A New Journey For Widmer '96
10/14/2024 12:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Kem Widmer '96 was an accomplished basketball player for the brown and white, earning a second team All-Patriot League nod his senior season. The third-generation Lehigh graduate also went on to have a successful career in engineering before semi-retiring. Now, Widmer found himself taking on a new journey and challenge this past summer in the Northwest Territories of Canada.
Widmer and several others traveled to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada in mid-August where they embarked on a multi-week trip through mountains, rapids, and ocean. Despite having guarded Tim Duncan during a game against Wake Forest in 1995, Widmer's voyage would become an even more difficult yet rewarding challenge in his life.
"Hiking across uneven tundra tussocks and hillocks with a broken foot and 75-pound pack for 10-12 miles per day is certainly up there," said Widmer on some of the challenges he's faced. "It was frankly terrifying at times; and I spent a lot of time contemplating my life decisions. But our team was excellent, and we had similar risk tolerances which is critically important on these missions."
After arriving in the Northwest Territories, Widmer and his crew traveled by bush plane to Blue Nose Lake, where they began their descent by pack raft of the Croker River, finishing in the Arctic Ocean. Widmer's journey included traveling three rivers that were first known descents, meaning that there's no record of them being run before. Over the course of 25 days, Widmer traveled over 200 miles on foot and pack raft to eventually arrive at their final destination of Paulatuk, a hamlet inhabited by the Inuit tribe.
"We were fortunate to partake in the town's 39th annual Iqalukpik Jamboree celebrating the return of the Arctic Char to the town's surrounding rivers," said Widmer. "To experience the warmth, hospitality, and culture of the Inuit people was something I will never forget."
However, despite all of the wonderful sights and experiences Widmer encountered on his trip, it did not come without some hardships. In addition to breaking his foot, only one member of their team came out of the trip unscathed, and Widmer's injuries even prevented him from participating in portions of the voyage.
"I think my wife would say she is most proud of me sitting out a particularly difficult section," said Widmer. "With my broken foot and being the only party with less than 20 years of kayaking experience, I made the difficult decision to sit a section out and not increase team risk."
Widmer attributes his perseverance and willingness to explore partially to his time at Lehigh, both in the classroom and as a student-athlete.
"The education I received at Lehigh is one of the biggest success factors I enjoyed during my career, ultimately enabling me to pivot to more passionate pursuits," explained Widmer. "My experience as a student-athlete positioned me well to 'keep grinding' and be a better team member, and I'm forever grateful to the Lehigh community for those opportunities."
While Widmer now returns back to his home in Crested Butte, Colorado, his experience in the arctic was one he'll never forget.
"Being able to experience some of the last few truly wild corners of the Earth is meaningful to all of us and truly what drives us," said Widmer. "We spent hundreds of hours preparing, and it's a great feeling to put so much time into a plan and then successfully execute that plan."
Like Lehigh men's basketball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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Widmer and several others traveled to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada in mid-August where they embarked on a multi-week trip through mountains, rapids, and ocean. Despite having guarded Tim Duncan during a game against Wake Forest in 1995, Widmer's voyage would become an even more difficult yet rewarding challenge in his life.
"Hiking across uneven tundra tussocks and hillocks with a broken foot and 75-pound pack for 10-12 miles per day is certainly up there," said Widmer on some of the challenges he's faced. "It was frankly terrifying at times; and I spent a lot of time contemplating my life decisions. But our team was excellent, and we had similar risk tolerances which is critically important on these missions."
After arriving in the Northwest Territories, Widmer and his crew traveled by bush plane to Blue Nose Lake, where they began their descent by pack raft of the Croker River, finishing in the Arctic Ocean. Widmer's journey included traveling three rivers that were first known descents, meaning that there's no record of them being run before. Over the course of 25 days, Widmer traveled over 200 miles on foot and pack raft to eventually arrive at their final destination of Paulatuk, a hamlet inhabited by the Inuit tribe.
"We were fortunate to partake in the town's 39th annual Iqalukpik Jamboree celebrating the return of the Arctic Char to the town's surrounding rivers," said Widmer. "To experience the warmth, hospitality, and culture of the Inuit people was something I will never forget."
However, despite all of the wonderful sights and experiences Widmer encountered on his trip, it did not come without some hardships. In addition to breaking his foot, only one member of their team came out of the trip unscathed, and Widmer's injuries even prevented him from participating in portions of the voyage.
"I think my wife would say she is most proud of me sitting out a particularly difficult section," said Widmer. "With my broken foot and being the only party with less than 20 years of kayaking experience, I made the difficult decision to sit a section out and not increase team risk."
Widmer attributes his perseverance and willingness to explore partially to his time at Lehigh, both in the classroom and as a student-athlete.
"The education I received at Lehigh is one of the biggest success factors I enjoyed during my career, ultimately enabling me to pivot to more passionate pursuits," explained Widmer. "My experience as a student-athlete positioned me well to 'keep grinding' and be a better team member, and I'm forever grateful to the Lehigh community for those opportunities."
While Widmer now returns back to his home in Crested Butte, Colorado, his experience in the arctic was one he'll never forget.
"Being able to experience some of the last few truly wild corners of the Earth is meaningful to all of us and truly what drives us," said Widmer. "We spent hundreds of hours preparing, and it's a great feeling to put so much time into a plan and then successfully execute that plan."
Like Lehigh men's basketball on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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