Another 90 under the belt

Its 7:15 AM as I lie in bed this morning, feeling like I've been hit by a bus - not because of sleep deprivation or school work, but because I paddled 90 miles in a canoe the past three days. Some may call me completely crazy, but this weekend I paddled in and one hundred percent enjoyed my second 90 miler. The Adirondack Canoe Classic "90 Miler" is a three day, 90 mile, relatively flat-water canoe race through the Adirondacks, from Old Forge to Saranac Lake. The course itself is a combination of paddling across lakes, rivers and channels, with the addition of several carries on land on dirt roads and through trails in the woods. The race can accommodate up to 275 boats, ranging from one to eight person canoes, guide boats, kayaks - even paddle boarders! It is the ultimate test of one's physical and mental abilities.

Many friends asked me before I left on Friday, "Sorry, you're doing what?" or after explaining to them how the race worked, they remarked, "...and you think thats fun?" After answering many of these questions and comments, I realized that some people get it - why I put myself through this - and well others, just don't. To those that don't, I challenge you to sign up one year and just do it. Even if once is enough for you, I promise you won't regret it. Even after paddling down the same course for a second time, the surrounding environment continued to amaze me.

A few of the points that Terrie makes in Chapter 1 of Contested Terrain took me back to the race this weekend. Terrie refers to the Adirondacks as a "romantic landscape" (12). For a majority of the race, steering and keeping in time was all I really paid attention to. However, every so often I would take myself out of the race mentality, look up and around me, and realize what I had been missing. The only word I can think of to describe what I saw was majestic. What even struck me more was when I thought about how many of these areas we passed have never been touched or interrupted by human activity. Traveling through small channels and down winding rivers through the woods, you feel as though you're in a place separate from the world around you. Earlier in the chapter, Terrie also talks about the land that hasn't been logged yet as being "virgin" land (7). I believe McKibben also talks about the land as being virgin. Now comes the question of whether we keep this land as it is to preserve its virgin nature, or we let humans explore it and take advantage of their natural surroundings - something I would personally be in favor of.