Today’s Pine River trip, from Elm Flats to Peterson, was cold-- cold enough that everyone but the Walton’s (who apparently don’t watch the weather channel) wore pants and assorted long sleeved undershirts. Even so, many wished they’d had yet more layers!
The trip started with a bear spotting on the drive in by Mariah and John Walton, and a nice car shuttle, compliments of Pine River Paddlesports. Jocelyn and Mariah were in solo canoes while the rest of the group was in kayaks. Despite Fred trying out a new boat, Mariah being out of practice, and John Walton jumping in a kayak he hadn’t used in 2 years, experience won out and no one dumped. Indeed, the trip was remarkable in how quiet it was -- the cold, dense air helped muffle conversation, and as paddlers strung out into groups or individuals, many of us had serene moments of isolation to appreciate the river and the trees.
The calm was really only broken by prolonged (but I guess boringly appropriate) conversations between John W. and Fred on the topic of investing, and between John W. and John H. on the shortfalls of the education system. Keepin' it real.
At lunch, while shivering in light rain, we learned of some hidden (and much more interesting) knowledge in the group. Lee, an engineer in the merchant marines, is the first I've encountered who knows enough obscure nautical terms to be a walking nautical dictionary--and threw Judy (whose been reading Patrick O'Brian) for a loop by unexpectedly knowing that the ‘orlop’ is the compartment above the bilge. Now we know!
Written by Mariah Walton (photos by John Heiam)