Day 2 Blog Post: Marcus Roberson

It was a short but restful night for most of us that were lulled to sleep by the sound of rain on tent or tin roofs. I was lucky to avoid the damp tent in my hammock that I pitched above a covered picnic table. A breakfast of fresh strawberries and blueberries with granola and powdered milk made it easier to get up and face the rainy and cold morning. We fastidiously packed all of our belongings from the tables under the shelters into our freshly rained upon boats then met Jenny and Cameron to go over the classes we would be taking throughout the trip: Communications and Education, Recreation, and Conservation of Rivers. After finding out how much time, effort, energy and mental stamina paddling a river takes every day, the thought of taking classes was a little bit daunting. But as I was thinking about what I really wanted to learn on this trip, I began seeing how analogous life on the river and life in civilization really were. I want to be able to look past the little things: the tedious chores and tasks like getting everyone's boats out of the water, packing SO many things in and out of the boat, and wet clothes. I want to focus on the bigger picture: what brings me joy and gives my life meaning, like the free feeling of being on the water and the opportunities to help my friends during their own struggles. That is what I will (hopefully) walk away from these 18 days with.

The rest of the day was cloudy and cool. The terrain is gorgeous but rarely changes; we can never see what is above the steep banks or much of the horizon. At least it didn't rain!! Before lunch Katherine swam, but made a graceful recovery and didn't lose anything. Austin cut his thumb during lunch and was quickly bandaged up by Dr. JKaf. Other than those small mishaps, our day was productive and safe, 13 miles from N. Wilkesboro to Ronda, NC!!