The Canoe Trip

As stated before, Allen and I are different in many ways. I like both planned and spontaneous events. He prefers to plan things out. I've seen him start packing what he needs for deer camp as early as a week ahead of time. While it's true, he tries to be prepared, he always ends up leaving something for the last minute.
Me, if I know what I have to do, I can be ready and out the door from sleep to gone in approximately 30 minutes. No major preplanning, unless I'm gonna be gone for a while~a week or two~ then I'll start getting ready a day or two in advance. I know, blabla details, but, they will become important details very soon.
One of the things I love the most about Allen is his knowledge and love of nature. He is like a (almost) 40 year old boy scout :) He can identify animals by the way they shit or mark a tree. He knows what plants and mushrooms are safe to eat and what is not. He has a very good sense of direction in places where all of the trees are the same and you lose the sky. If I were stranded in the jungle, I would want my own Allen with me, I know I would get out alive with him by my side.
We live in the Northern lower peninsula in Michigan. We have all kinds of lakes and woods around. We also have Pere Marquette River, which, I believe runs across about a third of the state. It's beautiful. There are parts of the river that have homes, but there are a lot of places where the river is uninhabited by people because of the beautiful Natural Marshes. These marshes are known as Neeland's Marsh. You can get lost fairly easy in the marsh, a fact that would have been nice to know before pushing the issue of taking this particular trip.
There is nothing better than paddling down river in a canoe, just me and him. It's like a little slice of Heaven right here on earth. Just the two of us, and nature. That's one thing that does keep me in Michigan. We have a very diverse eco system with all types of wildlife and many areas to experience nature in the raw.
So... the first time we went canoeing together, was around 2005. It was a well  planned group event. Me and Allen in one canoe, his parents in another, and a couple we know in a third. I was nervous, I had been tubing down the river, but the thought of tipping the canoe made me nervous. I don't know why, I am an excellent swimmer, I would be fine even if we did tip over. Allen spent hours getting extra clothes, blankets, cellphones, radio, and food, all vaccum sealed and water proofed. He insisted I wear pants and a long sleeve shirt over my bathing suit, and tennis shoes. I was becomming irritated with all of the preparations. But, knowing him the way that I do, I did what he said. I took shorts and a tank top to change into when the time was right, which had to be vaccum packed as well. I thought he was nuts.
It was an awesome trip. I'm glad I listened to him. I don't know mileage, I know hours. We started in a town just east of us, and it was about 5 hours with about a half an hour stop for lunch. I instantly fell in love! We went one more time that year with the couple that had gone on the first trip. That was hilarious! They tipped their canoe 3 times during the second trip, Allen and I have yet to tip over :) He is a fine canoe instructor.
Both of these trips were well planned. We had everything we needed, right down to water proof matches and dry wood incase we chose to stop and cook hot dogs on the river bank somewhere. We also started from the same spot each time. I love all of the wildlife. I have photographs of dragon flies, birds, deer... even turtles and fish. I like the way the river changes trees as well. Exposed roots make very interesting landscapes.
The summer of 2008 was very busy for Allen. He is a general contractor, but in 2008, he was primarily roofing. He had so many jobs that year, he was working weekends almost every week. We had discussed camping and canoeing, but everytime we tried to make plans, a job would come up. Or, the people we asked would not be able to go that weekend. It just wasn't happening. Allen was insistant that we not go alone. I had been nagging and said, "why do we need other people to go, let's just go!" He said it was far better to have someone else to go incase something went wrong. I just thought, "wuss!" Here he is, the great white hunter/fisher/nature man, and he won't go down the river without company.
I wanted to go dammit!!! He had promised to take me a little further East to a place locally known as Rainbow Rapids. We were coming to the end of the season, and I was going one way or another. I finally talked him into just the two of us going. We were gonna go on a Saturday morning and spend the day on the river. He worked late all week. He said we probably were not going to be able to go. I wasn't having NO!
He ended up working late that Friday, and when he came home, I informed him that we would be going canoing in the morning. He said, "we'll see, I gotta work until about noon, I'm sorry baby". Nope, we're goin. I was ready when he got home. This is what I had prepared:
1.Cooler w a sandwhich each, some chips, two waters, and two pops
2. Two Towels
3. Radio, cell phones, cigarettes, and lighters.
Nothing was in plastic. Nothing was waterproofed, I said, " We haven't turned a canoe over yet, why start now?" Against his better judgement, we went. It took a little over an hour to get ready and get out there, and the whole drive, his dad kept saying, "are you sure you wanna start this far out this late in the day? You'll never make it before dark." At this, Allen replied, "You're crazy, we'll make it. It's not that far." THE WHOLE RIDE. They kept going back and fourth about how many hours and miles it was. I had no idea who was right. I piped up, "what the hell, if we get stuck, the bears will keep us company."
We get the canoe in the water a little after 2p.m. with one final warning from pops. Allen assures him we will get where we need to be before dark, it's just not that far.
So here we go.... It's a beautiful day, the sun is shining and the animals are everywhere. Me in my bathing suit and a tank top. Fishin poles at the ready. There are a couple of people in kayaks setting out at the same time as we are, I figure this is a good sign. 
This is a different part of the river that I have not been to before. It's beautiful! The trees are so tall and full of leaves that they are like a huge canopy across the river. The sun is shining and the birds are singing, even the fish are jumping. It's like a movie. It's so serene, that I forget all of the stresses in my life and just listen to nature.
We are just floating down the river, talking about nothing and enjoying each others company. We come to a place in the river where there are small seasonal cabins and boat docks. There are people grilling with their families and fishing off of the docks and dogs running in yards. It's all just so peaceful. I notice there are a few places where people going down the river can dock and set up camp in the State Forest if they chose to. I told Allen, "Next year, we should plan an overnight trip and stay at one of these little access spots. We can just bring a tent and stuff and pick a spot and stay the night." He agrees that would be fun.
About two hours into the trip, we are back in an area where it's just us and nature. No houses, no people, not even a sign of the kayakers that had shoved off the same time we had. We come to a nice little bend in the river, and I am ready for a stretch.
While we are stopped, I want to try to catch a fish. Allen says, "we can stay for a few minutes, but we need to keep going, so we don't run out of daylight."
"What do you mean, run out of daylight? Are you scared? I thought you were the great white hunter! (laughing) are you afraid of a lil ole bear? I want to catch a fish!" And then I did. I caught my first Rainbow Trout. It was beautiful. All of the colors, we released it because it was too small to keep, but atleast I caught one! Back in the canoe we go. I'm happy, we stretched our legs and I caught a fish. This is a good day.
I had no idea that when we had gone past the cottages, that was the end of civilization for the rest of the trip. As we paddled down the river, it was more and more beautiful. Ahead of us the water had white caps. We were in the rapids. Now, I have to tell you, I was expecting something else. I was thinking in my head big roaring waves crashing against our canoe and yelling over the sound of the water. What I saw ahead of me was beautifull, but didn't LOOK like it was anything serious. Then we hit the middle of the rapids. It's amazing how gentle waves can look and how strong they are when you are in a canoe. It was awesome! We were getting hit with waves on both sides of the canoe, and water was splashing up everywhere. It got a little harry at one point, I was getting excited and not paying attention to how I was supposed to paddle, and we got hit by a wave that almost knocked us over, but once again, Allen saved us. Once through the rapids, we came to a spot that was really wide and surrounded by tall reeds and river grass. The sun was bright and the sky was so blue. All of a sudden, I heard a huge racket in the marsh right beside me. Out of the reeds with alarming sound came a great white crane! It was huge! And so close to my end of the canoe, I damn near jumped out! Allen was laughing so hard he couldn't paddle.
Still enjoying the serenity of the river, we come to a place that Allen thought should be a y in the river, but there is a third branch. I was a little concerned that Allen was questioning himself about which way to go. We took the furthest left branch. We canoed for about forty five minutes down this branch when we came to a place where it was too shallow for the canoe. Now, he is certain he made a wrong turn and we have to walk the canoe back out to where we got off. Begin irritation cycle. I am prone to anxiety attacks, and this was a prime situation for an attack.
It's starting to get dark too. Allen can't tell me how far we are from our destination, but thinks we "may" make it before dark. As we are walking, I notice how dark it is, it's after seven now, and we are in the middle of the marsh. No signs of roads or homes, but plenty of trees, reeds, marsh, and animals. Not to mention, I am now walking in the water and can't see through the water, something I dislike very much! This is where the adventure begins.
I'm hungry and beginning to feel a slight panic. The ground below me is murky and slimy and I am so not impressed. Allen is pulling the canoe, and I am pushing. He says, "when you get up here, watch out on your left..." and it happened. I hit a sink hole with my left foot that swallowed me to my ass! I don't know if there was a bottom, I didn't feel one! And que the attack! Immediately, I am pissed! I'm soaked, I know there are leaches in the river, and a sink hole is the perfect place to find them, my shoe came off in the hole, no hopes of retreiving it. Tears are welling up in my eyes, and HE'S Laughing!!! Crying and bitching, he comes to the back of the canoe and helps me out. Pulls me together and we start moving again. Finally, we come to the entrance of the branch and can once again get into the canoe.
Now it's dark. Not pitch black, but dark enough that it's getting hard to see. My job is to warn him of trees and other obstacles in front of the canoe, as well as help paddle. We decide to go down the right branch of the river, he knows he has to take a side branch, and figures he just took the wrong side. It's getting dark fast now. We are going down the right branch and I am starting to freak. I am telling him it's too dark to see, and we need to find a place to stop. He is telling me that as long as we are in the marsh there IS NO place to stop. Then, I spotted a tree, just in time to miss being hit square in the face. "THAT'S IT!!!" I don't care where we stop, we are stopping before one of us ends up dead!
We paddle back up the river, blindly, until we come back to the three branches. I said, "just go down the middle until we can find somewhere to stop, it was the widest of the three branches, it's gotta be the safest." We go for about fifteen minutes and we come to this little piece of almost dry land. It was just big enough for a fire and the two of us. It was like a little island, but a sponge as well. Allen said,"Stay here in the canoe, I have to try to find some kind of burnable wood. I'll be right back."
As I said, we were unprepared, we were using our cell phones as flash lights! Now, I was alone in the canoe, and his light disappears. I can hear rustling in the reeds, but can't see anything. I'm sitting there and I realize that it's darker than dark. It looks like what a person with sight would imagine blindness is like. I can't even see my hand in front of my face, literally! Something in my brain was like "light bulb! Look up!" No Moon! And the stars are obviously behind clouds. I have spent a huge part of my life camping, and can honestly say I don't think I have ever been in Complete Darkness before that night. It was kind of amazing.
My phone rings, it's my mom, she was babysitting my son for the "day".  "Where are you guys? I thought you were going to pick Steven up when you were done?" I just chuckled, "Mom, we are still on the river. Looks like we're gonna have to spend the night." Instant panic, "What!! You can't stay out there all night! Do you have blankets? What part of the river are you on? What will you do about the animals? That's it! I'm calling the state police, they gotta come and get you outta there!!!"
While she is having this conversation, I'm trying to tell her that we will be fine, and DO NOT call the police. They would never find us before the sun rise anyway, "Mom, we're in the middle of Neeland's Marsh, We're fine, we just have to wait for the sun" I got her calmed down. Mind you, this is a woman that hitch hiked from Michigan to Key West, Florida in the early 70's and then out to California, where she rode with the Hell's Angels. I would think this little adventure would be exciting for her.
Anyhow, as soon as I am done convincing my mother not to call the cops, Allen's mom calls. She is a little more relaxed, and even laughs a little. She knows Allen can get us through the next six hours or so, and we will be fine. Then his mom and dad decide they are going to come out because we have to be close to the bridge and maybe they can spotlight a trail for us. About 45 minutes later, Allen's got a pretty good fire built, and we are beginning to laugh and joke about the situation again. We're talkin and just watching the stars appear and disappear when I hear a familiar sound. It's Allen's dad's truck! I can see the lights too. They are on the bridge. We can see the light, but not well enough to go anywhere. We can yell back and fourth, but all that does is spook the critters. Allen tells them to go ahead and go home, and meet us at the bridge in a few hours. Now, it's like salt in a wound. We are minutes from off of the river, but can't go anywhere. It's just too dark to take a chance. Log jambs can become deadly in the dark.
Allen says I should climb in the canoe and get some rest. He'll keep the fire going. So I do. I climb in, it gets quiet, and then I hear them. Coyotes... yes, a pack of coyotes. Then it hits me. BEAR! This is why Allen is keeping the fire going. It's also why he insisted that any food type of stuff was back in the sealed cooler. I just close my eyes and hope to sleep. It worked. I guess I was sleeping pretty good and talking in my sleep, as I often do. He said I was talking about all kinds of crazy stuff, then suddenly sat up, eyes open, looked at him and said,"Yup, We're still on the F#$king River, and layed back down.
When morning came, he informed me that we were going to have to paddle back up river a ways to get where we needed to be. I looked up at the sky, it was gray and full of clouds. I said, "That's not cool, the last thing we need is for it to rain!! I just want to go home!" As soon as the sentence left my lips, the first raindrop hit my sunglasses. I couldn't even get mad! The wind was blowing with the current we were now paddling against, and the rain was threatening to down pour at any second. We went about twenty minutes up the river, and I heard dad's truck. We could hear them yelling to us, I guess they could see where we needed to be.
We got the canoe turned around, and went right passed the little island we had spent the night on. We went around the bend where Allen had collected wood all night, and there was a log across the river. Allen jumped into the water and pulled the canoe over the log, open full width river! Not even five minutes from where we had spent the night!! Not even ten minutes later I saw the truck, the dock, and his mom with a giant quilt. It was still sprinkling, but I was finished canoing! Our destination was still about half an hour from where his parents' had met us, but I decided they could drive us to the van. I just wanted heat and dryness! It was an adventure, and I called in to work that day, I didn't even try to lie, the truth was too crazy not to tell!
Now, when we canoe, I will let him pack everything he wants, and I find myself adding things. Our canoe is definately full when we go! All I can say is, Yea, I'd do it again......