I went to a party and...

I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out. Fans don’t go to see the race (cars); they go to see the crashes.

The implications are, of course, that the underlying reasons for events aren’t always apparent. I thought of this the other night when I was at a gathering of paddlers and someone asked me about a trip that I organized for this weekend.

He observed that many of my trips break new ground (water?), but the Hiwassee River seems to pop up on the schedule every year. Why is that?

Why is that, indeed. I do like to try new places and expand the bank of experiences. But, the paddling group starts howling for the Hiwassee months ahead of time. It’s not like I have a choice but to schedule it every year.

The river and setting are pleasant enough. A variety of whitewater features set in the Tennessee mountains. But, it’s not the most spectacular whitewater in the world, especially for the more experienced.

No, it’s not the river. It’s the cabin.

The first time I kayaked the Hiwassee, I went along with a group out of Kentucky. They camped on the grounds of a rafting outfitter. We squeezed over a dozen people onto a plot the size of a postage stamp, wedged among a horde of raft renters that ran heavily to male college students bent upon supporting the brewing and audio industries. Ah, wilderness.

The river was enjoyable enough for me to plan a trip of our own the following year, but I had learned a lesson. I rented a cabin on a remote mountaintop, high above the teeming masses.

I selected it from a variety of web sites, relying on the photographs and descriptions. In this case, it exceeded expectations.

It was five miles away from the hub of activity and up a gravel drive that was over a half mile long, taking us high and deep into the dense forest. A huge deck overlooked the valley to the west (great sunsets!). The deck included a hot tub. It can’t get much better than that.

And, it worked. It works every year. After a great day of paddling, we come back and shower off. Then, the tables are loaded with all kinds of food and potables. We sit out on the deck or in the tub, as one is so inclined, and party well into the dark, mountaintop night. Some don’t even bother to go inside and bed down. They just stay in their lounge chairs or throw down sleeping bags and enjoy the sounds of the woods. It’s an experience.

Trips are as much about the participants as the locations and activity. There’s something about this one that seems to self-select the fun people. There’s always great chemistry and a ton of merriment. I can tell it’s special by the high hit count on my photo site. People just keep going back over and over to relive and savor the experience.

So, Monday morning, I guess we’ll be saying that we went to a party and a kayaking trip broke out. Sweet.