Brent, Wenonah Argosy
I really need this.
Three people said this to me when I asked if they wanted to go for a quick overnighter. I didn’t have to tell them that I needed it too.
I used to do a big trip in the fall with 10 to 14 paddlers, all in solo canoes. It was quite the logistical feat; especially since half the paddlers usually needed a boat. To this day I am gobsmacked that I mostly was able to provide boats for all of them out of my own fleet. I’ve even more gobsmacked that I was able to enjoy it after all the planning.
A few years ago my son moved away to school in Idaho and since we started the trip when he was about five years old, I just wasn’t feeling it, to do the whole big complex trip. There were other reasons too, but I took a few years off and waited for things to happen organically.
I really need this.
No one had to ask why we all needed this. That’s the best part about the medicine that comes from time on the river. It’s like an old patent medicine that claimed to cure all ills. Except this does. Cures all ills, including but not limited to fretting about things you can’t control, worrying about the future, ruminating on the past, and mentally rehashing supposed errors in judgement and downright stupidity. It’s a panacea; it really is.