Well ladies and gents that never read the words of wisdom that I proclaim here for the world to read, and yet so few do. Who knows, maybe one day I will be a world famous writing and the shit that is held on this blog will be worth fucking gold. Sure, smoke another one Crazy...lol. But in all honesty the trip is coming together like extra chunky peanut-butter and jelly...as it does every year. We have the crunch of gathering all we need for a successful trip followed by the creamy texture of organization and topped off with the sweet taste of success. It is a most beautiful thing.
The food list has been set and I have learned that along with Em, AKA Little Mama, Michael doesn't like steak. It kind of blew my mind. I mean what red blooded American male doesn't like the juicy, tender, flavorful taste of a steak cooked over a campfire with all its smokey goodness? This is something that blows my mind because I can not come up with one conceivable thing that wouldn't be better off a natural grill...except for ice cream. Everything tastes better grilled. I have learned how to do king crab legs on the grill...best LEGS EVER!! DAMN! Yet again I digress... But like I said the food list is done and it is nothing different really than those from the past. In truth I can't really think of anything else to bring that would add up to some kind of extra gear or weight being added to the canoes. When planning this trip one has to take into account all the shit they cook, along with the ease of cooking it. We have done some different things here and there, but for all the changes, steak has always remained a staple while on the river. As far as food is concerned, I think we are golden.
The crew is pretty much set, we are going to have nine people, but only four canoes. This does pose a smidgen of a problem when it comes to gear, however, we are the River Runners, there isn't nothing we can't make happen. This means Duckie is going to be traveling in style this year because she is going to be able to sit in the middle while the FNG and Cityboy man the stations of a canoe. This should be interesting to say the least. I'm going to mess with her friend until she can't stand me because that is the way of the FNG. They do the shit we tell them. LOL. I know I'm an ass, but what can I do...it is tradition.
The weather is looking to be good for the most part. We may be looking at some rain on Sunday, but that is why we take rain suits. I just can't wait for the trip. I suppose one of the major reasons is because I'm going to be starting a lot earlier with The General than the rest of the crew. We have a lot of river to cover in the first two days...more than the rest of the trip. It is going to take some steady paddling for a bit on the part of The General and I to get to Little Minnow before it gets too late. I just hope we can hold out long enough...if ya catch my drift. In all honesty I can't remember ever going twenty miles in a day. I know we have done fifteen and that took forever, however, we will be a single canoe so the trip should not take as long because we won't hook up and just float. We are going to have to do some work, be we know how to do that.
I am going to keep my gear to a minimum this year by only taking a few sets of clothes. I'm going to see if Little Mama is going to do the same, which I hope because every year we usually take way more than we need. I'm doing all this to make sure we have enough room in the canoe for the extra gear we are going to take because of the FNG. I just had an idea.
The General should get some shirts that say FNG on them for all the new people that take a chance on this trip. If they come a second year then they may earn an actual shirt for the club. I mean we have had a few that have taken on the journey and bowed out because they couldn't handle the shit the river deals a person once in awhile. That is ok though, the river isn't meant for everyone; something all of us Runner's respect.
I suppose I should address the entire plan for the beginning. The General and I are going to meet the rest of the crew in Bigfork at the launch site Thursday night. We are going to get all of the gear from The General's truck, along with the rest of the canoes. Duckie, Digger, Cityboy, Little Mama, Brother John, FNG one and FNG two should meet us there. We will get the gear in order and send the trucks to Effie so we don't have to mess with that in the morning. Then we settle in for an evening of rest and relaxation.
The following morning we are going to get our shit together and head for Busti, which is fifteen miles away. We need to put on some miles during the first three hours of the trip so we cane be sure to make Busti within reasonable time. We can have fun and BS, but we have to make sure we cover some serious river so we are not done canoing before we reach our destination. I know that may be a lot to digest, however, the River Runners that read this will understand what I'm talking about.
I suppose though, I need to do some list checking and get some other things done for the trip, so to all those that do read this blog...take care and have a sweet time tonight.
Until next time I will remain forever...Crazy Joe.
The story of The Bigfork River Runners begins back in 1996. It was the end of my first year of higher education and to celebrate I put together a motley crue of friends to take a canoe trip down the Bigfork River on Memorial vacation. The trip was a blast to say the least; since then we have carried on the tradition of canoeing the river every year on Memorial Weekend. Through this blog The Bigfork River Runners will share their stories and pictures from trips past and trips to come.
