A three hour tour

Three of my friends from church, Ryan, JP, and Levi, had the dream to test out some of their new outdoor gear and go on a two day canoe trip. They needed a fourth person to round out the second canoe, so when asked I didn't hesitate to say yes.

The plan was to leave after church Sunday night, drive to the river, camp there and wait for our charter to arrive at 10 am Monday morning to take us up the river 27 miles and drop us off.
The car ride was suppose to be 3 hours, but that would soon only turn into a spec of time. We ended up in Oneida, KY instead of Oneida, TN. So after 11 hours of driving, we ended up at our location. About this time we hit the 'middle school girls sleepover giggling' stage of exhaustion. I might never laugh at the dumbest things that I laughed at that morning.

After a short nap, our charter service picked us up and dropped us off at the top of the river. Ignoring our sleepiness, we put on our manly faces, packed up the canoe's and hit the water. 50 yards into the 27 mile journey our lack of sleep already began to affect us. We hit a medium size rapid and immediately flipped both canoes. Now, exhausted and wet we paddled on. Luckily our giggles continued and we had a great first day.

An hour before sunset we set up camp, got everything just right, then it started pouring rain. We ate in our tents and then went to sleep. JP promised his one person tent was big enough for the two of us, but in the middle of the night I got claustrophobic and freaked out. Seriously, I ripped open the door and ran out into the wet night gasping for air and scared to death a huge bear would be standing there. I so wish I had that on camera... it must have been a sight to see.

Our trip ended the next day and it was a great time, had by all.