Sweet as a honey dipped cigar those that don't take time to read the blog...it is a done deal and man can I hardly wait my friends. I have taken all the steps I needed to set up the opportunity to start this years River Run two days earlier than the rest of the crew. It is official, the General and I will be taking off on Wednesday this year and meet up with the rest of the River Runners Thursday night in the town of Bigfork at the landing.
The General and I have been planning this for a few weeks now, but it has taken a while for me to square things away with Em and our children; this means we have been discussing what we will bring on the first leg of the trip. Now thinking alike, we both agreed that we are going to take the absolute bare minimum of gear for that leg. Basically we will only really be spending one night away from the comforts of home, which is exactly the way we want it.
Our gear is going to consist of, one canoe and three paddles. We will of course each have a life jacket...not only is it the law, it is an absolute must to wear when shooting rapids. These are the absolute, without a doubt the minimum of gear one would need to take a trip in a caone, however, we are going to go a little beyond that, but not much. We will also have a tent, sleeping bags, clothes and two cots. The General suggested we skip the cots, but I said no freaking way. I at least want to be off the ground when I sleep because if it rains, which it can, I don't want to get soaked. We will also have two sets of rain gear. For cooking I'm going to bring just the Coleman stove. The only reason we are going to bring that is so we can make our coffee in the morning. This brings me to the only cooking container we are going to take with us, and that is the coffee pot. I will bring along a small container of coffee grounds for in the morning. For food we are going to bring a pack of dogs and maybe a box of doughnuts for the morning before we get back on the river. We are going to bring a cooler that is chocked full with some water, soda and a few brews. We will of course bring along two chairs and maybe an odd or end here and there, but that about sums up what we plan to take with us.
Like always I will have along the utility box because its contents have came in so handy in the past that I can't see going camping without it. There will also be little things like a camera and possible the stereo for some tunes. But in all reality, we are going to be traveling very light which means we should be able to skim through the water with ease and speed.
I'm not a big fan of rushing on the water, but I don't like to be on the river for more than six to seven hour during the day. I only say this because the legs and ass tend to get a little sore. Plus the whole peeing thing can be a real pain while trying to do it from a canoe. Last year I tried peeing over the side and damn near got tipped out by some unruley assholes in the canoe next to me. I was, as were some of the others around me, amazed at how quickly I could cut the stream and catch myself before taking a tumble into the murky waters of the Bigfork.
Damn I can't believe the trip is so close to arriving, not long now. Toughest part is the anticipation ya know...then it goes by so fast that it is sad ya know. Nevertheless, this is going to continue until I can't make it on the trip no more. With any luck, my kids and their friends will continue to carry it on.
Untill next time I will remain...Crazy Joe.
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