What is Portage Anyway?

Jules Heartly | November 2023

In collaboration with Joseph Syage

These days with an increasing number of people having memory issues, we are bombarded with tips and apps to increase our brain usage.   One of the most common recommendations is to learn new things.  The most practical and useful one I hear over and over is to learn new words.  Learn them, not just kind of see them today and  forget them tomorrow, but actually remember them and recall them ad hoc.   

Well, every now and then, I get into the attempt to put in practice such advice.  Sort of making it an activity.  I tried a few apps before, and other times I used some of the play activities in the NYT, but then I haven’t made it a daily thing. 

I think the best way to learn a new word is when you are led to do so, by either an interesting article you are reading or as a way to not guess the full meaning of a sentence when in the middle of a book paragraph.  The kindle device sort of helps you with it, by giving the chance of searching its dictionary on the go.  

For me to memorize a word, usually I need to visualize the spelling of it.  For other people just by listening to it is enough.   In either case when you use it within an interesting context we are most likely to remember it.  

Reading in general is an incredible way to expand our minds and think more creatively. But we can reap even more incredible benefits if we pay attention to how we’re reading. Cognitive neuroscientist Dr. Leaf explains, “You’ll need to dive in with enthusiasm, consume and enjoy the words.” 

But then there are some odd cases when  the circumstances force you to learn the word, and the meaning of it in such a way it would be always ingrained  in your mind.  And that was the case in the story my good friend Joseph Syage shared with me, and I  am  now sharing with you narrated in his own words:

What is Portage anyway?

For those adventurous outdoors people who enjoy canoeing through lakes and rivers, you may already know the answer. Well I found out from firsthand experience. For a couple of years, I had known about my good high school friend Tony’s annual multi-day canoe trips that began from his thirteen bedroom compound on Tupper Lake in the Adirondacks. However, I committed to going on the trip for the first time this past September, along with two other high school friends for our inaugural excursion. There were now nine people in their sixties joining in on the adventure.

As we got closer to our departure date, some basic information was provided by Tony. We would be canoeing three days and setting up camp for two nights, and doing  some portage along the way. We were told to bring tents, sleeping bags and ground mats, while Tony informed us he would take care of everything else. Knowing the canoeing and camping experience and skills of our buddy Tony, I had complete faith he had everything under control and didn’t give much thought about the instructions except the ones about what gear to bring.

Two of my high school buds and I arrived together the day prior to departure. I drove from New Jersey to Hopewell Junction to pick up Phil, and then we drove to the Albany airport to pick up Rob, who was flying in from Baltimore. Two and half hours later we pulled into Tony’s at Tupper Lake. Early the next morning, after loading two pickup trucks with several iced coolers of beer, wine, bourbon, tequila, food for two days, cookware, various paper supplies, utensils, plus tents, sleeping bags, ground mats, fishing poles and clothes for every possible weather condition, the nine of us arrived at the canoe departure sight at the southern end of Long Lake. Six of the guys had graduated high school together fifty years ago, including me and two others who were on the trip for the first time. The anticipation level was very high as we expected to create some terrific memories along with a lot of laughs.

Four two person canoes and one single canoe were loaded with all our provisions, which required every inch of space not occupied by a person, thus adding significant weight that would make the paddling that much tougher. The planned route consisted of fifteen miles of canoeing on day one, followed by five miles on day two, giving us time for some fishing in the afternoon. At nine in the morning, our five canoe armada pushed off and started paddling.

Visibility was almost non-existent as dense fog covered the entire lake, making it difficult to determine which direction to paddle. For the first hour, we often lost sight of the other canoes, and couldn’t see the lake’s shores on either side. Then the fog dissipated and exposed the spectacular views of Long Lake, with lush green forests and hills along both shores, barely disturbed by human development.

