Rain or shine.......

Heads up and pedal down, they tag teamed each other closely as the pine tree trunks peeled by like fence posts, and the great Northern forests engulfed them. Darkness held stage and the rain had made an entrance as they sat in their trucks at the chosen campground. He had hoped this rafting trip would be just what the office employees needed, but now the steady rain and the anxiety in the steaming truck cabs had suggested a bust.


As so often is necessary, enthusiasm took charge and they stepped out into the rain and began to unpack the equipment. It took effort and persistence, as most endeavors eventually require, getting tarps up, stoves fired, beers cracked, and chili heating in the pot. Like all great moments, this one caught us all by surprise, and it turned out that the inconveniences of weather and darkness provided the backdrop for teamwork and more importantly, a bit of a much needed bonding.

Eventually the rain moved east and when his watch alarm kept time he stuck his neck out of the sturdy Eureka and saw nothing but sun shining throughout the tall white pines. Biscuits and gravy down and spirits up, they headed down to the river to begin an all day raft trip down the steady and at times challenging Wolf River. Through reservation lands and within the Nicolet National Forest, the Wolf has been many things to many people’s for generations, providing life and a living, but on this day it would provide the setting for fun, competition, and most important to this mix of men, camaraderie.


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