Canoe trips are a medium difficulty. The gear is mostly transported in the canoe, which requires less physical effort. As a result, foods held in coolers are provided which means that the food is more like what you would eat at home (versus freeze tried packaged meals). Some skill in navigating the rapids on the river adds some extra challenge (and extra fun). All technical gear for the trip is provided by camp which means you do not have to purchase specialized gear.

The Flambeau River is located in North-Central Wisconsin 160 miles west of Lake Lundgren Bible Camp. A river made by God and set apart by the Wisconsin DNR for canoe trips.

The trip begins with registration and orientation in the Adventure Trip building. We then head to the waterfront at LLBC to take our swim tests and learn how to canoe properly. After packing up our gear and loading the van, we head off to our “put in” location on the river. We eat lunch on the way to our “put in” (usually Deadman’s Slough). Getting all the gear loaded and getting used to how the canoe handles are first days objectives as we paddle only a few miles to our first night’s camp site.

Upon arrival at our camp site, we set up camp followed by a meal over the open fire. Reading and learning from God’s word is part of every evening. Swimming, fishing, games, stories and time around the camp fire round out the rest of the day.
Depending on weather and vacancy of the river, our day starts off at around 7:30. After breakfast we break camp and load all our gear in the canoes. Each day we canoe between 6 and 12 miles.

The river has rapids along the way. Many are unranked; some are ones and a few are twos. In a way only God could build, the rapids on the river tend to get more difficult as the days go on. This allows young canoers time to mature in their abilities to steer the canoe as well as “reading the river”. The last and shortest day has the two best rapids. This is an exciting way to end the trip with a great sense of accomplishment.

Each day is very different yet somewhat the same. We need water, so stopping to fill up at each of the designated water pumps is a must. Fishing along the way and cooling down in the river is always fun on hot days.

We get an early start the last morning. After eating breakfast and packing, we hit the water for a short fun stretch. Stopping along the way we scout the bigger rapids and help each other through. After finishing the “Beaver dam” (last rapids) we come to our “take out” where we land our canoes and haul our gear to the van. After packing it all up in van, we head for LLBC. Along the way we stop for food and some fun as we stretch our legs and get out of the van.

We arrive at LLBC in the evening. We unpack and set up tents for the night. We spend some time cleaning up and playing games together. We eat breakfast at the dining hall, followed by some cleanup and unpacking at the trip building. After all the work is done, we sit-down and talk about the things we have learned and how God has shown himself to us this week on the Flambeau River.