisted with your shouted instructions. Phew! Your pics showing the danger are chilling. 🙂

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