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Todd and Scott
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A New Member of the Team (Entry by Scott and Todd)
(Jun 26th, 2005) A New Member of the Team

We have been laid up for over two weeks waiting for the water to go down. During this time Todd was hoping his wrists would heal. Todd has been putting on a good face and silently willing his wrists to heal for quite some time, to the point where he stopped talking about them as a potential problem. Yesterday, however, we put on the water here in Breckenridge/Wahpeton to try things out and it quickly became apparent that the long weeks bucking the current up the Minnesota River had taken their toll.

It was a difficult next few hours as we discussed our next course of action. Todd admitted that ever since Redwood Falls his wrists had been a constant source of anxiety and varying amounts of pain. Scott admitted that he had on some level sensed something was off. After talking it over, lying on our sleeping pads on a sunny day at a campsite in Wahpeton, we decided that if we could get someone to take over for Todd that would be best. The decision was difficult for both of us, but we agreed that we were still friends and always would be and that we had had a great experience thus far.

One person had let us know from the start that if we needed he to fill-in, he would make himself available. Matt Lutz has worked with both of us at Many Point Scout Camp and also at North Wind Winter Adventures. He was just finishing up his staff week at Many Point and we knew that we couldn’t in good conscience pull him away from camp. Todd realized that he could perhaps fill-in for Matt for the rest of the summer. We called Matt and we were both amazed how quickly he agreed to fill-in if his bosses, Chad Brancamp and Bob Gagner, agreed. In fact, he and a fellow staff member had just spent 11 ½ hours on their first day off canoeing a route at camp that no one had been able to do for over a decade.

Chad and Bob gave Matt the go ahead and thus the die was cast. Though it was hard, both of us feel this is a good decision. Scott and Matt are committed to finishing the trip, and Todd will continue to be involved by sharing expedition manager duties with Scott’s brother Brian.

In other news, Scott has accepted a position with the new Northern Star Council of the Boy Scouts of America. His duties will include being the Many Point Camping Director, the North Wind Camping Director and the Council Advisor to the Order of the Arrow. Scott and Todd were able to drive over (thanks again Niesches!) to be at Many Point for this year’s opening banquet when the decision was made public, and it was a humbling moment for Scott as he has spent over half his life at Many Point. The current Camping Director at Many Point is Bob Gagner. Bob has been Scott’s (and for that matter Todd’s) boss for many years and both of us have an incredible amount of respect and admiration for him. Happily, Bob will still be Scott’s boss as he took a promotion and will oversee all camping activities for the new council. As Scott continues on the trip he will have a full time job to look forward to when he returns, working with the program he has loved and been a part of for most of his life.

So as we write this we are in the process of getting Todd ready for camp and Matt ready for the expedition. Scott and Matt plan to be on the river as early as tomorrow, but by Tuesday for sure. Scott and Matt will continue to publish journal updates of the trip as they start chapter 2 of 4; paddling the 550 miles of the Red River of the North (thankfully the flood waters have been receding for a few days and the river is much safer to be on). .