In the back of my wallet, lying behind crumpled singles from my time as a pizza delivery driver, lies a single, blue Canadian five dollar bill. Canadian money is bigger than a U.S dollar so whenever I open my wallet, it catches my eye. I have no use for Canadian currency and don’t know the next time I will, but no matter what, I’ll always keep it with me. When I look at it, I don’t think of my cluttered and unorganized wallet, I think of the greatest summer of my life.
I have always gone to overnight camp during the summer and am approaching my tenth year at this particular one, Camp Thunderbird. In 2022, as a capstone to my career as a camper, my group, consisting of my nine best friends and myself, embarked on a backpacking trip to the American West and Alberta, Canada. Over the course of those six-weeks, I made memories that I won’t ever forget. From first gazing upon the beautiful blue glacier lakes of Banff, to finally turning around and taking in the view of the Kananaskis Valley after ascending for ten miles. This light blue five dollar bill, with the face of former prime minister Wilfrid Laurier on it, reminds me of these moments.
I think of sitting quietly and watching a mother moose play with her young across Turbine Canyon while the dragonfly stove roared with tonight’s dinner of one pot instant rice and dehydrated meat and vegetables. We always made sure to drown it in the seasonings and hot sauces we brought, but over time I realized that anything tastes good when you’re that hungry and tired. There was no pressure to make conversation, and no one wanted to. Each other's presence was all that we needed. We were all so tired from a long day of walking, yet we understood that a view like this needed to be earned, so we didn’t mind.
I’d use bills like my Canadian five in between our trips to the backcountry when we’d have time to explore the towns we were stopping in to buy supplies. For example, five dollars like these was used toward getting as many TimBits as possible every time we’d come across a Tim Hortons. I’d think of those sugary donut holes while keeping my head down focusing on putting one foot in front of the other on mile ten of twelve on a particularly hard day, especially when I was starving for something that wasn’t dehydrated. This five dollar bill made of nearly indestructible polymer reminds me of a time where we’d walk down the streets, with smiles on our faces, of a new town that we didn’t know the name of, looking for locals to talk to and souvenirs to bring to our family and friends back home. We had no destination, no phones, crumpled Canadian cash, and nothing to worry about except for the mileage and elevation of the next day’s work. I carry that bill with me because if all goes well, I’ll be able to spend it again someday soon.