Phil and I teamed up in one canoe and we immediately struggled to keep our canoe heading in a straight direction. As an experienced kayaker, I was baffled. We were having such difficulty navigating our canoe, as we were zigzagging down river, while the rest of our group had no problems and were well ahead of us. Three hours later and roughly halfway into our first day’s journey, the four other canoes stopped for lunch. As Phil and I zigzagged our way to our lunch spot, the other boys were already into their second beer, wondering what was taking us so long.

After our short lunch and beer break, we continued onto Long Lake before merging onto the narrow and relatively shallow Raquette River, with dense forests on both sides and no other boats anywhere. It was peaceful solitude for the next several miles until we completed our journey and reached our day’s destination.

As we pulled our canoes onto land along the river, the really hard work was about to begin. My arms, back and shoulders were already exhausted from six hours of paddling. That’s when I learned that our campsite was a mile away along the trail up from the river. Everything we brought, including canoes of course, had to be carried to our campsite, since we would be launching the next day from another section of the river. If you haven’t Googled the word portage yet, this would be a good time. The trail to our camp was very narrow, uphill, and extremely rocky with many turns flanked by dense forest on both sides. Several trips up and down the hill carrying canoes, paddles and hundreds of pounds of gear felt like we were in Navy Seal training.

By late afternoon, nine guys and all our gear safely arrived at our campsite. Although I wanted to crash from exhaustion, we needed to get the camp set up while we still had daylight. Firewood was gathered using the ax and bow saw Tony brought and the fire was going quickly in the fire pit for cooking and ambiance for our nighttime drinks. Once the tents were set up, the cocktails started flowing as we shared highlights of our first day on the river.

After a physically challenging day, our barbeque dinner of hamburgers and hot dogs tasted like filet mignon, even though the bright red hot dogs made us wonder what we were actually eating. The alcohol enhanced the mood and also helped to numb my aching body. The fire was kept going throughout the night as the temperatures were dropping quickly. The full day of outdoor activities made for a relatively early bedtime. However, the soreness that was taking over my body combined with the sub-forty degree temperature during the night contributed to a sleepless night.

As I exited my tent early the next morning, feeling sore, cold and tired, my only wish at the time came true as the coffee was already brewing, which lifted my spirits and energy level. Although the body aches only magnified during the night, I focused on the fact we only had to paddle five miles today, or so I thought. So after a feast of instant breakfast skillets, donuts and coffee, followed by breaking down our campsite, the next phase of our adventure was underway. Fortunately, our launching point only required a portage of a quarter mile over a relatively flat trail to the river.

As we loaded the canoes with our gear and began to paddle off, somewhat looked at Phil and I and said “your canoe is facing the wrong way”. I don’t remember my initial reaction, but Phil and I immediately ascertained the reason for our canoe challenges during our fifteen mile trek the previous day. That’s when the embarrassment of our previous day’s struggles was immediately replaced with the embarrassment that we didn’t even know the front known as the BOW of the canoe from the back of the canoe, which is the STERN. At least we were able to provide a good laugh for our canoe mates while adding two new words to our vocabulary.

As we arose the morning of our last canoeing day, I felt rejuvenated knowing we successfully conquered all the challenges we faced on the lake and river.   All that remained was a leisurely two mile paddle to our final destination, where the rented canoes were being retrieved.  The thought of heading back to Tony’s house for a couple days of relaxation and putting his hot tub to immediate use was very satisfying.  

As I look back during our adventure, at times, I questioned why I never dared to ask what “portage” meant?  And would I have gone on the trip knowing the answer? 

 At least for this time  ignoring the urge to know  the meaning of a word even within a very important context worked out, because for one I will never forget the meaning of the word and if I had known it then, I may have deprived myself from an adventure out of my comfort zone, where as my friend says “it is where life begins”

After listening to the story Joseph just narrated, I asked myself a consubstantial question: to what extent would  I be willing to learn some words by living the full meaning of them, instead of scouring for the explanation  as soon as  word definition gets doubtful in my mind?

And I now share that question with you.  Would love to read your thoughts and answers on the subject, and of course feel free to partake  related stories.   

Thank you for reading my blog and ….

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