Hello hello Hoofers!

To celebrate the start of summer and the end of finals Ryan Stowe and I (Laura Arneson) along with a crew of Leaders in Training will be heading north on up to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Minnesota!!

Are you looking to become a canoeing leader in the club!? Then this is an awesome opportunity to learn, develop, and practice your leadership skills in the backcountry!

We will depart from Madison on Saturday, May 11th, after gearing up the afternoon before. We will then drive to Sawbill Lake in Tofte, MN and rent boats and do some final trip prep. The next morning we will head out on trail and spent the next week paddling, portaging, and practicing/teaching backcountry and leadership skills. On May 18th we will exit the BWCA and drive on back to Madison.

As this is a trip geared toward the facilitation of leadership, there will be a higher level of expectations from our participants. This includes the following:

• Complete an in-person meeting with us, Ryan and Laura, to discuss previous experience with Hoofers, canoeing and wilderness as well as leadership skills, and your goals!

• Be prepared to lead and co-lead the group on certain days of the trip

• Participate in trip logistics planning

• Be prepared to teach certain topics to others in the group (with help)

• Ideally have a swim test, canoe lake rating, and an R1 the required ratings to receive a Quietwater Leader Rating

  • At a bare minimum, you must have passed the swim test to come on the trip

• At the end of this trip, it is expected that you will be an active member of the Canoeing Activity Group within Hoofers, follow through on necessary steps to receive a Quietwater Leader rating (we will go over what these are), teach Canoe Lake Lessons, and lead Quietwater Canoe Trips

• Adhere to usual expectations asked of any participant on a Hoofers trip. Be a positive, contributing member of the group and share in group chores.

The trip cost is estimated to be around $275 per participant. We, Ryan and Laura, are in the process of applying for a grant to decrease this cost. If you have any questions or concerns about trip cost please reach out as there are scholarship options available and we do not want the cost of the trip to be a barrier.

If you are interested please fill out the Google Form below! Ryan and I will be in touch about setting up a meeting! https://forms.gle/zPC2rjKBECEN3TqJ9

If you have any questions please feel free to shoot us an email.

larneson2@wisc.edu and rstowe16@gmail.com

Thanks Ya'll,

Laura and Ryan