My big decision last December was whether I would take my free J-term and throw the canoe on the car and drive southeast till the snow disappeared and the rivers were flowing and the temp was warm enough to give my pasty skin some air. But I didn’t, I sat home and pushed a few short stories toward completion, made a few bucks on a freelance gig, ice climbed and skied a little. Perhaps it was a prudent decision, as we are a slightly broke, anyway, and thanks to the frustration of not going when I could have been going, I have planning impetus for the summer to come. Here’s a potential trip list:
--100 miles down the Saint Croix River in spring
--a couple weeks climbing volcanoes in the PacNW with my old pal Brian in early summer
--meeting my wife in Seattle and going to Vancouver Island to hike the West Coast Trail in midsummer
--hiking the Border Route and Kekekabic Trails through the Boundary Waters in August
I did take one overnight trip this season, to the Tettegouche Camp for Christmas with Lily and my parents. The camp was a lumber barons club back in the day and is now in the state park. We hauled our gear in sleds to the pictured cabin, then spent a day tromping through the heavy new snow. It was great until I got a vicious case of food poisoning, the details of which I’ll leave untold. Full Post»
