The day was
here at last, what many of us consider the official start of ECOEE, the 28-day
trip. As we packed the last of our gear, ate the last scraps of food in the
cooler, and loaded the van/trailer, there was an unspoken nervousness in all of
us. The van ride was quiet, half tried to catch last minute sleep as I rested
my eyes and pondered about all of what was to come. The put in point was windy
as we moved our boats and gear to the waters edge. The forecast of rain added
to the speed and anxiety as we loaded our canoes for our four-week voyage. The
sight of our heavy-laden canoes reminded me of an expedition of Louis and Clark
scale. As we paddled the sun began to shine and scenery was beautiful; I can
only imagine what is to come. We made camp with storm clouds rolling in and
settled down to cook dinner after attempting to hang our food in trees. All of
our 60lbs of food has to be hung so animals won’t steal it. Dinner was
interrupted by rain so we finished hanging our food in the rain and dark. Little
of the group’s food couldn’t be hung so our fearless leader Jeff stayed
sleeping next to it throughout the night. As the rain poured down in the
darkness we treated to our tents praying the rain wouldn’t last. Trent, Bob and
I settled in and talked about our eventful day. Jokes were plenty, expectations
high, and uncertainties many as we all fell asleep in the worlds smallest tent
on the biggest journey of our lives.
Steve Acuff
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