A message from Timothy…
It may not be a secret to say that I’ve been working on a paddling guidebook covering the entire Driftless Area – that large swath of southwest Wisconsin, a sliver of northwestern Illinois, and robust slabs of northeastern Iowa and southeastern Minnesota that the glaciers of the last Ice Age left unscathed. Why else would I drive some 10,000 miles to obscure places like Mazeppa, MN, or Anamosa, IA, spending entire days worth of time behind a windshield? I can swim in an Olympic-sized pool of guilt for all the fossil fuel I’ve consumed. But this had to be a work of personal experience, not hear-say or anthologizing what others have already written. And no speculation, period. It’s been a project and a preoccupation of mine since 2016, delayed occasionally on account of historic floods, droughts, and that pesky matter of a global pandemic. But I’m happy to report that I’m wrapping up the first draft of the manuscript this winter. Neoprene fingers crossed, it should be published in spring of 2026.
Yet for all that, I don’t have a title.
It’s a guidebook, a work of non-fiction, so lyrical lilts the likes of knowing where crawdads sing or why caged birds don’t, won’t cut the mustard. Neither can it can’t simply be “Paddling the Driftless Area,” because most people – industry insiders especially – know even less about what or where the Driftless Area is than I know about TikTok. In other words, the title must include the geographical area, the four states, in order to anchor marketing and distribution to recognizable bedrock. Thus, even the cheeky simplicity of “Driftless, Paddle More” won’t do.
So, I’m here to ask for your help. If you’d like to weigh in, please vote here for your favorite choice of working title options – or feel free to offer one of your own. You can do both – say Yes or No to any of the selections while also providing your own. And you’re welcome to submit something sincere and sarcastic (such as “a heartbreaking work of staggering paddling” or “another bullsh*t day trip in scrape city”). The survey is anonymous and takes only a moment to respond to. Being the romantic I am, the deadline to fill it out will be Friday, February 14.
Only one title will make the final cut, of course, and I can’t promise that it will come from this survey. If nothing else, I’m hopeful that the eventual answer will manifest itself by virtue of the feedback. We’ll share the best and funniest ideas later on. Thanks in advance, and I hope to see y’all in Madison for the March Madness that is Canoecopia!
Very sincerely yours,
Timothy
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