The Trip

The Trip
On a cool October evening, I sat on top of the roof waiting for my dad to give me the word that it was time to leave. I had made the “A” honor roll just to have the opportunity to travel with my dad on his yearly camping trip. “O.K. son, it’s nearly time for departure,” said my dad. “Alright, I’ll be down in a few,” I called back. Just as I was about to leave I remembered something. I looked up at the stars and asked the brightest ones to give me good luck on my trip and then I put my cell-phone in my pocket in case the trip got boring.
“65 bottles of milk on the wall, 65 bottles of milk, take one down pass it around, 64 bottles of milk on the wall,” I sang, along with my dad and my older brother Joe. We left Milwaukee about 5 hours before and the trip seemed to take an eternity. Our destination was the Boundary Waters up in northern Minnesota. This was the first year that my dad had allowed me to travel with him because he thought I wasn’t strong enough to carry the canoe. “Five more minutes then we are finally there,” Joe said to me.
Once I stepped out of our old Toyota Camry, the view almost knocked me off my feet. It was absolutely amazing; everything seemed to be in perfect balance. To my left was a great big forest with trees seventy feet tall. To my right was a collection of large hills and right in front of me was the largest lake I have ever set my eyes on. I looked up and saw that the sky was perfect blue and I could hear the distant sound of a bird singing. “Close your mouth or you will let some flies in, and by the way it would be ever so generous of you to help pitch the tent!” exclaimed my dad.

“Ready, 1, 2, 3, LIFT!” my dad yelled as he lifted our blue canoe. “How you doing squirt?” Joe asked. “From the looks of it, I think you are the one in the most pain,” I responded shrewdly. “If you guys are done, I think we should start walking towards the next lake. Watch your step now, this hill is looking pretty steep and muddy,” my dad said. “Shoot, I dropped the water cups just a few paces back. Would you go get them Bill?” asked dad. Once I stepped out from under the canoe, I picked up the cups. When I turned back I saw Joe and my dad start to slide down the muddy hill. When they got to the bottom I saw the canoe hit my dad in the head and then the canoe hit Joe’s leg and I heard a crunching noise.
“Dad, Joe, are you alright?” I called down the hill. The reply was just what I feared. The response was nothing. I raced down the hill and ran to my dad’s side. He looked unconscious. From behind me I heard leaves rustle. It was my brother and he was moving on the earth’s floor. “Joe, are you alright?” I asked. “What do you think, you idiot?” he snapped back. I raced to his side and tried to move him, but when I touched his right leg he gave a loud shout and started to curse at me. It was just starting to get dark, and the moon was coming out. Then there was a crunching noise that broke the perfect silence.
“What was that?” I asked with nervousness in my voice. “Probably just the wind,” replied my brother. Then I heard an ear splitting growl that raised the hair on the back of my neck. “SHIT!” yelled Joe. Earlier this school year my class learned why animals attack campers. One reason is the camper is hurting the animal; the other is that the animal smells food. I grabbed all the food from the food pack and ran about ten yards away from my brother and dad. The twelve foot shape that was just feet from me paralyzed me for a moment. Then I took the sandwiches that I was holding and threw them as far as I could to my right.
I watched as the large beast turned and launched itself in the direction that the sandwiches were heading. I ran back to my brother and dad and told my brother that the bear was gone. He said, “Okay, one problem down. Now how the Hell do we get out of here with an unconscious man and a cripple?” I whipped out my cell-phone and saw the gigantic smile spread across his face. I called 911 and told the paramedics exactly where we were.
When they arrived my dad finally awoke. The paramedics put my brother’s leg into a splint and said that the healing part would take some time, but that it would be a full recovery. When we were all in the helicopter my dad asked “So, what did I miss?” I just smiled at him and said, “Not much.”

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Rating: 6.5 out of 4 votes cast