Another Week Bites the Dust!

Hi Everyone!

We have had a VERY busy week prepping for our trip!

This week, the crew learned how to pack the Kettle Pack, which contains all of our kitchen, as well as water filters, saws, toilet paper, and much much more! If it’s not in a personal pack, it’s probably in the Kettle! This is a great opportunity for the crew to learn to consolidate a large volume of gear into a small, neat pack. It is truly a lifetime skill!

We also went over some basic whitewater concepts and terms which will be especially important for river travel! Speaking of whitewater… we learned some canoe-over-canoe rescue techniques for cases of capsized boats! We will try to avoid this happening, but these are important safety techniques to learn and know by heart! The crew was able to have some fun dumping and “being rescued” during our paddle this week!

Baking Day is an incredibly important day for LVI crews as they prepare for their trip! We were fortunate to be allowed to use the kitchen at Atonement Lutheran Church in St. Cloud, and were able to prepare a ton of our food for trail! We prepped ground beef (to dehydrate), bay bread, bannock mixes, and hot chocolate powder. It was a LOT of food that will fuel us in the coming month!

The crew is now dehydrating the beef, as well as vegetables to bring for meals! The Mahowald family is graciously allowing us to utilize their shed as our dehydrating space (thank you Mahowalds!). This means that the crew is running the dehydrator around the clock, and has so far dehydrated beef, mixed veggies, baked beans, and more!

Thank you families and parents for being so supportive of the crew! Especially those who are constantly transporting non-drivers to meetings, events, and dehydratings — your contributions do not go unnoticed and we are so grateful! We are gearing up for quite an adventure and your support means the world!

Paddling, Tents, and Tarps - Oh My!

Hi Everyone!

We had a very busy week!

This week, most of the crew went out for our first paddle! We learned a couple of paddle strokes for both the bow (front) and stern (rear) of the canoe. Bow strokes included the power stroke, the draw, and the cross-draw. Stern strokes included the J stroke, C stroke, and stern pry. These will be incredibly important to learn and master before we leave for the summer! It will be really important that the crew continues to practice these skills before we leave — please reach out with any questions about technique! It was great to see the crew out on the water and getting to work together to carry, load, and paddle the canoes as a group.

We also learned a couple of very important knots this week! I have linked them below! The knots are going to hold our camp together (literally) and are a fun skill to master. Practice makes perfect, especially when it comes to coiling the cords and ropes! They can be challenging, but mastering the tricky bowline or finishing your first trucker’s hitch can be especially rewarding!

Double Half-Hitch: https://youtu.be/HjNr7i-uA0M?si=hf_zTmyqcRJ9V-03

Taut-Line Hitch: https://youtu.be/EApyOMMZZFQ?si=qb-jlg8gcjrs_QbI

Square Knot: https://youtu.be/OxdUfYKrcfY?si=93HDCEplJyVcU5Lw

Bowline Knot: https://youtu.be/hIdsTZTUl6E?si=i_gV_UNVuWi9ZFUZ

Once we learned the knots, we were able to put them together to assemble a tarp! Tarps are crucial to camp — they keep our gear (and our crew!) dry on a wet and rainy day. The tarp also teaches the crew how to stick-and-rock the ends, because sometimes deep enough soil for a stake can be hard to find. Our tents will also be secured down using these methods. It was great to see these skills come together and to see the crew working together as a unit!

Kicking off the summer!

Hi Everyone!

This week we were able to kick off our summer in earnest! It is great to see the crew coming together and getting excited about everything. It is starting to feel real!

This week we had our first portage. At this point, everyone has learned to flip up the canoes, and they are starting to take their first steps under them! On Monday, the crew portaged to the tennis courts, which is about 1/3 mile. Some also carried one back! We will keep you updated on whether or not anyone attempts to break the long-standing pre-trip portage records….

Unfortunately, I did not take a single photo of the portage :( I DID however take a photo of the crew sanding paddles, which is going to be a crucial part of the paddle-painting process. If anyone has questions about this process, please reach out! I would love to answer questions to make sure it goes smoothly!

Food is a super important part of our trip! When crews are collectively burning tens of thousands of calories a day, it is super important that we have fuel for them! We planned our menu for the entire month — lots of deserts, noodles, and only one Velveeta block! It is really fun to watch the crew brainstorm (and just hang out) together and start to visualize their daily life on trail!

