On the raft with Polly Fredlund, Head of Westover School, CT.

One of the best benefits of the Salmon River experience this summer was the ability (and the need) to adopt the pace of nature. We knew when we paddled in the morning, the wind was at our backs. We knew when we paddled in the afternoon, the wind was fighting us. On my first day in a single kayak, I got caught in a combination of wind and current that literally just pushed me backwards. A little redirection from one of our trusty guides allowed me to get out of an eddy and ride the current the other way, paddling furiously. But for a few moments in there, I thought: “I am paddling as hard as I can, and it is not enough.” There are certainly days when school life can feel like that, for sure. But here, the answer was to attune myself to nature’s “currents” and acquiesce, rather than fight.

Our daily routines on the river were similar: We got up with the sun, we climbed into our tents when the sun went down, we slept to the sounds of the water lapping on the shore, and all the critters moving around at night. We respected the sun, we learned to appreciate and tame (sometimes) the currents, or at least how we moved in them. We adopted the pace of nature. We learned patience we used to know, but I, for one, had forgotten. That was the gift of the river.