That's a long time O_S, feels good I bet. I prefer not to think about being unable to go at some point. This will be my 30th. Missed one year because I was too young and dumb to negotiate vacation time at one job I needed or I may not have wanted to go that year and needed an excuse. I know early on I once paddled out swearing I'd never be back for numerous reasons. Now I just couldn't imagine a year without at least one trip.

My first was a college art course. Early May, 18 people, mostly women. Most of us had no clue whatsoever. One, "The Princess" would only last a week. Slept on a logging road and started out of French. The water level had been raised and lowered a few years before. Scary looking dead trees and mud banks - ugly- I wondered what I had gotten myself into.

Ate prunes for the first time ever - no one seemed to want them and I was hungry. DOH!

Froze my butt off and only dozed in and out due to shivering in my damp Ted Williams bag many nights. 3-4 day stretch of cold rain/drizzel and ill prepared from my head to my frozen toes. My tent partner almost burned down our tent one night. I was hanging by the campfire when someone asked if that was my tent and why was it so bright. As we studied the sight imagining causes, there was a sudden Ouch! ... Oouch! !Zip, zip and out comes a flaming plate of candles to delight the audience.

Going out shooting with the professors was vary enjoyable. I still bushwhack back to a couple very unique spots every time I go that way. I love seeing how places change in different conditions and over the years.

One night another student and I went out to a nice sunset location on a different corner of the lake. The sunset (Mount St. Helens era) lasted forever and then we waited for northern lights. After a while we realized everything looks the same after dark and we didn't really know which island our campsite was on.

And I remember stuffed lakers for our end of semester critique. That became a nice tradition we continued for a long time. Those I miss. I miss Roger Thew when I drive by his place too.

I wasn't all that enthused after my first 4-5 trips. For me the draw became stronger every year. The earlier trips were a means to end. Often uncomfortable sometimes downright miserable, a necessary evil. It took 20 years to be relatively assured of comfort in challenging conditions and fish to eat. It takes a lot longer when all you have is your week or two a year, a book or three and a quarterly to get ideas from.