Portage

Mark Krueger

They left the group home in mid-afternoon, but the ride to the campsite took longer than they thought and they had to set up in the dark, sorting tent poles and stakes by feel. There were five boys along with the leader, Kent, a young man in his mid-twenties.

As they settled into their sleeping bags, the sounds of the night scared a few of the boys, who had not been camping before. Kent talked with them until eventually they all fell asleep.

In the morning, Kent got up early to prepare breakfast. The boys woke to the smell of bacon. A couple of boys fought over a pair of socks and one got up in a typically bad mood, but as they ate and huddled together by the fire, they gradually eased into the day together.

Afterwards, they cleaned up and reviewed the map they had made for their trip. They would follow a chain of lakes as far as they could, then portage to another lake that ran into a river and flowed south towards a town where arrangements could be made to pick them up and take them back.

By mid-morning everything was packed. They kicked dirt on the coals in the fireplace and pushed away from shore with the wind at their back. Kent steered one canoe; Daniel, a rugged sixteen-year-old, the other. Soon they had passed from one lake to a second in the chain of six.

Some of the boys got tired and began to complain. Kent tried to slow the pace and keep their minds off their aching muscles by leading a few songs. It worked for a while.

In the third lake they slid their canoes onto a sandy beach for lunch. Hungry, they devoured the sandwiches, then afterwards, some of the boys napped while the others waded in the cool early summer water.

When they began again their arms and shoulders ached. It was a warm ache, though, and they sang again as they moved through another lake. But eventually, some of the boys began to complain and argue again. Kent knew it was not good to push them. Canoeing was hard work, especially for children who had short attention spans and low frustration levels.

He stopped on an island in the fifth of the six lakes. He let them relax and roam about before setting up camp and preparing dinner. Tired, the boys all went to bed after dinner and a few unusually quiet moments by the fire, which seemed to hypnotize them.

Kent stayed up a while, thinking it was better in some ways in the woods than at the group home. Nature somehow brought them closer together. Out here they had no choice but to trust one another and work together.

It rained most of the night. In the morning the wood was too damp for a fire so they ate a dry breakfast. After crossing the remainder of the lake, they entered a much larger lake where a strong wind began to blow in their faces. They were exhausted by the time they began the portage. The path had grown over and they began to trip and stumble.

–Fuck!” Daniel tossed the canoe to the side and walked into the woods.

–Get back here!” Kent shouted.

–Fuck You! You don’t know where you’re going.”

Kent walked towards Daniel. “I said get back!”

Daniel threw a punch. Kent ducked, then grabbed Daniel and collapsed with him to the forest floor, cradling his body safely the way he had been taught. The other boys watched from a distance. The struggle continued for several minutes until the tension slowly subsided.

As he said, “Okay, I’m going to let go,” Kent’s voice shook. He thought about this as he regained his composure. His anger and fear had stirred something deeper within him. Daniel seemed to sense this as he stopped fighting.

They rose slowly and joined the other boys, who seemed relieved. When they started out again, they moved ahead to the next lake.

This feature: Krueger, M. (1995). Situations in child care: Portage. Journal of Child and Youth Care, 10, 1. pp.65-66.