“Everything you can imagine is real.”

Pablo Picasso said that.

It’s hard to say exactly when a trip really begins. Is it when you arrive at the launch site, or is it that first paddle stroke when the hull breaks free of the sand? Is it that first wave you bust through, with salt water breaking all around? The first camp site?

Probably not, at least, I don’t think so. My hunch is that most trips start well before any of these random moments. In fact, it just may be that the best trips begin in the mind, long before any expedition’s first day.

Marc and I are headed out to the roadless coast again next week for a short overnight to some remote beaches. Even with the #roadlesscoastredux covering almost all the places the Ikkatsu Project visited in 2012, there are a few spots, a few very hard-to-reach locations, that we still haven’t surveyed. The hope is that this short gambit might provide some of the data that we’re missing.

I’m also going to be looking to bring some of the more unique debris out with me when we leave, as much as can fit in a kayak, anyway. Because these particular beaches are among those along this coast that don’t get many visitors, I’m expecting we’ll encounter quite a bit… I have plans for it, or as much as I can get of it. A little project or two that will keep me busy this winter.

And then, on Saturday, it’s the Coastal Cleanup. I’m going to try to get into the Norwegian Memorial via logging roads and unposted trails and do a survey on Friday. (This is one of the places we covered on the first trip but Marc and I didn’t get in here in July.  It’s not one of the beaches that are being targeted on the 17th, but I have a hunch there’s going to be a thing or two to sort through.) I’ll go back out on Saturday for another load before I head back to T-town.

But, back to Pablo’s point, if I may. I began packing for this trip last week, cleaned the boat, did some minor maintenance of some of the gear, charged batteries, cleared memory cards, sharpened the hatchet… the list of chores, both real and imagined, is almost endless. Next week, I’ll do a little grocery shopping. Not much; it’s a short trip. By Tuesday night, the bags will be all packed and in the garage along with the kayak, waiting for me to load them up before dawn the next morning.

But this trip began a long time ago.