A College Essay by Tom Hadala Jr.

Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.

We look out from the train as it comes to a crawl at two in the morning on the edge of the abandoned town of Peterbell, beginning this unforgettable journey into the Canadian wilderness.  We throw our packs and canoes from the slowly moving boxcar onto the steep gravel embankment and watch them slide down into the darkness along the Missinaibi River. As the engines roar and the air horn blasts, together we jump off the accelerating train and slide down to where the now drenched packs lay.  Aware of my responsibility for the others, I turn on my flashlight and peer through the pouring rain to account for everyone as the train speeds away.  It’s just the nine of us here now, miles from civilization.  In under a month’s time, we must travel over four hundred miles to James Bay, and meet at the last train stop of the famous Polar Bear Express.

While wilderness canoe tripping, I can forget about my iPod and cell phone.  I must remember to pack the axe, dehydrated food, map and other necessities as I have done so many times before over the past seven years.  I feel confident.  I bring what I need to survive, but only what I’m willing to carry.  Up here, if you forget it, you do without it, or improvise.  Calling home for additional provisions is not an option.

I deftly leap into the cedar canvas canoe, push off from the rocky shore, place my wooden paddle into the raging current, and with each powerful and deliberate stroke I gaze at the tree tops growing shorter and shorter. I watch the jagged and potentially deadly rocks go zooming past as my bowman and I begin to drop over a four-foot ledge into the class three rapids.  Water rushes into our canoe as the bow crashes below the surface, drenching us from head to toe with the icy water.

My bowman and I hold our breath as we jump out of the canoe just before reaching the edge of the thirty-foot waterfall.  We breathe a sigh of relief, splash cold river water on our faces, admire the distance just paddled, rest, and prepare ourselves for the two-kilometer portage ahead.

I secure the fifty-pound pack on my back, flip the even heavier canoe above my head, and begin the challenging hike.  I’m trudging along, confident I will eventually get there.  Keeping a wary eye open for stray bears, I concentrate on the various bird melodies and listen to the crackling of twigs beneath my feet to take my mind off the canoe thwart digging into my neck.

Arriving at the next navigable location on the river, we prepare a campsite as the sun begins to set behind the tree line.  The tents are set up, and the fire is lit for dinner, but we are too tired to cook.  The moon rises as the eerie cry of the loon echoes throughout the river basin.  Huddled around the crackling campfire, comforted by its soothing warmth, my friends and I tell our most revealing secrets as we develop our life long friendships.

I slip into my sleeping bag and begin to recap the strenuous day.  I realize I have developed self-reliance, individual leadership, the ability to cope with adverse conditions, and most importantly, team cooperation.  All of a sudden it’s morning.  We quickly break camp and prepare, much as in the real world, for the arduous and unknown adventures that lie ahead.