Day 5 - Where the Paddle Ends

Luckily, the night wasn’t as cold as the two before it. I actually slept well, so well in fact, that the sun beat me to waking up. A rare and glorious sleep-in. It felt luxurious to have a slow morning with no real rush. Our tow across the choppy waters of Lake Saganaga wasn’t scheduled until 3:00 p.m., and with only a short distance to paddle, we could take our sweet time.

Since it was our final morning, we threw every remaining coffee bag into our cups. It turns out if you combine three sorry-excuse for coffee bags together, you can muster one half-decent cup of Joe.

Packing up the tent was bittersweet. We’d had such a good time outdoors that I didn’t want it to end… but I also had vivid dreams about a hot shower and a soft bed. We were both missing Xiao Hong, too. What I wasn’t missing was my phone. Five blissful days unplugged, no notifications, no politics, no to-dos.

We pushed off in the canoe with a gentle tailwind and plenty of breaks along the way. Forty minutes later, we glided into American Point with two hours to kill before our ride. A mini-feast followed, because somehow, we still had enough food to feed us for five more days. We broke out the Uno cards to pass the time.

It was pretty soon after that we heard the low rumble of tow coming across the water.

Now, I’d had my fair share of less-than-brilliant moments on this trip, but the dumbest one was about to unfold. While the boat was approaching, I set down all the bags to help Lionel navigate the jagged rocks and climb aboard. Once he was safely on board, I heroically stacked the big bags onto the boat, sat down, and let the relief of not rowing anymore wash over me. For five straight days, I’d double and triple checked my gear. And the one moment I let my guard down… I left Lionel’s backpack sitting on the rocks.

We had a joyous ride back. Lionel was howling with laughter as the waves splashed in his face. Pure bliss enveloped each of us. But when we pulled into the dock and I glanced at the pile of gear, my stomach dropped. No backpack. I checked with Charlie but he didn’t remember putting it in. I shuffled off toward the outfitter office to give them my name, number, and a very humble description of the missing bag.

The lost-and-found list of shame:

• 1 map
• 1 Hope in Motion flag
• 1 Kindle (ouch)
• 1 pocketknife
• 1 child-sized raincoat
• 1 deck of Uno cards
• 1 deck of regular playing cards
• 1 leather backpack (borrowed)

Not the triumphant ending I’d imagined. But there was still hope, it was left at a busy site, so maybe it would turn up. The subsequent, much needed, hot shower helped wash off some of the embarrassment. Lionel hopped in and started belting out songs like it was his own KTV room. I practically had to drag him out by reminding him we had a five-hour drive home to see Mommy. I have never gotten quite the endorphin rush as I did by simply putting on a fresh set of clothes out of the shower.

We tossed our rank bags into Charlie’s dad’s car and secured the canoe with our finest display of shoddy knot work. A mile down the road, it became painfully clear that our knots were not going to cut it. After pulling over and giving it another tightening, we hit the gas with renewed confidence.

An hour later, my phone erupted with the 500 messages I’d blissfully missed. I managed to call Xiao Hong and declare our continued existence before the signal vanished. For the next fifteen minutes, we played an intense round of wilderness phone tag, bouncing in and out of service. When the call finally held, she was relieved, we were safe and sound up north while a massive thunderstorm raged through the cities.

An hour later, my phone erupted with the 500 messages I’d blissfully missed. I managed to call Xiao Hong and declare our continued existence before the signal vanished. For the next fifteen minutes, we played an intense round of wilderness phone tag, bouncing in and out of service. When the call finally held, she was relieved, we were safe and sound up north while a massive thunderstorm raged through the cities.

We stopped for dinner, and I treated myself to the biggest burger on the menu: a triple with bacon and cheese curds. I had high hopes Lionel would need assistance with his own burger, but no such luck. We topped it off with three ice creams for the road, and Lionel settled in with the third Wild Robot book as we cruised toward home.