
I'm in the not at all uncomfortable position of being about a week behind on the blogging front because of too many paddle opportunities. Last weekend the Commish and I left the Traditional Gathering and headed for the Ash River put in at Voyageurs National Park. The VoiceOfReason, MayorOfTurtleRiver, RangerMark, and the FrugalFisherman had already arrived and spent a night camped in the park. I was skeptical about the rendezvous plan but we hit our crew on the very first campsite that we were instructed to try. The group was out on a day paddlewhen we arrived but the gear was familiar and we pulled in. It was most definitely September weather in border country with sun and rain alternating on an almost hourly basis. Like my buddy in Cumbria, northern England says however, there is no such thing as bad weather, only crappy gear. We have good gear and were plenty comfortable.
The Fall trip is a tradition going back maybe 20 years or so. The FrugalFisherman and I worked together at a county District Attorney's office in western Wisconsin in the mid 70's and have stayed in touch. I was first invited in 2001 and we wound up leaving Isle Royale on 9/11. There was uncertaintly as to whether the Voyageur II would be able to land due to all ports of entry being shut down but since this particular vessel was 1 of 2 using the Grand Portage marina, it was able to dock. Subsequent fall trips have been to the Slate Islands, the Apostles, Rossport, ON, and Voyageurs. The most memorable event that occurred on the last Voyageurs fall trip was when the GreenThumbChef (the only charter member who could not make it this time), grabbed what appeared to be a water bottle to make up some pancake mix. I thought the pancakes had an unusual tang to them but kept eating. TheCommish, he of the delicate palate, took a couple bites and asked the GTC which water bottle she used. It turned out that the Nalgene bottle she had grabbed did not contain water but Tanqeray Gin; and it really didn't taste all that bad. Coincidentally, this years most memorable moment also featured both food and the Commish.

There was debate as to which component of this delicate feast caused the multiple hill climbs. In my opinion, I've had plenty of sausage and curry in the past with no problems whatsoever. That points my finger squarely at Cous Cous being the culprit. I thought of checking with the CDC in Atlanta but I fear the outbreak would be too insignificant to be of interest. So for now me and my fellow paddlers are sticking to our firm belief that Cous Cous is certainly to blame for this gastric indignity and that the Commish had better come up with some savory and spectacular supper that will make up for this years near disaster. Fortunately, by about 10am when we took off in opposite directions, systems seemed to be back on an even keel. And we even let the Commish come out from behind the tree for the group picture.
No outbreak is insignificant -- but unfortunately the samples the health department would need to confirm Salmonella (the most likely culprit) got left in northern Minnesota.
ReplyDeleteIf you really think the cous cous mix was contaminated call your local health department and give them the brand name and flavor and tell them how many people got the trots. You could do a phone call straight to Atlanta -- people do that, and it does get followed up on -- but someplace local would be the logical first step. Remember, what for you guys (all physically fit adults) was an inconvenience could kill a toddler or an elderly person.
Interestingly enough, my current project here at Large Nameless Agency (the big federal one in Atlanta with whole herds of epidemiologists roaming its halls) involves looking at how outbreaks of various communicable diseases, some potentially deadly (salmonella, e. coli) are inititially recognized. A surprising number are found simply by an ordinary citizen, not a doctor or nurse, calling the local health department to say "I had this experience and it just didn't seem normal." Large Nameless Agency is trying to improve the national biosurveillance system (which is actually many, many systems that don't communicate as well as they could) to speed up response time.
By the way, your description of the throne reminded me of the first time I saw that style of privy. It was in North Cascades NP and felt incredibly exposed.
And I will again say that I love your photos.
Nan, thanks for the props on the photos. You can never capture the scene but its fun to try. As far as the 'outbreak' one paddler said he was unaffected and the balance (with unprintable remarks, of course) said it just wasn't that bad; 'frequent but not violent' would be the polite turn of phrase. I think we'll leave it lay for now
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