Still No Word From The General

I look at the clock and see that it is only 54 hours until I'm done with my work week and headed home to start the 22nd Annual Memorial Weekend Bigfork River Runner's Canoe Trip and I still have yet to hear from The General.  This is getting to be so damn frustrating not having any clue as to what is going to happen over the  next few days.  I hate that he is keeping me in the dark about everything.  I'm about ready to just say FUCK IT and just plan the trip with Bug and I in mind, planning out the food and what gear we are going to need to bring to make it a successful, relaxing trip.  But there is a problem...canoe space.


I have a nice sized canoe, however, it is a tad limited when it comes to space for gear.  Having done this trip many times over I'm a pro at loading gear into a canoe insuring the load is balances, nevertheless, I feel I'm already at a maximum limit for space consumption and don't really know if I have the space for some of the extras we would need to make the trip.  What I'm thinking is stove, white-gas and the Power-Bow-Saw...AKA chainsaw.  I could possibly get away with a simple one burner stove as it would only be Bug and I, however, I really don't want to leave my chainsaw at home as it is a great tool for making wood for the fire.  There have been trips we have had it and trips we haven't, let's just say we always had better fires when we had a chainsaw to help cut our wood. 


UPDATE:  5/25/2017




On a different note, we finally broke the news to Bug that he was going to get to go on the trip this year...let's just say he was very excited to say the least.  Logan didn't take it too well as I knew he wouldn't.  I think he is feeling like he is being left out, but that is very far from the case.  He has already been able to go on the river a time or two and Bug has only had one opportunity.  If all goes well this weekend, with Bug that is, I'm actually thinking about making this a family canoeing trip every year to get them into the tradition.  If that is the case, then we would need to find some more canoes.  As of right now I only have two canoes, well one is Ducky's canoe, but I know I could use it anytime I want, still that leaves me one canoe short for my entire family. 


It is going to be interesting to see how well Bug does with paddling a canoe this weekend.  He is a little small for his age, however, he makes up for it with pure will and determination.  We do have a small set of rapids to go through, however, I have went through them a couple of times already and they weren't nothing compared to Highway One or The Muldoons.  He needs a few years in a canoe before I allow him, or any of the kids for that matter, to go through them. 


Well I sent The General a text to see what is up, but haven't gotten anything back from him.  I at least hope he goes to the river land and puts some paddles under my canoe so I can go get them tomorrow night after school, along with the canoe of course.  Tonight is going to be all about collecting our gear and getting the Expedition loaded for tomorrow night. 


Like every year, I start to prep my gear the weekend before the trip and do bits and pieces here and there throughout the week.  Nevertheless, come Thursday night, it is assholes and elbows to get all the gear ready and loaded into the Expedition. 


Over the years I have gotten a lot better and packing because I learned long ago to make a list and check the items off as they go into the truck and/or its respective tote.  The big one is the mess-kit as it contains all we need for cooking the meals.  I think I have got it narrowed down as to what I all want to pack in it for the trip.  One pot, two pans, small ones that don't eat up a lot of room.  I don't think I'm going to bring the coffee pot this year because I haven't had a cup of coffee in over a month and I don't really drink all that much on the trip anyways.  Leaving that out also means  that I don't have to bring any coffee ground with to make the shit.  I'm also thinking about only bringing one of the large pots used to boil water for dishes.  Dishes are going to be minimal in light of only a few people going on the trip. 


Well,  The General is officially out of the trip this year.  He just got a new puppy and has a messed up shoulder from an accident last dear season.  He is afraid that once he gets a ways down the river his shoulder may give out meaning he is going to be screwed trying to paddle a canoe.  I can see his logic, but it still kind of stinks because there is now only two of us.  Well, this isn't the only time there has only been two people on the trip.  One year it was just Regina and myself and the other one was with Ducky.  I did ask if I could use The Tank this year, just waiting to hear back from him.  I hope he says yes because it will make things a lot easier for Bug and I as we will have a shit-ton of room for all the gear we need.  Not to mention that the canoe is very stable and would be very hard for the little guy to tip it. 


With only two of us going a lot has changed.  I'm going to need to bring the Coleman stove and fuel.  I think I may need another 50 feet of rope and two more LP tanks for the lanterns.  I was only going to bring one lantern, but without anyone else coming, I'm going to bring two of them.  The rope is going to be for the tarp we are going to need to put up for a rain-fly around camp.  This way if it rains we don't have to hole-up in the tent to stay dry. 


Man I am getting really excited for this trip!


I'm thinking that two coolers should be enough for us.  One is going to have the soda and beer and the other will have water and food.  With just the two of us, the food isn't going to take up a whole lot of space.  I know I am going to have to add a few items to the food list that I didn't have before, like some milk, sausage and hash browns.  I suppose that is all going to be taken care of this evening when Bug and I go to the store to shop for what we are going to need. 


On shitty thing about this trip that I just thought of is that we are going to have to do all the work ourselves.  Granted there isn't going to be a ton of work that we have to do, it is still enough were we are both going to be somewhat busy making and breaking camp.  The good thing is that we are not going to have to rely on anyone else to get going, we can go at our own pace. 


This is going to be a challenge for little Bugsy because he will have never had all this work that he needs to do himself.  He may have to build the fire and gather wood.  He is going to have to help with setting up the tent and the tarp rain-fly.  He will have to do the dishes and help cook the meals.  In short he is going to have to do a lot of work, but that is a lot of what river camping is all about. 


I suppose it is time for me to go for now.  Until next time I will remain...Crazy Joe.