If you want t o
retain the experience of your trip in vivid detail - there are
only a couple of ways to do it. Of course, photography is
one of them - another is by using a trip journal.
I can assure you that what you see, hear and otherwise
experience on a trip will gradually fade from your memory.
It seems that these experiences are so wonderful that they will
be indelibly stamped on your mind, but they won't.
There are two things to record in a trip journal - the factual
information about your route; and the actual experience
of the trip.
The factual
information is important. It's nice to record things like:
-
how far
you went each day
-
where
you camped
-
what the
sites were like
-
what the
rapids were like
-
how
difficult the portages were
It's almost
a guarantee that you (or someone you know) will want this
information at some later time. Perhaps you're repeating
the route and you want to remember where you camped.
Perhaps you've recommended the route to another canoeist and
they want to know what the portages are like. It's
invaluable to have this information in writing.
Aside from the factual, it's wonderful to have a written record
of the trip that describes the experience itself. When we
take the time to write down what we did and what we saw, what we
smelled, heard and sensed, we have helped preserve that memory.
Photographs are great for preserving the visual, but they cannot
convey the feeling of looking at a lake shrouded in morning mist
- the shiver you felt in the cool morning temperatures, the
sound of the loon, the smell of the cedars, or the emotion you
felt at the time. A journal is the place to record this.
Journals are an especially good way for children to record their
experiences. Encourage them to write and to draw pictures
- whatever it takes to give you a lasting record of your trips
together. Here's an example from one of our family trip
journals - my son Matthew's story about the luckiest
turtle in Georgian Bay.
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