Wild Wednesday - Camp Style

Ok, so this happened last week, but it is so WILD Wednesday that I had to post-post it.

We have a Canoggan at Camp. For those who don't know what that is... its a Canoe on Wheels with steering levels and "a brake" that we pile counselors and campers a like in and go cruisin'.


Well, I was assigned to accompany one of the Pine (younger boys) cabins for a ride. My first time ever in it. Their counselor was at the steering levers in the very front. There were 5 young boys and me on "the brake". I was told that the brake is really for aesthetic purposes and bringing a little comfort to the nervous. Well, I for one was a little nervous. I had seen others ride in it and even seen a crash. Actually given the choice, I don't think I would have gone in it, but I wasn't asked. So, we all put on our helmets and knee pads and elbow pads and wrist guards. We piled in and off we went down a winding path.


Having never ridden in it before, I didn't know what was "normal" and had to put my trust in the person steering. We were swerving quite a bit, but I thought the driver was doing it on purpose to make it more fun for everyone. It was fun until we approached a steeper slope and started to go much faster. Still trying to trust it was under control, I said the driver's name to express concern and then waited for a cue to brake. We were going fast and swerving down this winding path and all of a sudden....we flip. Screaming. Me and one of the boys face planted in the dirt. Ah, the gritty taste of dirt. Me and a different camper ended up in the ditch of sticker-y plants. We were all mangled together with the Canoggan on top of us. The Canoggan was lifted off of us and we crawled out of the ditch.

My injuries included a banged up knee (internal only with only bruising visible), a scrape on my hip with quite a bit of bruising, a couple cut toes and some minor scratches. The worst injury was the camper in front of me who's knee pad must have slid down. He ended up with a big hole in his knee. It was pretty gnarly. A few of us took an after photo and we all stopped by the nurses cabin to get fixed up.


A few days later, another counselor gave us each a bracelet for 'surviving the canoggan with Ronnie' (that was the counselor driving). It was definitely a bonding experience for us all.

Canogganing. Only at Camp Augusta!