Speaking of trail… we have also started to plan our route! This will be around 250 miles of adventure through lakes, rivers, and streams, and will take us through many places previous crews have seen! It is a long trip, but it goes quickly. It is so so fun to imagine some of the adventures we could have!

First Meeting & Important Information!

Hi Everyone!

This weekend we were able to have our first meeting at basecamp! While not everyone was able to make it, it was awesome to see (most of) the crew get together and get to start working!

The crew was able to lay out our map set — big enough to take up the whole meeting room! — and to start thinking about routes! We talked about the river travel options and got to see just how far we will travel over the course of the month. This activity is a great way for participants to get familiar with the maps and other crew members!

From there, we wrote down a couple of goals for the summer. These included expectations for the entire crew, expectations for me, and goals for us as a group. As we continue with our preparations, these will continue to evolve and change. I can’t wait to see where it goes!

Finally, we were able to practice flipping up the canoes. It can be an intimidating task, but everyone was up to the challenge and did a great job. This is a hugely important skill for us and our trip, and will probably require some practice to “make perfect”. Fortunately, we have an incredibly supportive and excited group which will make this way more fun!

Now for the “important stuff”…

• Blog posts will be updated shortly after meetings! This is a great way for family or friends to keep up with what we are doing on a weekly basis! I am hoping to engage the crew on these posts and keep it engaging and fun (lots of photos!)

• The crew calendar is live on our crew page! I have tentatively scheduled dates for most of our meetings and as they get closer, I will update the description for each day. Please check what you need to bring (I will note in the description) to each meeting — I want everyone to have enough spare clothes to stay dry!

We are also looking for locations to host our:

• Dehydrator

  • This is BY FAR our most important location. Over the course of a few weeks, the crew will be dehydrating the majority of our food. Garage space or any room easily accessible from outside works great for this, as we can set up the dehydrator(s) and work without interrupting your families! Please let me know if anyone is able to host!

• Baking Day

  • Our crew will usually spend one full day preparing much of our food for trail, including our bannock mix, bay bread, and a TON of ground beef. Industrial kitchens work really well, such as church or school kitchens. If you have a huge kitchen and would like to host, that will definitely work! Please ask around (pssst… Celebration Lutheran Church has been really welcoming in the past) and let me know if you have a location in mind!

• Sewing Day

  • Sharing a personal pack can get a little bit messy, so we try to keep our personal items separate using ditty bags, which we sew ourselves. This is a great team-building day, as the crew is able to “hang out” pretty casually while we sew ditty bags and paddle cases. If you are or know someone with sewing expertise, that is always greatly appreciated! Please let me know if you are interested in hosting sewing day!

As always, if you have any questions, please ask! I am almost always available by phone (text or call), and try to respond to emails in a timely manner. My contact information is available on the website!
Thank you so much for following along, and I can’t wait to spend the summer with you all!
Jaden <3

Meet the Guide & Blog Information!

Hi Everyone!

My name is Jaden Nguyen, and I am so excited to spend the summer with all of you!

A little bit about me: I have recently graduated from Loyola University with a B.S. in Biology, and will be headed to UW Madison to pursue my Master’s in Freshwater and Marine Sciences in the fall! I am currently studying the effects of micro- and macroplastic pollution in freshwater rivers and streams! I am super passionate about the outdoors and am STOKED to be a part of your Les Voyageurs adventure! This will be my third year guiding with the program, and I am ready to get this crew prepared to hit the trail!

This blog will be a great resource for participants, parents, and family members to keep up with our preparation activities as we prepare for our adventure. I will be posting photos and blog posts that give you a glimpse of our process and a sneak peek into our planning process. Keep checking back for updates!

I am SO EXCITED to get to know you all!

If you have any questions, comments, or just want to talk about the program, let me know!

Jaden Nguyen <3

Welcome!

Welcome to our crew’s blog!

As summer and the Les Voyageurs season begins to pick up, you can receive updates on our crew’s progress through photos and the blog on our page. Check back soon to get an inside look at the different skills, knowledge, and steps we are taking as we prepare for our expedition of a lifetime this summer.

Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns!