The Hall Pass (urbandictionary.com) - permission given to go out with the guys (instead of fulfilling either girlfriend or wife duties/obligations/quality time, etc). The Hall Pass can come in half-day, full-day or even hourly increments (editors note: or apparently weeks in this case, man my wife is the greatest eh!). It is something to be prized, cherished and used judiciously for it is not an easy thing to obtain. It can only be obtained by verbal (or written) consent from said girlfriend or wife.
The ever so smooth Macy Burnham, Ashlu Box, Engagement
Indecision is the key to flexibility one of my kayaking mentors once told me. I was only 22 and I only instinctively understood what he was saying. The words made sense but I hadn’t lived their true meaning. Now though, now that I’m married and have kids and responsibilities beyond pursuing my latest kayaking fantasy, at least with regards to paddling trips, I live by his precious words of wisdom.
Evan on #2 of the most perfect triple drop possibly in the world, Rogers Creek
Rivers are wild unpredictable beasts whose characteristics depend on a combination of nature’s complex whims. Rain, snow, sun, wind and fire can all play a roll in determining which rivers are “in,” and of course which rivers are “out,” at any moment in time. This fact makes paddling trips nearly impossible to plan. The problem is, when you’ve got these “adult” responsibilities, planning paddling trips is the name of the game. My trick though is to be decisive about putting some dates on the calendar and indecisive about where to go on those days. I just know I’m going paddling. It’s a hark back to the days of following the water wherever it was in, yet it still satisfy’s the fatherly duties since it only takes place where pre-ordained and agreed upon windows have opened up.
Evan In Kernage, Ashlu Box
In this particular instance my beautiful and gracious wife put the dates on the calendar for me. Taking the kids home to DC, with a line and an arrow marking off August 1 – 9. So it was with this hall pass that I was to get a kind of last hurrah to the 2013 summer paddling season, and yes it has to be defined as such to allow for the Fall 2013 and Winter 2013 paddling seasons to also receive celebrated last hurrah trips (youngsters, you taking notes here?). Anyway, in an average year this would have been the perfect timing for a trip to the Clarks Fork Boxand maybe a swing up through Idaho for some North Fork Payette, and then to hit up whatever else was happening in between.
Joe Keck in the first of the Triple Drop, Rogers Creek
This however was not quite an average year, with below average snowpack and precipitation across most of the Rockies and the Sierra’s. Basically the entire Western US was stuck in a drought cycle and come August things were looking to be mighty low everywhere. Time to figure out a new plan and I was craving a little more adventure than the North Fork, the roadside classic that still did happen to be running pretty good could provide. It just didn’t fulfill the needs of the week long hall pass, because remember, it’s something to be prized, cherished, and used judiciously. I wanted to get deep into a gorge, somewhere you aren’t going without your kayak.
Austin Woody, where we wanted to be, deep in a gorge, a place you definitely don't want to be without your kayak
Sometimes this indecisiveness can get the better of even the best of us and the countdown had gotten to five days before the wife and kids we’re departing with still no firm plan. The key though, the wheels we’re in motion. The ingredients were coming into place: some partners in crime, the gear, a ride, and of course a river, or rivers, that were in. By Tuesday I had a plane ticket to Seattle, with a ride to British Columbia and some boats waiting for us to pick up in Bellingham along the way. We left Thursday and all that indecisiveness led to a pretty sweet mission if I don’t say so myself. Check the photos and decide for yourself. Cheers - Kokatat Ambassador Evan Stafford
BC eh!
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