Thanks PK
I was glad to hear in your trip report you were able to not only do your trip but excel in spite of your knee issues. Good for you!

Beat myself up? I dunno know?! As you know (as per our political debates) I can be a person of very strong opinions. Some folk like that about me and some folk hate that about me. But IMO if a person is to be honest one must be able to look at oneself in as objective manner as possible when mistakes are made. Failing in that is to end up putting the blame on something or someone else.

What happened is a common human mistake. That is, in spite of the evidence and potential for mishap, a course is plotted and the action executed regardless. Just ask General Lee about Gettysburgh.

Failure to, at the very least, acknowledge the error of judgement (and indeed it was) and eat some humble pie would be a failure to grow and mature as a human being. Am I going to stay in that mode? No way........I'm past it, I've learned from it and am ready to move on.

I guess triple portaging isn't the end of the world. DB and now you (on the lengthy Death March no less) employ it and your smart guys (I mean for Democrats that is ). Perhaps I will try and open my mind to the concept a bit. I like my stuff ( and now all I need is a "place for my stuff".........or better yet, "someone to carry my stuff").

Indeed ST, I did triple several of the short stretches rather than "load up". While the accumulative effects of a day can serve to whip my tail I cannot ever remember having to "rest up" after a tough portage or really even slow down. Isn't that what getting back in the boat is for? While I may get pushed into tripling I ain't likin it. An extra trip on a 1K portage is pretty time consuming and smacks of inefficiency. Of course my alternative was an injury so I guess it is all about perspective. Maybe I will talk myself into tripling the first few days or perhaps the first 1/3 of a long trip where a lot of supplies are involved.

Just got back from the doc. Surgery set for thursday. He seems to think the knee is stable and an old meniscus tear is flippin around finding a place where it shouldn't. I'm still suspicious and am hoping against him finding a stretched tendon as well which is not repairable. Walking around in 3 days after the 20 minute surgery and doing what I want in 3 weeks sounds great. Do I dare as much  to hope that I could resume a little martial arts and actually RUN! Not that I would (well, maybe just a little) but that would be great!

You know the nice thing about traveling solo, you can go on your own pace.  I will admit that at 51, I was still ripping around trying to cover ground.  I don't know if its age or just taking time to enjoy my surroundings more, but when I'm alone whether I double, triple, or leap-frog portage doesn't raise much of a blip on my radar.

Perhaps I don't travel that slowly, however.  When traveling with Jimbo's crew a couple of years ago, on our next to last travel day, I chose to lag behind at the campsite and leave about 30 minutes behind the others.  That way, I got to travel at my own pace and not have to sit and wait for portages to clear of traffic before I could pull-up and unload.  (I was also getting a bit concerned that others might have felt I was slowing them down.  While having others haul part of your load over a portage, it really wasn't necessary.)  When I arrived at the final campsite (I had the misfortune of paddling in driving rain for about the last 1/2 of it, which did slow me up just a tab in the interest of caution), I asked how long they had been there.  "Oh, about 30 minutes" was the answer I got.  So, maybe I wasn't so slow after all.

dd

Quote:


Not even close
But, I can relate to going hard or not going at all.
When I first found QJ, I would read trip reports that covered areas I had paddled but never really saw
I was so focused on getting to the next campsite I missed things I wished I had taken the time to discover on my own.

I'm an early riser anyway, so I don't mind paddling longer time wise, at a slower pace sometimes when I'm on new or interesting water. I know I can turn it on if need be, so as long as I get out on time, everything in between is negotiable

It's amazing what you miss and what you can see/discover if you only take the time to look

MT,

I'm just catching up and read of your misfortune. I assume the surgery went well. How is the rehab going? Praying for a full recovery.