Right now there is a pesky group of plots in the backwoods of Hiawatha National Forest that is waiting to be completed. They amount to about three to fours days worth of work for me.
The problem is they are located far behind private property, on the other side of a river, through several miles of dense willow and maple regen.
I didn’t really know how I would access them. Then I came across a book in a local bookstore that gave me an idea.
The book is called Riverman: An American Odyssey and tells the story of Dick Conant who spent the last 20 years of his life kayaking some of the US’s largest rivers. It seemed adventurous and thrilling! I decided to give it a read.
I have owned several kayaks in the past and have enjoyed the freedom and serenity of paddling out to the middle of one of the lakes near home in Georgia. That’s probably why this book caught my initial attention.
It also reminded me of long outdoor excursions with family. I’ve written before about my tendencies to wander and explore. My Dad and I spent about 5 days hiking most of the Georgia section of the AT in 2013. My brother and I have made several overnight backpacking trips through Smokey Mountains NP. And my now-wife and I hiked about 60 kms of the Great Ocean Walk along Australia’s southern coast.
I could appreciate someone spending long stretches of time in the outdoors.
For Conant, I got the impression he kayaked for the autonomy it allowed him. Having full responsibility for himself and his gear. But, the use of a kayak was something that hadn’t crossed my mind in a while.
That was it! I thought, I could get a kayak and float the river to access those pesky plots I was struggling with!
The author, Ben McGrath, first came into contact with Dick years ago, near McGrath’s home in New York along the banks of the Hudson River.
In 2014, when Dick went missing in North Carolina following a rash of stormy weather, McGrath decided to retrace Dick’s path to find out what happened. The story has many interesting and disturbing twists. And the author’s search, by the end, reveals more questions than answers.
After reading Riverman, I was feeling a little more sober about my idea to float the river. I started to think it through a little more. The nearest put in was two and a half hours upstream. And afterwards I would have to paddle back upstream. Who knows how long that would take?!
Maybe there was a better option.
I talked to the FS and came up with an idea that may work better. It would involve a lot of walking still but would be less cumbersome than carrying a kayak.
So, yesterday I picked up an affordable pair of waders. I still haven’t gone out with them yet. Trudging through the woods in waders doesn’t really sound like a good way to get around but we’ll see what happens.
As for the kayak idea?… Well, I may still try to find a used one locally before leaving the UP. There are plenty of small rivers and lakes to explore for fun. And with a tandem, maybe I can convince the wife to tag along.
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