Monday, April 18, 2011

45 Days Until Departure on June 2nd

Hey everyone!

We had to miss the Midwest Mountaineering Expo this weekend because we just got back from a great weekend of ultimate frisbee in Iowa. The weather was against us on Saturday (Our frist time playing ultimate in snow!) but we still made 4th out of 11 teams. We'll hear later this week if we received a bid to DIII Nationals in Buffalo, NY.

We have been portaging the canoe down to the Cannon river and paddling upstream to get a good sense of what we are up against. It is slow going, but very doable! Huzzah! Last week we were on the front page of the Northfield Newspaper, with a beautiful picture by Shane Kitzman of us canoeing down the river. We were also in the Cook County Newspaper, Canoe&Kayak, Women Outdoors Magazine, the Vision, Paddling Life, and Canoe Roots.

We have been getting emails from different people from along our route. Some newspapers would like to meet up with us when we paddle through certain towns and some really generous people have offered meals and even a place to stay. We can't wait to meet them!

Ann just finished This Water Goes North by Dennis Weidemann and has been telling me about their adventure on the Red River, Lake Winnipeg and the Hayes River. They met tons of people and learned a lot about themselves, their route, and backcountry travel. We are coming into this trip with a little more experience and technical gear, but we hope to have similar experiences with the people we meet along the way! Here's  a quote from the book that we both really relate to: "Not everyone understood, but embedded in our simple explanation was the soul of every great quest. Climb a mountain only because it is, and all you have done is climb a mountain. An admirable task that may be, but we wanted to climb the mountain to see what it looked like from up there, to eat shakpa with the Sherpas. That is where the full wealth of adventure awaits, and we sought its treasure" pg. 21

We are continuing plans for our big send-off party on May 30th with live music and a pig roast. If you don't have Memorial Day plans already, you are invited to come celebrate with us!

We hope your spring is beginning well!
Ann and Natalie

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