I grew up in eastern Alberta a long way from any sizable water, so I had to be intentional to find water. As a consequence, I have always had a healthy fear of water. But given the chance to go with the three Bobs on a river hunt, I had momentary laps of this fear.

As the time got closer the butterflies started coming back in increasing intensity. I must have gone through and repacked my gear a dozen times. This helped because I at least felt prepared. I was down to obsessing about the choice of hats because I needed to worry about something. All else was good. I had chosen to take my old MEC powder hat as it had served me well on many late October mountain hunts. On the bus ride to Sheldon Lake, I was sitting with Bob and confided with him that I felt very anxious in the presence of roaring white water. He looked at me with a serious expression and said, “Me too”. Of course, I didn’t believe a word of it and had to chuckle at his comment. Somehow this made me feel a lot better.

On the side of the river, I asked about the choice of hats. Both Bob Daffe and Bob Mooney pulled powder hats from the top of their dry bags. I was good to go. The gift that Bob gave me in allowing me to go on that trip will always be a highlight of my life!