Paddle to Haiti

My eyes have been bugging out from computer screens. I've stopped waiting on hold for more than thirty seconds of elevator music. The planning is essentially done. I'm too damn excited to be inside anymore. Sure, the River will be flowing in a week, but all I can think about is that the River is flowing right now.

The barn is clean and ready for the crew to arrive. Zach is here. Amanda is on her way. Louis and Brett head out from Steamboat tomorrow. Matt is negotiating a journey up here. I'll pick up Little Dipper and Dave in the next couple days from the Milwaukee airport. Warm days and chilled nights are in the forecast for the next week. Perfect for building the oar rigs and scrambling for last minute details during the day. Also perfect for sharing a few evening beers around the fire pit in the corral.

We have a week before loading up the Mohawk canoes and heading north to Lake Itasca, Minnesota. Along the way, we'll pick up seven paddles from Bending Branches in Osceola, Wisconsin. We'll camp the night up at the lake and undoubtedly get that guttural feeling of insecure madness and nerves, all of which will be eased in the next few days as we take the first few paddle strokes. We'll get to Minneapolis/ St. Paul within a couple weeks, and, ultimately, the Gulf. But, along the way, we will be thinking of Haiti. For now, the River flows just as it will in a week and we have some more work to do.