WLE ACHIEVE 28 DAY WILDERNESS THERAPY TRIP

Well, summer has come to an end for 2010 and WLE ACHIEVE has been busy! This year we are proud to say that we launched our first annual ACHIEVE OUTDOORS Wilderness Therapy Trip. A group of 7 youth from all over Ontario ventured down the Missinaibi River, starting at Missinaibi Lake and ending in Moosonee. The group was guided by 5 of WLE's finest instructors, including one of our amazing therapists. Its difficult to summarize all the amazing experiences the group had... Since I was unable to join the trip myself, I found myself finding any excuse to check in with the group and see how they were making out.

I drove the group up to Missinaibi Lake (wow that's a long drive from South River!). The group was definitely nervous starting out but excited for the coming adventure. After sadly leaving them, all I could do was watch their progress from the office on the SPOT GPS tracker. As the days went on, their pace steadily improved. Then, on Day 9 of the trip, I met the group in the booming metropolis of Mattice, Ontario and brought them some food supplies. While certainly tired, the group had that relaxed, 'anything goes' feeling that seems to affect people on longer wilderness trips. Apart from a few issues, the group was getting along very well and working hard to hone their tripping skills. The water was DEFINITELY low but still manageable. We treated the group to poutine in town (I wasn't there for it but I heard the cheering from the highway!) and they moved on from Mattice. I've included some photos here of some of their experiences.

By the end of the trip, the group was a well oiled machine and its fair to say that all the students on the trip made great progress in both personal and group goals. Following the trip, parents and guardians met with the trip Therapist to highlight these growth areas and to help make the transition back home a little easier. We are all so proud of these students for the amazing changes they made during the trip and for the huge challenges they tackled during 21 days on the river. We had a great graduation ceremony and the students showed their parents and supporters some of their skills, including the 'giant bow drill'. The students lit the fire for the graduation ceremony with this device (check out the pictures!). The Graduation was quite emotional, with students taking the time to speak to each other and instructors pointing out all the amazing gains each student had made during this unique treatment experience. Parents and supporters also had an opportunity to speak about their hopes for the future.

All in all, this was an experience that none who were involved will ever forget. We at WLE are so excited that this program was such a huge success and we can't wait for next summer. I'm hoping that the girls program will be as successful as the boys. We're hoping to run several of these each summer, not just on the Missinaibi River, but on the Petawawa River and some sea kayaking on Georgian Bay. If you're interested in finding out more about these Wilderness Therapy programs, check out our website at www.achieveprogram.ca or find us on facebook at www.facebook.com/AchieveProgram

See you next summer!

Jason Prichard
Achieve Community Programs, Wendigo Lake Expeditions