Every summer I am lucky enough to spend a few days camping and canoeing with a group of guys.We choose a river based on the time of year and water flow. Some years require weeks of planning. Other years, on more local trips, we can round up the local boys and make the trip happen within a week. In either case, we need the commitment from each guy that he is "in" so that plans are made accordingly.
Agreeing on the river destination is usually the easy part. This year it was the Cowlitz river between Mt. Rainer and Mt. St. Helens in Washington. Choosing an agreeable weekend is the hard part. With 4-6 guys, all on summer schedules, this can be more challenging the the river itself. But we did manage to get 4 guys to agree on a weekend in August. Yahoo! River Time-->we're on the way!!
Next we figure number of canoes(4 paddlers= 2 canoes), vehicles, camp, gear, and meals. Once we've settled on the essentials, it is the responsibility of each guy to follow through, just like a paddle stroke.
In every canoe we tie on a bailer. On whitewater, when water gets in the boat, it's time to bail.
What I learned this last trip, was that the word bailer had another meaning. Yep, last minute one of the crew bailed. Down to a crew of three(3 paddlers=1 canoe+ 1 kayak).
Not to worry, we're not up the creek without a paddle, just yet.The three of us scramble for a whitewater kayak. Thanks Andre, that kayak showed us the way down that river, as a threesome. All of us were "in". Back on River Time.
Later on, around the campfire, we all agreed, we sure missed Casey's paddle.
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Nice tribute...
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