Irving 2014

This year's Irving Expedition saw six students and two staff members venture off into Canada's North!

 

The Irving Expedition is something I will honestly never forget. The Keele River is an incredible place and it was like nothing I had ever seen. The water is an incredible turquoise blue at the start of the river and the landscape is so dynamic, you go through mountains and into giant rolling hills and finally to the flatter lands of the Mackenzie, which are almost at sea level. But what really made the trip for me was the people. I couldn’t imagine going on a trip like this one without such an amazing and hilarious group. There was literally never a dull moment on the trip, and I was always laughing.  - Jen Ower '15

 

The plane landing in the fast moving current of the river was terrifying and exciting all at the same time and an experience I won't soon forget. After hurriedly unpacking the plane and piling our gear on a gravel bar, we pushed it back into the water, and as it took off I experienced the all-time number one best moment of my life. That feeling of complete isolation hit me like a ton of bricks and the fact that we were really out there all alone gave me this inexplicable jolt of excitement. At that moment and for the next 12 days I can honestly say there was nowhere I would rather have been! How often in your life will a giant caribou curiously wander over to see if the people hiking with you are friend or foe, how often will you be taking a poop and hear yells from back at camp that there is a bear heading towards you, how often will you see a wolverine running along the shoreline not a hundred meters from your canoe, and how often will get to go on a trip like this!  - Jake Fell '15