Your post made me think back to the weeks before my May trip this year (and every other previous trip, for that matter). Like everyone, I packed, repacked, sorted food, put new line on the poles, checked and re-checked the lists, 303'd the canoes . . . the list goes on and on. My wife only complained once about losing her parking spot in the garage (she knows, understands, and tolerates my disease) - I need the space to set up my yearly "Boundary Waters Central." Almost as much, dare I say, JUST as much - I love the weeks before my trips! Fiddling with a new gadget, poring over the maps, visualizing myself on the trip - these are all ways of extending the vacation and make it that much more enjoyable. When the day to leave arrives, the 12 hour drive sails by before I look down to see how fast I'm driving. So I say, relish the days, weeks and months before each trip! We could all use a little of the Boundary Waters calming effect in our daily lives. And it sure does make the winters go a lot faster. Anyway, that's my theory - and I'm sticking to it until I win the lottery and can paddle from break-up to freeze-up. And after that, I'd get a dog team.

This is my first time at this site - I really enjoyed the posts and will be back!

Posted by canoejack on July 29, 2002 at 13:27
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