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It has been several months since I’ve slept somewhere other than my home in Portland, OR. Aside from one work trip at the beginning of quarantine and one during the midst of it, I’ve been sequestered in the city since March. This trip marks the first set of consecutive nights where I’ve slept away from my home.

A group of friends and I are currently traveling through eastern Washington towards the panhandle of Idaho. We are searching for new kayaking runs, or new-to-us kayaking runs, preferably remote and with few other groups nearby.

These two weeks on the road are a welcome break from the daily grind of my job as an arborist. While it may seem like a vacation, or an escape from reality, we are still immersed in the current state of affairs. In some ways we are more acutely aware. Accidents, already to be avoided, are now not allowable. A trip to the hospital for an injury carries the extra risk of acquiring the contagion. So we wash our hands, scout every horizon line and set safety in every gorge. These are things we’d always done but the weight of the new world adds a level of urgency.

Kayaking lends itself to social distancing when you're on the river. Since we are spending two weeks together and will be in very close proximity, we have decided to isolate together during this time. Prior to most kayaking trips, we’d frequently check in with the group to assess preparedness and change plans as water levels fluctuate. Now our health is another factor to consider. We are traveling as a small group for two weeks. Our isolation circles have expanded by a small factor. To minimize risk to our small pod of kayakers and the communities we pass through, we purchase groceries in bulk ahead of time; we use masks if we have to enter a store for a forgotten item; and hand sanitizer lives in everyone’s pockets. These feel as unfamiliar now as they did when quarantine began, but we have adapted and are old hands at it.

Safely sharing food items is another new behavior along with sterilizing med kits and tools between each use. For this trip, I brought along a bottle of isopropyl alcohol to sterilize frequently used devices like tweezers and my bite away® device. Hornets and mosquitoes appear at dawn and dusk in many of our campsites at lower elevations. 

 The Bite Away has become a group favorite, especially when the mosquitoes are so bad that we have considered moving camp, despite being exhausted from a long day of getting lost on forest roads and paddling in a river canyon. A small dose of hand sanitizer and a quick swab with an alcohol wipe and it can be passed from person to person. 

 The device is easy to use and it reduces the pain and itchiness of insect bites. So much of the last few months has been one major world event after another, it’s nice to focus on the things I can actually control, while spending time in nature. 

For me there is no substitute for sleeping under the stars. These first few days have brought me a quietness of mind that has been missing for months. At the same time it is not an escape; both because of the physical and mental demands of kayaking new runs and also because I choose not to fully disconnect from what is happening in the world and our country right now. 

This trip is a chance to share time with friends I haven’t seen in some time and also share conversations with people whose opinions I value and seek out. We share how we are navigating issues like the quarantine, racism, police violence, our political system. Soon, we’ll find ourselves back in the city, but for now, hiking and paddling our way through remote canyons, means I’ll have the mental and emotional reserves to face whatever happens next.