Pandemic wanderlust

I mentioned in my post last weekend that the homebound life is getting to me.  This week I've been pondering my travel options here in Pandemic Times.  Below is a short list that's resulted from my brainstorming.  #1 is by far the most feasible.  #2 is sort of feasible.  #3 is barely feasible.


1.  The spring-fed rivers of southern Missouri.

In the Ozark foothills here are a few streams fed by springs that have been filtered by the karst geology.  They include the North Fork of the White River; the Jack's Fork; the Eleven Point River; and the Current River.  All are protected under the Ozark Scenic Waterways

This area is no more than three hours from where I live, so I could drive there easily with minimal reliance upon travel industry establishments and be self-contained for several days with food and camping gear.

For paddling, I'd have to dust off one of my old whitewater boats, as these streams are too small and shallow for a surfski with an understern rudder.  Since I'd be relying on my bike for running shuttles, I'd have to find sections of river with reasonable-length shuttles--not always easy in remote areas.

I guess the biggest cost of traveling someplace not far from home is the expectation that the place be different from home.  Certainly the weather won't be much different: if it's sweltering hot in Memphis, it'll probably be sweltering hot in southern Missouri.  On the other hand, these spring-fed rivers have lovely, cool, clear water that screams "SWIM!!"  Adam Davis and I were agreeing recently that even though we love our Mississippi River, once in a while you like to paddle on something different, and there's no better contrast to the Mississippi than a stream with clear water.

In any case, close means easy, and there's a good chance I'll be wandering up toward this area sometime this summer.


2.  Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Nebraska.

Why Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Nebraska?  Well, I have a goal of paddling in all 50 states, and these are four states that I haven't paddled in yet and are located where I'm not so likely to pass through them en route to some other destination.  So they'll just have to be my destination.

I've been curious about Lake Superior for the last few years, so I'd likely spend several days along that lake's Minnesota shore.  Meanwhile, the Missouri River crosses the North Dakota-South Dakota border south of Bismarck, so some kind of overnight trip on that section would be in order.  I could maybe hit a section of the Platte River in Nebraska while heading back south.

Really, the only obstacle to making this trip happen is my apprehension about being out on the road and exposing myself in places like motels and restaurants.  Sure, I could be super-disciplined and do all my own cooking and stuff like that, but in my long experience with road trips I've learned that that gets old fast.


3.  Juneau and Haines, Alaska.

Alaska is the one state I have never visited at all.  For my first time there I'm looking at the region that includes Juneau and Haines, towns separated by about 75 miles of water with several state marine parks along its length.  I'm thinking that would be a plausible and fascinating one- or two-night trip in a touring boat.

Sadly, this trip almost certainly cannot happen this year.  Driving out there is out of the question because I'd have to go through Canada and the Canadian border is closed these days.  Flying there would make me dependent on the equipment rental industry there for a boat and gear, and it appears that it's largely closed this season because of COVID-19 concerns.

Maybe next year, maybe the following year.  Maybe I could piggyback it onto my trip to the Columbia Gorge one summer, although my investigation of that option has revealed a sobering reality: when looking at the driving route from Hood River, Oregon, to Haines, Alaska, on the Google Map, I discovered that the distance is 1900 miles!  Memphis to Hood River is about 2200 miles, and as I learned two years ago, that's a longlonglonglonglonglonglong trip.  Continuing on to Haines practically doubles that!  And this is the close part of Alaska we're talking about.

Yeah, this trip will likely have to wait until the public health situation is truly back to normal.  But it's fun to think about.  Until now visiting Alaska has been nothing more than a very abstract idea and my head, and researching some specific locations like Juneau and Haines is helping bring it more into focus.



For more information on what this blog is about, click here.