Part of the reason this trip will be memorable is how smooth everything went; from packing to paddling, this trip was easy-going. I usually work the day that we leave, choosing to pack a little at a time over the course of a couple of days. Greg is the exact opposite. He takes the day off, but doesn't start packing until the last minute. The result is that I usually get over to his house around 7:00 PM, we leave sometime between 10:00 PM and midnight, and arrive sometime between 5:00 and 7:00 AM.
This year I got off of work a little early, so I was at Greg's place around 4:00, and we were gone by 6:00. Greg and I usually meet Darin at our destination, but this year our travel route took us right through his neck of the woods, so we stopped at Darin's place along the way. Darin has a vacuum sealer, so we vacuum sealed all of our meat; we also pre-cut and sealed some of our veggies. I wasn't as impressed with how that turned out, but it certainly was convenient.
Hint to inexperienced downriver paddlers: If you are going on a long trip, freeze the meat that you will be eating later in the trip. The meat and ice will both last a little longer as a result. This is something we figured out during our third year or so. Vacuum sealing it will add even a little more life to the meat, and it will also prevent meat juice from getting into the cooler.
We drove through the night and arrived in the little town of Trego around 4:30 AM. This was pretty good, considering how much time we spent at Darin's place. By the time we got there, we were pretty tired, so we slept in the cars for an hour or so. (By the way, I don't know why Greg was so tired... he slept during the majority of the drive.) After our brief nap, we got directions from a gas station clerk and headed to our destination. This is what we saw upon arrival...
We weren't sure if the guy had a double blowout, or if he somebody "borrowed" strategic parts of his vehicle. Either way, we were a little bit nervous about leaving our cars there after that sight, but it turned out okay in the end... our vehicles were intact.
Stay tuned for the next installment... "Nice Canoes"
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