Recipe for Contentment
by Penny Foster (ECHO guest since 1972)
Take 5 to 6 ECHO guides (absolutely no substitutes)
Add:
A half dozen or so rubber rafts and duckies
Some rigs
One truckload of paddles, PFDs, tents, dry bags, sleeping bags, oars, helmets, ice chests, and other equipment you'll remember after put-in
2-6 gargantuan tarps
4-5 miles of duct tape (to be used for any medical or other emergency)
4-5 miles of hoopie
A stack of LUXURY edition thermarests
Fold in:
6 to 12 shopping carts of varied food items - roughly 33% of every aisle of the supermarket - include ample servings of steak, gorp, cold cuts, bacon, smoked oysters, and Snickers (figure 1-2 pounds of each per person per day)
Cooking instructions for 18 to 25 three to five star meals (depending on mood) plus helpful hints on how to feed two dozen for dinner when you don't have the ingredients
Peet's Coffee
Margarita mix
Two one gallon containers of tequilla (one for guides)
Mix together with:
Sunshine (if you don't have this, don't worry)
"Just enough" whitewater
A perch
Hot Springs
River booty
Plenty of guide gossip
A few otter and osprey
Some shooting stars
Laughter
Duckie wars
Great conversation
Trip tales
Being there
Cook at any temperature for 5 to 12 days
Feeds the heart and minds of 20
Satisfaction guaranteed.
Side notes: I got goose bumps while typing this in anticipation of the season.
