Last year, 2006, graham, mark, pete engblom, and I spent the fourth of july floating the Smith river in Montana. The Smith is known to be one of the most pristine pieces of river wilderness left in Montana where you can literally float for days without seeing any of the outside world. its walls are gigantic sandstone canyons and there are few access points anywhere to be found along the way.
each year for the past decade, mark and i found ourselves scheduling for "just a couple more extra days" of vacation in MT. This last trip was the classic epitome of all of our adventure planning. the conversation went something like this:
"Duininck, what do you think about a July10-14 5 day float of the smith river."
"well, we could do that, or we could do it over the fourth of july so it doesn't take up as much vacation time and most people aren't really working that week anyway.'
"ooooooo... i like the way you're thinking duininck... a little vacation leverage!"
"Better yet leeks, let's leave on friday june 30th, put in for july 1st-5th float trip and then follow it up with 3 or 4 days in big sky and fly out the following sunday and go straight to the office completely wiped out!"
"Now your talking... okay let me see what i can do. i'm totally on board with you."
well the story played out to a T. we had the most adventurous trip that mark and i ever had together, including a dinner of rattlesnake and crayfish when the trout eluded us around dinner time.
here is a small excerpt from my journal after the trip was over:
should be going to bed. i should be unpacking my bags that sit by the door. i should be focused on tickers and numbers and balance sheets and newsflow. but how can i? how do i?
a week and a few days spent floating through roaring waters, meandearing through majestic canyons, cruising the valleys and the meadows of Big Sky, has left a hole. no, i'm not referring just to the town. that is simply a fortunately named, fixed location. i'm speaking to all of it. everything experienced in what seemed to be a month wrapped into nine days.
somehow each attempt over the years of satiating the soul via longer stays only makes coming back more difficult. is it possible to live there? we all seem to want it. or do we? it's really hard to say. it's hard to know. would a permanent move prove completely fulfilling? deep down inside i think the answer actually is..... no. no, only because each day would find me asking for more. or maybe i'd grow complacent. or i'd find myself in a state of underappreciating... but i still want it.
and yet i've not even begun to address the relationship factor. the shenanigans. the fulfillment in building strong bonds through memories and conversation.
if time is correlated to light which bends with gravity, is it possible for God to continue to experience the past, the future, and the present all in a continuous moment we refer to as... now?
yeesh. let's just talk salmonflies, stonies, and caddis pupas. or of hit-the-brakes NOW emergency roadstops. or who will hook the next hog. or the nonsensical purpose underwear serves there... but i must admit, i do chuckle at the tangential diatribes.
alas, now it is time to brush the teeth and crawl into bed, so that i can attempt a coherent day in front of the screens. for a brief moment tomorrow, i'm sure i will have to peruse the calendar and begin ticking the days off to the next escapist voyage.
-ben duininck, aka lwf posted by entomologicalcodecrackers at 8:30 PM 0 comments
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