From this day forth, all Paddle Forward: Mississippi River posts will neatly package two days into one post. Amazing! How does he do it? Check it out:
Day 7: Paddled with Eric in the morning and Duffed with Lee and Sami in the afternoon: Unknown Mileage
We had to put in our canoes at the base of a high, cliffed bank. Liz was fishing down at the edge of the water as we loaded boats. I glanced over to her as I was carrying down some paddles and noticed that she was struggling with what I thought was a snag. I watched as a monstrous fish broke the surface. In lieu of a fishing net, I offered my hands as the next best thing and ran over to grapple with this behemoth of a northern pike. Liz worked the pole while I scrambled to get a hold on the slimy 2 feet of scales, fins, and teeth. The morning sun beat down in the friendliest of ways as Liz and I held up the magnificent fish. The decision to release this full meal back into the river came when we remembered the stringer system we had set up; we couldn’t figure out a good way to keep the fish in the water rather than drag it on the surface behind the boat. I can’t wait to talk about fishing and filleting fish with my dad after the trip. Despite growing up around fishing and doing it quite often, this is no longer the case but whenever I do go I always think of those times fishing with my dad as a kid.
The stories we tell of this journey will define our success, while inspiring others to feel what we felt. I’ve enjoyed teaching while simultaneously learning how to fillet a fish. I like the idea of being co-learners on this trip. Spending 10 hours in a canoe leaves a lot of time for contemplation. Personally, I brought a Russian phrase book as I wanted to focus on getting a feel for the Russian language on this trip. Others committed loosely to other learning goals: Lee wanted to learn Spanish, Natalie decided to learn as much as she could about hockey and the NHL, and Sarah said she would try and learn patience.
I wasn’t feeling very well so I duffed after lunch. Even though I felt bad, I tried to be upbeat and involve myself in conversation. Lee is great at maintaining conersation about awesome things. After interning for the Rapid City, SD police department, I was interested to speak with law enforcement officials about the river and what, if any role, it plays in their duties. I would get an opportunity to interact with some of those officials a bit later in this epic but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Later on in the day it was getting very hot. Sami vacated the boats for a cooling swim in the frigid water. That looked like a great way to cool off so I hopped out of the canoe and plunged all the way underwater. My undoing came when the freezing water forced me to surface extremely quickly and shake my head. Head shaking and glasses wearing do not go hand in hand (e.g. I lost my glasses that day). I should be able to run around and get new ones when we are in the Twin Cities. We cooked 2 pike which Liz and I caught for dinner along with walleye from our new friends Emmett and Norm given to us last night at Forestry Station in Jacobson, MN.
Day 8: Paddled with Erika today: Unknown Mileage
This trip, documentary, and education are our jobs for the next 62 days. Putting behind petty troubles and focusing on the good we were doing and the good things we experienced daily was an idea I held in my mind throughout the trip. My strategy for surviving this short trip and all things that were to come afterwards can be summed up as such: living minute by minute with a limited vision towards an immediate future, leaving behind missteps and mistakes. Rolling into Palisade, MN we re-supplied and set up camp at an official campground with some much needed outlets. Threw a disc around and went to a bar. Norm, Emmett, and Bubba drove down from Jacobson to meet us down in Palisade. They were real stand-up guys.
I can’t read the comments about how these posts tend to come a day late fast enough because there are so many. Occasionally, Nick needs an extra day to find time to update this blog. He’s now coaching ultimate frisbee at an area high school (the Open World Learning school), planning an event for this summer called Bid for Peace in support of the organization Ultimate Peace, working with the Wild River Academy Fellowship students, planning trips for this summer, and putting together the team as well as the itinerary for the Paddle Forward: Illinois River trip this coming fall. Those worthy distractions certainly don’t leave much time for creating the enthralling, suspenseful, and action-packed blog you see today. When he’s bogged down the blogs may be coming up a bit late. Get off his back about it!
thecereallife 