Knock Knock... Who's In?

Einstein's definition of insanity is simple. Doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. Well, I can't say what we did was the written definition of insanity, but maybe just a little insane.

I'll give you the back story first... 

Once upon a time there was a girl that loved to paddle. She was a bit of an annoying freak at times when it came to paddling and racing with teams. She got her strength from just being on the water and with others that had the same love for the sport. She was asked to do a race that was 4 times as far as she had ever done before, but this time... on a river. She would race with a team of 6, but only one person that she knew. This race would go through the night into the afternoon and then continue on for a couple more days. No nights rest, no water changes, no support boat. Just her teammates and the wild critters along the way. There was only one other woman that would be racing with her. Her name was Kate and the race was The Yukon River Quest... The race to the Midnight Sun. From Whitehorse to Dawson, Yukon Territory Canada. 444 miles of pure bliss... or so one would think.

That was in 2017. After that race Kate, aka Kate the Great, and I wanted to race again. I had just moved to Utah for love and school and I knew 2018 would be out for me. Kate wanted to try the C4 (4 man canoe) this time with a mixed crew. We would paddle with Curt, who got me to do the race originally, and Pete. (All four of us were in the 6 man Voyageur Canoe in 2017.) We had it all planned out for the race in 2019, then life happened. We had some hiccups and medical issues that left Kate and I standing on the dock by ourselves. The boys found us replacements, then one crapped out on us, so I found us a steersman. Pete got us Sam, Sam Best. The man that fits his name, he is the best. I called on two of my buddies in Haines, Alaska and one got back to me. Tim, aka Mr. Adventure, he lives in a magical place with a magical wife! He finds the silver lining in all that life has to offer. When he breaks out the latin words for the trees or flowers you're looking at, that's when you know... he's the dude. Before Sam was even asked to do the race, these two dudes were talking (that was quite synchronistic in itself I might add) about how they wanted to do the race some day. Tim was over in Skagway working with a crew that was building the new Skagway Brew Co and Sam is one of their brewers. Well, knock knock fellas! Watch what you say because someone or something is always listening!  

Skagway Scissor Wizards... Myself, Pete, Curt, Kent, Logan, and Kate "The Great"
Little did we know what our future held. 

Seat one-six: Pete, Kate, Sarah, Logan, Kent, Curt
We placed 5th in our division that year, 9th in Voyageurs, and 27th overall. This was our odd year, numbers wise.
Here we are at, not so rapid... 5 Finger Rapids

Myself, Kate "The Great",  Tim "Mr. Adventure", and well... we will call him Sam for now...
I'll get to him later...

Sam, Kate, Sarah, and Tim. Taking the old girl out for a paddle.
Our first ever paddle as a Team before the race.