“… and learn to paddle your own canoe”

What will we do this week? So much to do. Several jobs to wrap up. Always lots to do, but also things to do that don’t feel urgent, but yet are core to life, family and raising kids. A quick back country getaway was in the plan. We stopped for lunch and grabbed some sandwiches at Heidi's and headed towards Spruce Knob, WV.

Our plan was to hike in on Lumberjack Trail, camp somewhere around Judy Springs, and then return via Seneca Creek Trail. After driving for what the kids thought was forever, we arrived at the trailhead. We headed  down the trail with our two teenagers leading the way. Blake, our youngest, hung back with us adult kids. 

 The trail was rocky and muddy as we had just been through several days of rain. After about 4 miles in we came to a beautiful meadow. The trail skirted the meadow and we set up camp close to Judy Springs.  Dinner was chicken and rice on  tortillas. After that the plan was to make a fire and enjoy the night sky. Unfortunately, at 8:30, it began to rain and so we settled into our tent and Jenelle read several chapters of “Johnny Cornflakes” to us out loud. In the morning we awoke to a beautiful clear blue sky. After eating breakfast and tearing down camp we got on the Seneca Creek Trail for another 4 miles back to our car. 

Although I prefer canoe trips, the second day in on a backpack trip is usually a highlight. It’s a day when the packs feel heavy, yet familiar. A day which lends to solitude and thinking. This trip was great for that.

 As I was hiking, and it was father’s day week, I was thinking about Father's Day, fatherhood, and what am I giving my kids as they get closer to adulthood. 

We don't spend tons of money on our kid’s gear. If they are showing lots of interest in something then that changes. We have lots of hopes for them of course, but at the same time, want them to live out their dreams, walk the walk that they are called to. We strive to not live out our dreams through them or to put too much heavy influence on the finer details of their path.

 So, as usual, our dog Koda was out in front. Aiyana, Caleb and Blake were close behind . Jenelle and I were bringing up the rear. As I mentioned, I was thinking about fatherhood, what it means to be a father. I thought about my 48 pound pack. I thought about each of the kids packs which weighed around 20 pounds, give or take a few. Caleb, who has just gone through a growth spurt  and is now my height carries a few extra pounds in his pack and is wearing my favorite Merrill hikers. (I'm wearing work boots). Aiyana is wearing my Merino wool socks because her feet got soaked yesterday and all that she brought along were these little bootie things that girls call socks. Blake is using my favorite hunting day pack.

This is all fine and I am just thankful and tickled to death that we are backpacking together.

I also think about a motto that I often quote,

LOVE MANY

TRUST FEW

AND LEARN TO PADDLE YOUR OWN CANOE.

Is this really a good moto?

Am I passing this on to my kids?

Am I making things to easy for them? I thought about dinner the night before and how Caleb's phrase at dinner was revealing to my question, "Why didn't anyone bring Tabasco sauce for the chicken?" I suggested that since he was the only Tabasco indulgent type on our trip, maybe he should have brought  it.

Is this truly what I want to pass on?

Or is the sacrificial love of a father even more important?

This then took my thoughts to a canoe trip on the Upper Iowa River several years ago. I'll include my journal entry here, just for the humor, the fatherhood, the manhood, the love of sacrificing for those we love, cause in the long run, that's what fatherhood is all about!

June 1, 2008,

Leaving the kids at Jenelle’s parents, we headed out for Northern Iowa. Although we’d been canoeing on the Savage Reservoir with the kids more than a few times, this was our first time on any river in several years. Arriving at the small town of Kendallville we went to the canoe livery to arrange for shuttle service. The guide there informed me that my cedar strip wouldn’t fair so well in the rocky water. He was a great salesman, so we rented a canoe from him, although the river turned out to be quite serene with mud bottom. So we headed down the slow and slightly flooded river. It was a great float. No kids to hold onto, birds everywhere. Of course I had all personal artifacts like my jacket, cooler, fleece, etc. tied into the canoe. Jenelle, however, was convinced that no one ever tipped a canoe in Iowa, especially since we had never even tipped one in Maryland. In fact, we have been canoeing together for eight years and never once did we fall in the drink. I knew better because I had been swimming a few times myself on occasions when I really didn’t want to go swimming. “Make sure ya tie all your stuff down”, I said. Jenelle grinned in acknowledgement. Sure enough, the river split around an Island, which caused a few ripples here and there. I hate making decisions, even simple ones like left or right. Unfortunately, I remembered Teddy Roosevelt saying “Go left young man, go left!” and so we did. And as we rounded the island, there laid a tree across the river. Luckily, I remembered some whitewater maneuvers from years past! I told Jenelle how we could apply them so that we could slip back upstream and around the other side of the island. After several minutes of application, I noticed the canoe was leaning quite a bit and my dear wife was next to the canoe trying frantically to walk on the water. Jenelle made it to the shore and we rescued most of the unsecured items. The only thing that seemed to be missing was Jenelle’s fleece jacket (the one that used to be mine). After getting things resituated, we headed on to Bluffton. The bluffs were beautiful and the rest of the trip was uneventful other than that I almost died of hypothermia due to the fact that my wife was wearing my fleece and I wasn’t exactly warm and dry. After take out we headed to our B & B for warm showers and then to Decorah for some great Mexican food and a nice evening together!

OK, I’ll probably stuff some tabasco sauce in my pack next time, but then after that…