Things to add to your Safety kit...

Kelly Hilleke photo by Polly Hilleke

So, after our last post, Stacy and I met up with a cool girl in Hood River named Lana and ran the Green Truss for the first time in 5 years. That river is so fun, especially Big Brother. The kayaking part was awesome, but there was a mini epic that happened on the banks. Basically the mini epic involved one dropped and lost paddle, hand paddling a large portion of the river, and Stacy getting lit up by at least 15 bees that we know of and then a slightly early hike out to get Stacy some Benadryl.

The next day, I paddled the Truss again with Lana, Heather and Christie G. It was so fun to be on the river on a ladies trip. We fired up Big Brother and BZ Falls.

That afternoon, Lana and I caught up with my friend Jay (originally from Tennessee) and Keel and Ian (who was on the middle kings with me) and Evan and ran the Little White. It was really beautiful there and we had a great, and uneventful run. Ian and Evan and Keel all fired off Spirit and it was so fun to watch them. I wasn't quite feeling it yet, so I decided to save Spirit for the next time (or the next).

The day after that, I paddled the Ldub again with Matt Gaudette and Chris Jones.

And finally, on the last day in Hood River, we paddled down one last time on the Ldub with Matt, Jay, Keel, Ryan, Boone, and Russell. That was a really fun group and I finally fired up Spirit with Jay and Keel setting safety from below.

Then I hit the road for Boise. Stacy and I are here together again with her man, Collin, the firefighter from CA. We are beginning the Idaho/possibly Montana phase of the trip.

Scott Dillard on Spirit, photo by Lana Young

A year ago today, Stacy and I were together in Honduras kayaking the Rio Cangrejal. We didn't realize that that would be the last time I would be kayaking until that one day on Thanksgiving, or that we wouldn't be paddling by ourselves on the river again until the Clackamus almost a year later. If you have time, check out the 2006 archives of this blog and you will see how the whole cancer thing completely took us by surprize two days later. Stacy and I are planning a secret river trip for the 4th of July, celebrating life and independence, exactly one year after C-day.

Nothing in my life has so profoundly stopped me in my tracks and forced me to take a closer look. Life is so amazing and such a gift, and I am, especially now, treasuring these sunny river adventures, peak adventures, and even a few misadventures turned peak adventure with people who are amazing and who also get it.