Yukon River, Canada

I could easily highlight this trip as one of my life's most challenging and uncomfortable experiences. We paddled down 100km of the Yukon River through thunderstorms, extreme wind, low and high temperatures, and exhaustion.

We arrived in the Yukon on a Saturday morning, disconnected from the world—no phones, no internet, just the wildern After a two-hour flight from Vancouver, we were welcomed by a yellow school bus (cue to my 7-year-oself'sf's excitement, that as a Brazilian had never seen the Yellow buses) that would take us to our main campsite. It was my first time camping. Unlike most people with me, I was one of the few rookies in the group.

Stepping out of the airport, I immediately realized how challenging the next few days would be. The weight of my backpack, which was taller than me, felt like something straight out of those survival reality TV shows and 13°C winds, compared to a Brazilian-weather tropical-acclimated self like me.

Once we reached our main campsite, we were tasked with setting up our tents and paired with a tentmate. We spent the rest of the day on some just-for-fun activities. Still, the reality of camping life hit me, the food was atrocious, like honestly, porridge (??? - who even eats that pleasantly) would be our only option for the next few days, and then there was the "bathroom", a tent, with a hole. As someone who’d never experienced camping before, things like washing dishes in a bowl with water for everyone's dishes (50 people) made me want to puke, sleeping in clothes that felt dirty, and going to bed without washing my face and doing my daily skin care routine were challenging experiences.

The next morning, we took off early for a three-hour drive to the starting point of our canoe trip. Along the way, we stopped at a roadside café with what might have been the best cinnamon buns I've ever tried. Maybe it was because I had been eating tasteless food for two days, but every taste of that cinnamon roll felt like heaven.

Once we got to our starting point, we had lunch and a brief orientation on paddling. We were assigned roles in our canoes—three positions to fill: Powering, Stirring, and Princessing. The Power is the muscle, driving the canoe forward and always paddling; the Stir steers and keeps us on route, while the Princess relaxes and enjoys the ride.

After our canoe assignments were handed out, I was tasked to be in the "Princess" position. As we paddled down the river, the other people noticed that my canoe was behind. Halfway through, our guide gave me the directions to switch to "Power." So there I was, unfortunately, paddling, putting all of my muscle strength into keeping us moving. We eventually sped up and caught up with the group, but soon after, we stopped for a break and had dinner.

Back on the water, we paddled until we reached our first remote camping spot, it was here that I got to experience one of the most disgusting things ever: wilderness pooping. This was an experience like no other. You have to go 25 meters into the woods, with a shovel in hand, find a secluded spot, dig a hole as deep as the shovel, and, well, you know th There's nothing so humbling as pooping in nature, I couldn't do it for the entirety of the trip but I can ensure you I had friends doing it holding hands.

After putting up our tents and settling in for the night, I fell deep asleep. Still, when I woke up the next morning, it was so cold that the low temperatures, probably due to the rain in the Yukon, had me freeze all night. The weather had turned from sunny yesterday to cloudy this morning. Our planned canoe departure was delayed until the afternoon. In the meantime, we took the opportunity to learn some “wilderness skills" with the group: lighting a fire and tying knots, weird, I know.

By the time we set off again, to our next destination, the rain had turned into a crazy storm. I was back in the "Power" position, because I was one of the strong ones (I am not) paddling hard through the river, layered up in literally five lay, but I was still cold. The rain soaked everything as I didn’t have the proper gear to stay warm. About halfway through, I switched to "Stir," while steering was a nice change of pace, better than the exhaustion of Powering, the cold had still hit. My hands were numb, and all I could think about was how cold I was.

The entire group was frozen to the bone when we reached our second remote camping spot. My hands were almost hypothermic. My clothes were soaked entirely through. People were sobbing in the crowd. We had no dry clothes, no proper gear, and the temperature was dropping. I went to bed tucked into my sleeping bag, layered in every dry piece of clothing I had left.

The next morning, we got on to our longest day of paddling—40 kilometers. I was in the "Power" position again (I was in this giant canoe that weighed so much, we were carrying all the food and all the injured people, so more powering for us). To make things worse, the wind was against us the whole way, pushing us off route and sending some canoes in the wrong direction. With every stroke I made, I put a lot of strength and effort into it, but somehow, I managed to push it through and eventually made it to Fort Selkirk—our final stop.

At Fort Selkirk, we met up with the rest of our group. Got the opportunity to have a tour guided by the local First Nations people, who shared their history and knowledge of the area. That night, we had some bonding activities.

The next morning, we woke up to freezing (literally) temperatures below 0. With no proper cold-weather gear, I was wearing seven layers of clothing, at least on the top part (just to be descriptive, two thermals, long-sleeve, fleece, sweatshirt, rainjacket, and snowjacket - I don't handle cold properly) and tucked in a tiny community kitchen with a fire to escape the c Later that day, we went on a speedboat to head back to our previous camping spot, and from there, we got a bus to return to our main campsite. Of course, we went back to visit the magnificent cinnamon bun place, which this time tasted even better.

Looking back, I realize this opportunity to visit Yukon has challenged me unexpectedly. I was selected far from my comfort zone. What I ever expected to go through. The things I did there were probably things I only saw in the movies. The discomfort, the cold, and the exhaustion were all part of the journey that left me feeling fulfilled and stronger than I had imagined. The beautiful views of the Yefinitely were something. Seeing the Northern Lights, I got stunningly beautiful views and fulfilled one of my dreams. The wilderness tests you. Still, in the end, I felt rewarded with a sense of accomplishment that only comes from pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone.