Unfathomable Determination

March 13, 2019 / doubledacres / 1 Comment

The rain has pretty much settled in for the night. I sit here with my eyes closed listening to the raindrops dancing on the tin roof creating a soothing symphony.

My mind focuses on those brave men and women, the pioneers, who settled the west. They had no idea of the challenges they would face. The only idea they had of where they were going was the tales they had in there minds put there by the adventurers who went before them.

There were stories of feast and famine. Massacres. Whole wagon trains who died and didn’t fulfill their dreams. Disease and prairie fires. Yet these people had a dream that so obsessed them they were willing to sacrifice anything and everything to follow their dream. That profound dedication my friends died with them and no longer exists in this country anymore.

I don’t know if you have ever been camping in the rain but I can tell you from experience it can be very miserable.

I sit here in the coziness of my cabin listening to the rain and I have a vision of men, women, and children huddled together under the rain fly of a wagon trying to get their nourishment so they will have the stamina to do another 10 to 20 miles beginning at dawn. One can only imagine the sore muscles they must have been nursing. Wondering how much further they have to travel. How many more river crossings and broken wagon wheels they will have to endure. Will it be their wagon that breaks this time? How many more of their possessions will they have to leave behind so they can lighten the load on the wagons so they can get them over the mountain?

With these things dancing through their minds it had to be difficult to sleep. Knowing all to well they needed to sleep so they could get the much needed rest to complete another leg of their journey.

The fingers of dawn ascend on their camp. The rain has stopped and the day promises sunshine to dry things out. They begin packing the wagons, hitching the teams and checking the wagons so they can start out once again. They have to battle the annoying suction created by the mud delivering another hardship for them to deal with.

Guts and grit kept them pushing toward their destination and failure was not an option. True representation of determination and faith. They not only needed faith in God. They had to have faith in those leading them and most of all faith in themselves. There were those who celebrated and those who endured heartbreak. So many died along those trails who never lost sight of their dream and died trying to bring their dream to reality.

People could learn a lot from these pioneers and use it in their lives to achieve their dreams. Don’t ever stop believing. They didn’t.

Spread the love and be kind to one another. It doesn’t cost you anything.

The Ugliness of Failure

June 30, 2017June 30, 2017 / doubledacres / 2 Comments

“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” – Henry Ford\

Big River above Leadwood.

I had posted that I was taking a seven day float on the Big River. I planned everything except my physical abilities and the water level of the river. Some time ago around the early 80’s I busted my right foot up pretty good. Doctor said about the only thing I didn’t break was my toes. He told me he had some good news and some bad news. I said lets start with the good news. He said I might walk again but if I did it would be with a cane. I said well now lay the bad news on me since you all ready PPed pretty good on my day. He said I really don’t think you will walk again. Well, he missed that one. I do have a lot of pain from time to time with it though. I didn’t expect the river to be so low and couple that with the the extra weight of supplies, there were a lot of places that I had to get out and pull the yaks. By Sunday my ankle was swollen the size of a large grapefruit so I decided to call it quits. I have all ready started working on a better plan. I failed at what I started out to do and it makes me sick.

My rig I used on the trip.

I did manage to leave Mounts on Saturday morning around 9 am. It started out pretty well. I met some folks along the way and the day was beautiful. The back float was doing a great job. Then, then, then, BAM! The float was following right behind the yak when the current sucked into a tree and then a sudden stop. It caused the front end of my yak to go under water and then the whole yak started taking water causing a 63 year old man, who looked like a beached whale, to eject himself from his kayak. To make it worse there was an audience. I was glad to see them though. They helped me drain the kayak and get it back in the water however the tent and sleeping bag got soaked even though they were tucked into dry bags.

Big River

I am not going to accept defeat. I am all ready planning a new attempt sometime in August or September. I have to get all my supplies in one boat. I am thinking, lose the cooler and water. I am going to do some research on water filters. Secondly the only food I will carry is MREs and protein bars. That will help a lot. I am also going to have to find a good boot with support that will take the water. I really believe I will be able to do the 7 day float then.