Time for Paddling Slips Away

[ppine]

I got serious about paddling around the age of 30 after learning as a kid. It was easy to dream up the next trip and look at the want ads for the next canoe to add to the collection. We did lots of 4-7 day trips for years. Living in Nevada we usually had to travel for good overnight paddling. We made it to a lot of destinations on the life list like the BWCA, the Grand Canyon, winter trips, and a lot of trips in other western states.

A really big trip to Bowron Lakes or the Barren Lands never happened. It was always too far and took too much time. Ini my 60s there were still lots of possibilities and some memorable trips to places like Oregon and northern California. . Then heart trouble made remote trips seem out of reach. My balance is not so good. My friends are old and don't want to go any more. My canoes are all sold, although I still have a drift boat.

The point is that you need to seriously consider that next big trip. If you are on the fence, I encourage you to just do it. One of these days it will be too late.

 

[BWCA66]

I totally agree, finally worked in a BWCA trip last summer with my oldest (18) grandson and decided those trips need to be my priority. Already have 2 BWCA trips booked with grandsons this summer and a CA to MN road trip planned with 3 or 4 of them.

 

[jdeerfoot]

ppine, I totally agree. My paddling history was much like yours - a few BW trips of a week or so and many years of spring/fall long weekend trips to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I was fortunate to be able to retire early and shortly afterward I connected with the Wabakimi Project and started paddling in the Wabakimi area of NW Ontario. For 20 years I have made annual trips there with the exception of the COVID years when the border was closed. I continue to go there now doing base camping trips and was fortunate to connect with a new friend who puts together base camping trips to Manitoba. As I close in on 80, I feel very fortunate to still be able to participate in these trips while adjusting what I am medically capable of doing.

 

[VA paddler]

100%.
And...
Everyone has different responsibilities and different baggage and different perspective. As a young guy, I paddled all the time. No wife, no kids, just a cheap mortgage, a junky car, and a nice canoe. Then came wife & kids & bigger job, and I gave up paddling frequently for paddling quality - one big trip a year. And the definition of "big" continues to evolve. Initially, a week away was a hard sell. 15 years later, she's gotten used to me being gone for two week trips - but the kids are older and our nest is nicer. Been pushing to do something longer; she's been reluctant to agree. This past year we lost two of our paddling buddies on either end of the summer, one at 42 and the other at 59, and each of us had a parent start the spiral into Alzheimer's. I think all of that has shifted her perspective somewhat. I'm seeing much more of an embrace of the "No time like the present" mentality in her.
I'm just about to turn 50 and have watched a dozen older buddies drop off the tripping list in the last decade. And I seem to have met no one with the desire or the skill set to replace them. So I am very thankful for the two tripping partners I have left. One is eager to take that longer trip; the other is willing but recently underemployed. So, as always, we will have to find a balance between the aspirational trip and the attainable trip, and we won't let perfect get in the way of good enough.
For myself, I know that I am a better, happier, and more focused person when there is a paddling trip on the books to plan and look forward to, and until we have picked a river and confirmed dates, I experience a somewhat-depressing, nagging anxiety that is difficult to ignore.

 

[MJones]

For myself, I know that I am a better, happier, and more focused person when there is a paddling trip on the books to plan and look forward to...

Ain't that the truth!