News

Journey of discovery

Posted August 02, 2014 11:00 pm

By Pete Spitler The Herald Tribune

CHESTER -- Thorin Loeks is on a 2,300-mile journey to help find himself by helping others.

The 23-year-old from Yukon Territory, Canada, made a recent stop in Chester on a canoe trip down the Mississippi River to raise funds for "Teen Journey."

Teen Journey, located at teenjourney.org, is a Vancouver-based non-profit organization that takes youths on trips to learn about other cultures and themselves.

"It's a grassroots organization, but they're really trying to expand," Loeks said. "They did a trip out to South America and Peru and do trips all over Canada and the U.S."

Loeks began his journey on Lake Itasca in Minnesota on June 1 and hopes to reach New Orleans by September.

"The things I've been getting the most out of this trip have been trying to live more in the present moment," Loeks said. "I really appreciate what we have right now, because every day for me changes.

"I don't know where I'm going to end up or who I'm going to meet and so, being able to just enjoy the simple things - like shelter and food and having a long conversation - you stop worrying about these long-term goals."

Loeks is a part of the global stewardship program at Capilano University in Vancouver, where he hopes to return to his studies after his journey is finished.

He plans to donate the canoe to a youth organization in New Orleans and hitchhike back to Canada, hoping to make it back by the start of the fall semester on Sept. 9.

"New Orleans will feel like an achievement because of everything else that happened," Loeks said. "It's keeping within myself those priorities of what actually matters to me?

"That's what the purpose of this trip is - to figure out what matters to me and what matters to other people."

Along the way, Loeks is filming what he calls a "pocket documentary," with 25 hours recorded thus far. With a journal at his side and audiobooks to listen to, he is on the river eight to 10 hours a day, paddling his 17-foot Grumman canoe 11,000 strokes in that time.

"We over exaggerate certain things that are considered really dangerous like 'OK, I'm canoeing on the river, that's really dangerous,'"Loeks said. "But some of the things we do every day, like driving, is probably one of the most dangerous things we'll ever do.

"But that's just normal for us. There's a lot of things that are not as dangerous as people think and even if they are, I'd rather do something that is meaningful in my life and take the risk than regret not doing it."

Long journeys are nothing new to Loeks. He spent five months backpacking through South America, another two months in Japan and Thailand and in Summer 2013, he completed a two-year odyssey of biking across America.

"I didn't exactly have the easiest upbringing," Loeks said. "It was pretty challenging in many ways, coming from a broken home and things like that, but travel and going off and having these adventures has really been a way for me to grow and learn and progress as a person."

Loeks got his inspiration for the Mississippi River trip by reading the Mark Twain classic "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," which is one of the audio books he brought along with him on his journey.

"I didn't think I would do it this summer," he said. "But I finished my bike trip Aug. 4 last year and I had this incredible experience and I wanted to do it again."

Loeks said the Chester visit was unplanned and he has been overnighting in a tent along the beach wherever he chooses to stop.

"This was completely random," Loeks said. "All I saw was the little boat landing coming down (the river) and the current was going really fast.

"I had got delayed by thundershowers and fog and stuff like that, so I paddled up and got in here."

To follow Loeks on his journey, follow his blog at http://letslivelikewemeanit.tumblr.com. His fundraiser can also be found by visiting his campaign on the website "FundRazr" at https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/clpr3/ab/038vyf.

Article Categories
News