Day 31 (Karl)

Big news to report.  But first some numbers and a response to Rich's questions.

Numbers

20 paddle days
1 rest day
2 Pearl Button capital of the world days
4 weather days
1 medical day (we didn't tell you... no need to worry)
1 Thanksgiving
1 breakfast of insanity
1 regional cross country meet

23 nights spent under a tent
8 nights spent under a roof

316 miles paddled (approximate due to unaccounted zigs and zags)
30 miles longest day
5 miles shortest day


Rock River
57 degrees average high (72 max)
35 degrees average low (22 min)

Mississippi River
41 degrees average high (66 max)
26 degrees average low (19 min)


(roof nights not included in temperature averages)


Rich's Question

Why am I doing this?


I'll go through some of Rich's possibilities:

Bored?  Absolutely.  As comforting as television and the internet have been to me, I don't quite feel alive when I'm watching (even a particularly good episode) Quincy MD.  Or even Air Wolf for that matter.  There is very little feeling (if at all) of fulfillment after spending hours of playing Bejeweled 2.  But those two things (television and the internet) are the two easiest things to turn to when I'm bored.  I needed to turn to something else.  (Though I must admit, the Bejeweled 2/Dynomite playing did finance the majority of this trip.)

Crazy?  This is probably like stringing together a bunch of straight centuries on a bicycle trip.  At first it might seem crazy, but then you hop on a bicycle, go for a 25 mile ride and find a level of enjoyment.  Then 50 miles.  Then 75.  And before you know it, you're pedaling 142 miles through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  But it's no longer crazy... it's fun.

Lonely?  Yep.  Though I don't know if setting out on a canoe trip with my dog is really quite the cure for that.  The people I've gotten to meet are definitely some of the better moments of the trip.  Heck, even the people I already knew have added to the enjoyment.

Have nothing better to do?  I am in a good place to do something like this trip.  Very little commitments.  I felt I needed to take advantage of the situation.  It was time for some selfishness.  (The Summer of George.)

Always dreamed of this?  Bingo.  As a kid, I promised myself I would accomplish three things in life.  One of those three was canoeing the whole Mississippi River.  I realize that this trip isn't exactly that, but I thought it was a little more poetic to start from one place I consider home (Beloit) and canoe to another home (Houston).  Plus starting at the headwaters on November 4 would not have worked.

But the always dreamed is probably the key point.  I have a wonderful life and I was in a really good place surrounded by amazing friends, but the internal voices had been quietly asking to take care of my life's dreams.  And then over the course of the last few years those voices have gotten a lot louder.  This canoe trip was me listening.

Big News

I have decided to end this trip.  It's nothing medical.  I feel great physically and mentally though I am emotionally drained from ending just a few miles short (1300 or so) of the big goal.

Thanks for following.  Thanks for supporting.  Thanks for being.

(I'll write more on the stopping tomorrow.)