I always knew I’d make it to this point in my life, where my college loan-paying needs and ski bum desires begin to equal out.  Yet, while some things have drastically changed, many of my habits have grown quite well formed.  Years ago, when I began rafting, my only income throughout the calendar year was comprised of meager paychecks and saved tip money from the summer’s commercial raft trips.  Living more than part-time out of my van, I would thrive off of leftovers from the raft lot fridge and drink the free beer requisite of a chance swimmer or raft flip on one of the day’s trips.  Life was cheap, easy, and I found myself floating free, constantly forsaking bill payments in order to nest egg enough funds to keep the TatsVan on the road for another winter.

As the seasons changed, so did my spending habits.  No longer were the cheap eats and drunk; it was getting colder outside and winter was quickly approaching, rafting trips falling at the wayside as the temperatures dropped.  A long fall would drag on, with the brilliant burst of color the deciduous leaves bless upon the Roaring Fork Valley being the cheapest form of entertainment this ski bum could afford.  No more was the income for the year, and I was forced then to purchase food and booze on my own, perpetually stressed about the mountain of piling bills and no way to pay them.

The only salvation from this fate with which only a ski bum could identify was that of the promised Cataract Canyon raft trip.  Many of our raft guides joined each year’s float trip to blow off the inevitable end of season steam which tends to build in any service industry.  What started as eight days straight on the Colorado river, over the years became an annual retreat and a vision quest of sorts for me, and it would leave me energized and ready to confront any obstacles to another season of chasing storms.

Tomorrow marks the commencement of my fifth float trip down Cataract Canyon, and in this regard, I find myself fully prepared and content with the time I’ll soon spend amongst the sandstone walls channeling our nation’s greatest river.  It is where the confluence of the Green River and the mighty Colorado has cut a narrow canyon through Southern Utah’s Canyonlands National Park, and over the course of a nine-day float, our little group of eleven boaters will find some solace in the river’s 65 degree F waters, as we float on to the stillwater of Lake Powell.

I’m bringing two paddleboards and a complete raft, courtesy of Challenge Aspen’s rafting program; much different than the single drybag and ratty sleeping bag that accompanied me on that ragged first trip.  My girlfriend Jamie will be joining us, and I’m sure some desert beach Scrabble tournaments juxtaposed with hikes and beer pong games will treat us well.  And to sweeten the deal, I’ll return to a two month paid odyssey with the Warren Miller annual ski film tour, my third year straight.  Between the saved earnings from the tour and some generous sponsor dollars, I am finally looking at a winter season full of skiing and little stress about debt concerns.

It has been a journey, and though it may sacrifice some of that mysterious ski bum street credibility, I will promise you this: paying bills consistently is a luxury any vagabond would love to have.  Old habits die hard, and I’m sure the road will deal its fair share of road-trip trauma, but the TatsVan will be hitting the winter scene harder than it ever did before.

For now, I’m going to burp the air out of this waterproof, rolltop bag and guess-timate how many beers could potentially fit into the cooler in the back of the TatsVan.  80…90 cans?? I’ll let you know on the flipside!

Tags: beer cooler, canyonlands national park, Cataract Canyon, Challenge Aspen, Colorado River, cooler, free beer, green river, lake powell, poor, raft, rafting trips, scrabble, ski bum, stand up paddleboards, tatsvan, Utah, Warren Miller Entertainment