It didn't take long for us to dread every portage. One time, we noticed that there was a stream that connected the two lakes and the portage trail ran alongside this stream. Rather than carry our canoes over the portage, we decided to try and pull them through the stream. So we got out of the canoe, stood in the stream, and one of us pulled the tow rope in the front and the other of us pushed from behind. As I recall it was tough going. The water was swift and we were going against the current. But it felt so good to not have to lift the heavy canoe over another portage. In reality, we probably worked harder by pulling the canoe through the stream.
The last full day of our trip we had to paddle the length of the longest lake of the trip. And there was a pretty stiff head wind making it doubly hard to paddle. I remember being out in the middle of this wide lake with wave after wave coming straight at us. I was afraid that if our canoe got turned sideways the waves would dump us over and our gear would sink to the bottom. I worked very hard to keep us headed straight at the wind. It was very tiring and we were not making much progress. Then we noticed another group of canoers passing us by on our left. They knew something we didn't. They knew that if you get your canoes over by the shore on the leeward side of the lake (the side of the lake where the wind is coming from) the hills along the bank block the wind and the paddling is much easier. We immediately made a beeline for the shore on our left. We soon noticed that the wind was much less stiff, the waves much smaller, and the paddling much easier. We began to make headway and eventually made it to the end of the lake where we camped for the last night of the trip.
In life, when the going is tough, it is ok to rely on others to help you make it through. You don't have to stay out in the middle of it all and take it on all by yourself. The going is much easier when you have the support of others.
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