Planning is highly overrated –Relearning the fine art of spontaneity

“Super late notice Irv, but …”

When it comes to paddling adventures, that’s my kind of invitation.

This text message from my friend Travis Simpkins wasn’t as urgent as it might seem. After all, it came 16 hours before he and his family planned to drive from their place near Orrville to canoe the Mahoning River. Which would include some casual bushwhacking. More on that later.

I was in the middle of a big project − reorganizing canoeing and camping gear − when I got the message. After giving it considerable thought, I decided canoeing would be a lot more fun than sorting out tents, dry bags, paddles, life vests, and 47 partially used containers of sunscreen and mosquito repellant.

(Why they call it repellant I’ll never know; it never seems to ward off mosquitoes. It probably would be better just to throw the container at them.)

Grabbing the gear, loading up and taking off

Anyway, I grabbed a life vest, paddles and a bottle of sunscreen that had expired back when people still used flip phones and stashed them in the cab of my truck. I loaded my tandem canoe instead of my solo boat because Travis said he’d provide some ballast in the form of one of his three children.

Which worked out well because − with Travis, his wife Amy, and me − there would be one kid per canoe. When I last paddled with the Simpkins two years ago, the children were 11, 10 and 6. Miraculously, they now appear to be five years older. They sure grow up fast!

More: Paddling Lake Fork? Hope you like logjams

As with any paddling adventure, getting there was half the fun. Especially because Travis did all the driving. While looking for a place to put in, he drove through a crossroads identified on an official-looking road sign as the “Center of the World, Ohio.”

Reviewing the ‘Center of the World, Ohio’

I looked it up on Google Maps and found the following reviews:

Conrad Yoder said, “Really enjoyed our one-minute visit through Center of the World! Must see. Dollar General AND Duke & Duchess Shoppe.”

David Steele added, “Fascinating place. There’s a road, a couple of houses, and some trees. Five stars.”

Maxxer Raxxer was a bit skeptical. “Not actually the center of the world,” he wrote. “Very misleading.”

We didn’t let Maxxer rain on our parade; we enjoyed our brief visit to Center of the World on our way to the river.

We opted to paddle a stretch of the Mahoning between the Rotary Park access and Canoe City MetroPark. It was 11 miles in all with at least that many logjams. The Mahoning − which is a designated state water trail − offers paddlers plenty of public access points.

That’s partly because there are so many dams. Which is why there are so many logjams. There’s no current to speak of on the stretch we paddled. Due to the lack of current, any tree that topples into the river stays there. However, the river was wide enough and the tree debris wasn’t too tightly packed, so we were able to pick our way through the logjams pretty easily. Most the time we didn’t even have to get out of our canoes.

No use agonizing over the gear

When we reached our takeout at Canoe City, Travis and daughter Clara − who already was a year older than when we’d put on the river − got on their bicycles and peddled seven miles to retrieve the Simpkins’ minivan at the put-in point.

At some point during our pleasant Sunday afternoon on the Mahoning, Travis and I got to talking about the virtues and pitfalls of organizing outdoors gear. Travis acknowledged he didn’t consider it a priority − at least not one that should interfere with getting out there and using your gear.

That really hit home. Especially considering how this trip had come about. There’s much to be said for being spontaneous, for not agonizing over gear or other obligations. Life’s too short.

Another spontaneous adventure

As I sat down to write this column, I got a text message from my friend Jessica DeWitt Wagner: “I know this might be a far stretch but I was curious if you would be available tomorrow afternoon to pick us up at Greer or at least our kayaks …”

Without asking for details, I agreed to provide a shuttle for her and a few family members. I knew it would somehow end up being an adventure. They did not disappoint.

Long story short, they spent more time on the Mahoning River than expected and it took two hours longer than anticipated to gather them and their kayaks at Greer. It so happened Jessica, a musician, had a gig east of Nashville − and an hour to get there. If that.

“I can’t perform in my bikini,” she said, “So I’ll have to stop at Goodwill to get something to wear.”

The next morning, I asked Jessica via text message how it went. Turns out she made it to the Loudonville Goodwill store 10 minutes before closing, essentially got dressed there and made it to her gig on time.

Over the years, I’ve forgotten how magical spontaneity can be. So, thanks to the Simpkins family and Jessica and family for this reality check. Next time let’s shoot for even shorter notice.

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Canoeing on Mahoning and remembering how magical spontaneity can be