{"id":22643,"date":"2020-04-07T17:00:36","date_gmt":"2020-04-08T00:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/community.nrs.com\/?p=22643"},"modified":"2020-11-03T12:24:45","modified_gmt":"2020-11-03T20:24:45","slug":"winter-weekend-warriors-the-search-for-unfrozen-rivers-in-manitoba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/2020\/04\/07\/winter-weekend-warriors-the-search-for-unfrozen-rivers-in-manitoba\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter Weekend Warriors: The Search for Unfrozen Rivers in Manitoba"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s early March, just a few weeks before the official start of spring (the equinox), but Mother Nature in Northern Manitoba has not received the memo. The online forecast promised us temperatures in the low teens but as the weather often does in these parts, it has changed on a dime.<\/p>\n

The thermometer in the truck reads -28 degrees Celsius (-18 Fahrenheit). It\u2019s 2 am and we have just driven seven hours through the dark to get here. For a moment, we pause to enjoy the last few minutes of warmth in the truck before we take the keys out of the ignition and set up camp outside.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Nolan Sawatzky<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Conversation in the truck remains light; we laugh at the predicament we have once again\u2014 voluntarily\u2014put ourselves in. We know hardship lies ahead. To the surprise of many, I\u2019m sure, there is no talk of turning back, heading home or renting a room in the dingy motel we drove past an hour back down the road.<\/p>\n

We shut the truck off; throw our sleeping pads down and climb into our sleeping bags; some of us lie in the box of the truck, while others crash on the ground below the stars. We are each wearing every piece of clothing we brought.<\/p>\n

The story I am sharing is a little different from some in the kayaking world. We are not big name paddlers running big waterfalls in a tropical paddling destination. Rather, we are a handful of weekend warriors, anxious to simply get back on the water after a long winter.<\/p>\n