Blair Meets the Smith, Part One

I returned to my phone after a meeting to a flurry of texts. My heart sank as it would with any parent who picks up the phone to eight missed texts and three missed calls.

» Text 1 (Friend): Are we really doing this?

» Text 2 (Husband): We got a permit!

» Text 3 (Husband): Hello? Aren’t you excited ?! Call me.

» Text 4 (Friend): I am not going if we have to pack out our own poop.*

We won the Montana golden ticket – a Smith River permit for the best week of the summer. Instead of the grandparents jumping from their death bed in Willy Wonka, our golden ticket consists of six adults and six children ages 9 and under hitting the river for a five-day, four-night adventure of a lifetime. I’m scared, excited, nervous and mentally preparing for a 24/7 zero-tablet experience with all these children, including 10 hours a day in rafts with nowhere to escape to recompose my sanity.

Since February, we’ve been plotting and planning. It’s been an allconsuming process and one that has helped our family get through the throes of the never-ending winter and an exercise in patience and strategy.

While snowstorms hit Helena, we were camping in a tent in our living room to ensure sleeping pads and sleepsacks were all up to snuff.

Meal prep has been what I imagine being served on a Doomsday Preppers show hosted by Gordon Ramsey on Netflix. Menus have been created to accommodate the pickiness of all adventurers and allow for culinary excellence to entice adults to want to continue the journey.

I’ve woken up in the middle of the night to the glow of a laptop next to me. My husband monitoring historic river flows and YTD water levels, chatting with the other trip dads, which has led to the phrase “Snow = Flow” coming up every single time a flake of snow has fallen from the sky since February (hint… it’s been a lot). Apparently, there can be stretches of river where groups have to drag rafts along—not looking forward to that.

Watching my husband, a man who forgets to hang his towel up after a shower, dive into the underworld of extreme camping, and becoming the ultimate list maker and taskmaster, has been a thing to behold. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that he has spent more time researching what to expect while camping than what to expect when having a baby.

We get so caught up in the mundane of everyday life that watching your partner find joy and passion in something new is like the excitement of dating someone new but with the same comfort, trust and lack of awkward moments built from a longterm relationship. His joy in planning this trip has been infectious to our children and me.

What will Blair Meets the Smith, Part Two hold? I hope family bonding, great weather, steady flows, no bears and lots of laughter. My guess is that if I’ve survived the Smith River prep, I will survive the Smith River trip. Fingers crossed.

*FYI—For the curious minds out there: This is the last year that campers do not have to pack out their own human waste... Thank goodness.

Blair Fjeseth is a working professional and proud Montana mom. You can reach her at blairparker.inc@gmail.com. Follow her Instagram @blair_mt for more adventures.