Why we do this - the three types of fun

I was half way through a 3-hour drive up to the Ammonoosuc River when a story came on the radio (NPR) about the three types of “fun”. My wife often asks me why I do these trips, and I’ve never really had a good answer other than its “fun”. It all made sense as I listened to this story because not a “fun” is created equal.

• Type 1 Fun is enjoyable while it’s happening - the sun is out, the water is warm, the scenery is great and the company is awesome. It is ”fun” the entire time you’re doing it. Like everyone else, I do plenty of these trips.
• Type 2 Fun on the other hand might not be “fun” while it is happening, but it is “fun” in retrospect. The 3-hour drive up to the Ammonoosuc was not “fun”. Putting up with cold weather and cold water was not “fun”. The anxiety of running a new river with a new group of people was not “fun”. In retrospect though, it was a BLAST, and I would do it again in a minute. Type 2 Fun tends to get us out of our comfort zone. We push a little harder, but hopefully we are rewarded with improved skills and great memories.
• Type 3 Fun is not “fun” at all – not even in retrospect. Afterward, you think “What was I doing?” and “I’ll never do that that again!”. It is what happens when you get too ambitious and too far out in front of your skills.

The Three Types of Fun is a concept that seems to come out of the hiking/climbing community, but it certainly applies to paddling. I realized after listening to the story that a lot of the whitewater and camping trips that I like to do are Type 2 Fun. Fortunately, I’ve never had a trip turn into Type 3 Fun - as least not yet.