The day you make reservations with a park is always a good day. You might be tired, pulling a long shift at work, maybe you got a call from the kids principal…again, but the promise of an adventure on the horizon makes it all okay.
I never fail to get giddy when the dates have been booked and the details have been settled. There is a light at the end of a cold winter tunnel. Well today is one if those days and I’m jumping out of my skin. I can picture long days of paddling and portaging followed up by relaxing swims and basking in the sun. I can already feel the pent-up stress of too many weeks without a trip and too many months since one that was warm, melting away.
I guess some people get this feeling when a flight is booked for an exotic destination, but I yearn for the dipping paddle and the crackling fire, the loons at dusk calling across the stillness of the lake. I can picture it perfectly and it brings a smile to my face. A knowing smile that says I won’t have to picture it for long, soon it will be a happy reality.
backcountry with the kids 