Pushing

I pushed this week.

I pushed very hard. We were tripping in the wilderness and that's inherently an arduous couple days, but you can take it slow & easy, or you can push. And we pushed. We had 45lb packs on our backs, and then loads atop there - your choice of a heavy food bag or a canoe. In the water, canoeing with that load isn't so bad, it helps keep the boat stably afloat and we can distribute the weight just right. But portaging - a unique approach to movement that has you carry all your gear and boat through the woods, up and down rock-strewn hills and rooty, uneven ground. Through puddles and swamps and around densely growing trees, all the while watching out for the critters that live there. I say unique as few in their right mind would elect to do for 'fun'. Fewer still look at a 1.7km hike this way as a challenge to see if they can do it all at once, and without stopping.

And we did - as I said, we pushed.

We covered almost 90kms in 2.5 days in the wild, 70 of so paddling hard, and 20 on our feet. We ate well, camped fine and enjoyed the down times. We saw the largest bull moose I'd ever come across with antlers from here to North Dakota, and we also came across the animal situation that I fear the most - a female moose & calf in the woods. Thankfully, she elected to move away from us rather than look at us as a threat. My favorite creature up there are the loons, and there were plenty, thrilling with songs and displays both up close and lingering in the distance.

Why did we do it, and why push so hard..? I'm not sure I know. Partly because we wanted to see if we could, or if we would just collapse. Partly because our double-time approach seemed right for this week, having budgeted 5 days, but really wanting a little more time for other stuff.

Regrets ?

We asked ourselves that repeatedly. It seemed like we elected to have a whip at our backs, and we justified it with the sense of accomplishment it would create. I can't help but think sitting back at home in a comfortable chair, that it would be nice to be sitting at a campfire tonight, swatting the odd mosquito and wondering if the weather will smile upon us the next day. Life is simpler there, and above all else there's a single mindedness and clarity of purpose. I think peaceful was something we never did catch up to though - it may have required an extra day or two.