Word for today: BITTERSWEET. Today I said goodbye to Dave until we reach Minneapolis. I think Dave was glad he joined, I know I’m glad I had him along. We had some frustrating times, but we had many more amazing, memorable experiences. Dave and I had a calm 14 miles together this morning before making the planned exchange. Gaily attired in his Pickle Rick bucket hat, I could tell it was a bittersweet moment for him to trade Chad his paddle for the car keys – see you soon brother, I will miss you tossing your last dregs of coffee from the old fashioned mug like you’re the Lone Ranger.

Chad Bohlmann is now having to put up with me. Chad is somewhat Dave’s alter ego. He’s eternally happy, and his face usually wears a big smile with laughing eyes with wrinkles in the corners, much like the smiling face of Mr. Potato Head. Chad’s a smart guy, a fellow engineer and problem solver, so I look forward to running into some obstacles with him. Though he can also have a little absent minded professor vibe, which I will get a chuckle from I’m sure.

Also like Mr Potato head, Chad’s ratio of head mass to body mass sets a pretty high bar. The average adult male has a head weight that is 8.26 of their whole body; Chad’s is probably more like 12.5% (though with Dave’s monkey cranium at 5% his body weight, I suppose the two of them combine for a average).”

And when I think of Chad as a side dish, I think potatoes: He goes with just about anything, he’s good many different ways, and though he’s just a side dish, in the end he may be many people’s favorite part of the meal. So, welcome aboard Mr. Potato Chad!

On today’ journey – Dave and I enjoyed the first half of the day. Knowing we wanted to make an early start, our hosts on the river were up to make coffee at 4:45 (Sarah – our host Christine specifically selected the sock monkey mug for me to drink from 😮). They also fried 3 pounds of bacon (for 6 people!) and made pancakes which we ate while waiting for the coffee cake to come out of the oven. After breakfast we took a few photos, loaded our gear on the ATVs, and drove the 1/2 mile through trails back to the boats.

Once we got the gear to the boats, we tried the screwdriver on the engine room problem. It didn’t work, but Joe, being a pretty smart guy as well as a High Life man, determined we needed an Allen wrench. Another zip back on the ATV and – SUCCESS! The dilithium crystals back to full strength. What a relief; I’m forever in Joe’s debt (and I’m sorry for making fun of you for some stupid thing you did that I now can’t remember, though I’m sure I would do it again if I return to your doorstep someday 🙂). I absconded his Allen wrench and gave it to Scotty in exchange for promise of a post card from Bourbon street. Leechman and Tickboy can now paddle off into the sunrise together!

Chad and I traveled to about 16 miles together on his first day, making it to the Scott’s Rapids DNR canoe camping site. I don’t think I’ve said much about these, but they can only be accessed by the river and have all been very nice. Though with the low water level, getting out of the river and up to the site can be a vertical challenge.

Chad and I mostly cruised along side by side and joked about a number of things: tasks for which you would chop wood in these parts, the advantages of tall cotton, and the negative repercussions of not properly masticating your food. These were all “had to be there” type conversations, without a lick of serious sense, and I valued Chad’s complimentary humor. When we finished traveling , Chad said he felt like his legs had been replaced by imitation rubber goat legs. He also told me that his phone told him he had moisture in his charging port; I was surprised his phone knew that much about him and where the sensor was located.

At the camp site we did a little fishing: score (yes, I was keeping score) Matt 🎣 🎣 , Chad 0. Maybe tomorrow Chad. My two bass were not quite enough for dinner, so it was freeze dried beef stroganoff (though the “beef” seemed more like the undercarriage of a male squirrel or rabbit).

In response to a comment/request. Meals have mostly been: French press coffee and oatmeal for breakfast; PBJ and all form of granola bars and protein bars for lunch and snacks, then freeze dried something for dinner. We have no way to keep anything cool, so water is the only beverage we have – 3 gallons per boat that we refill whenever we can.

Regarding musical selection for today… I told Chad that when we finished crossing Winnibigoshish, I was a little mentally fatigued. After I beached on Tamarack Point, I looked down the beach and thought there was a dingo dog watching me from behind a thin shrub down the beach. It was not moving and just stood patiently watching me. After a minute or so I thought maybe my mind is playing tricks on me and it wasn’t really a dingo (or an animal at all), so I yelled out at it, “Are you real!” It didn’t move, or respond, and I walked toward it to determine it was a bush. Chad really enjoyed that story and now yells “Are you real?” at every interesting looking rock, stump, and clump of grass. The Who The Real Me