DEH CHO - Ten students from the Deh Cho learned the value of perseverance and resilience during a grueling canoe trip last month.

On June 15, the Mackenzie Youth Leadership Trip launched from Fort Simpson with the goal of travelling nearly 500 km and arriving in Tulita by Canada Day. One student from Fort Liard, six from Fort Good Hope, three from Fort Simpson and two instructors paddled six yellow canoes the distance along the Mackenzie River.

Briana Kotchea of Fort Liard displays a jackfish she caught during the trip. - photos courtesy of Wendy Lahey

The group arrived at its destination on time despite a battle with Mother Nature.

"The kids were faced with terrible weather," said Wendy Lahey, one of the instructors from the NWT Recreation and Parks Association that runs the program.

It rained nearly every day during the 17 days the group was on the river. It was a struggle the students on the previous three trips hadn't had to face, Lahey said.

In addition to rain, the students were hit by a debilitating wind at the Keele River near the end of their trip. The wind was so strong that the group had to pull their canoes out of the water and camp for two days.

"That was a real challenge for the kids," Lahey said.

The students were challenged to be patient and accept there are things greater than themselves that determined when they could paddle.

"That was a good lesson for a lot of them," she said.

Lahey said she was impressed all of the students persevered to reach the goal.

Being stuck on the riverbank was difficult, said Jordan Villeneuve, one of the participants from Fort Simpson.

"It sucked. There was nothing to do but walk around and look at the river," the 16-year-old said.

The group's spirits were low but everyone picked up when the wind broke and they could paddle again, said Villeneuve. Despite the rainy and windy weather, Villeneuve said he enjoyed the trip - especially meeting new people, seeing new places and learning new skills.

One experience from the trip that stands out in Villeneuve's mind is a canoe safety practice gone wrong.

Near Wrigley, Villeneuve and a partner practised how to rescue other paddlers if their canoe tipped. Instead of successfully rescuing the other two paddlers, Villeneuve and his partner managed to tip their canoe as well and had to drag it back to the shore.

"When we tipped it was kind of funny," he said.

The wildlife is what Tyrone Stipdonk, 15, and Aaron Leader, 15, of Fort Simpson liked about the trip. The group saw one moose on the riverbank and a bear that came close to their camp.

The journey was also an adventure.

"I got to go someplace where I hadn't been before," said Leader.

The rain was a challenge but so were the mosquitoes, Leader said.

Both students agreed that they would take the trip again, with or without challenges.

Fort Liard's sole representative also enjoyed the experience. Briana Kotchea, 16, said she enjoyed hanging out with the other youth and canoeing. For the first few days Kotchea said her muscles were sore but she soon grew accustomed to the work and started paddling stronger.

"I had a lot of fun," said Kotchea.