Untitled Document

6 July: Days-29, Total-30; Miles-44, Total-1087 – Chuck

Last night the guys who invaded our island invited Bill to their fish camp. They said he could stop by on the way down river and they would show him their fish smoking operation. Bill left a half-hour before me to see their camp; he said if they were not outside he would just pass by and not wake them at 7am on a Sunday morning. They weren't, and there was still no sign of life when I passed.

It was a great morning to paddle, cool, no wind and the water surface was glass smooth.
I caught up in an hour or so but it was so peaceful we said nothing, sometime later we were again separated by a mile or so, then later, one of us would pass by unconcerned that the other was there. We were both lost in our thoughts, nature's beauty and the serenity of this special time; maybe better than any church service.

["Have you seen God in his Splendors, Heard the text that Nature renders? You'll not hear it in the family pew; The simple things, the true things, the quiet folks who do things.
Then listen, The Wild is calling you"
from 'The Call of the Wild' by Robert Service, apologies if not exact since from memory]

This went on for hours, during which there were a couple of rain showers; they too were gentle and beautiful.

By mid-afternoon, the wind kicked up. Then as we rounded a bend we had 20 knots right on the bow. The waves were building and this gentle Sunday float was becoming a chore. The strong head wind slowed our progress; we had to work to make 3 mph. We fought wind & whitecaps until 5pm and Bill spotted a flat spot on a rocky bank. Great, we made for it.

Tents are up, I've eaten, we're cleaned up and life is great.

NOTE: We have received email messages from several who have been following along on the website. It is great sitting out here in remote wilderness hearing from family, old friends, new acquaintances, and especially folks that neither of us know who are now a part of the trip. We feel a kinship with all who are interested in what we are doing and in this very special part of our planet. Even though I try to send a personal note to all who send messages to the PocketMail address, I thought others might be interested in some of the questions we are being asked. From time to time, I will try to address some of the more common questions in my journal entries.
Q: By far, the most asked questions are concerning Bill's pinched nerve.
A: He is doing fine. He has found that using a single blade canoe paddle does not seem to cause any pain. No, he has not contacted a doctor about it.

Q: Charlie Monson, a hiking buddy in Miami asked how our meals differ from those I would have on a long hike since we can carry more weight in a canoe? Also, do we keep our food in bear canisters?
A: Bill and I each cook our meals separately. I use a lot of the same things I use backpacking. Since I packed food for 75 days, I still need to be space conscious. I use a lot of Lipton dinners, beans & rice, mac & cheese, etc. I do augment with bagels and fresh veggies every chance I get, so I have had a lot of salads that backpackers usually only get in towns. The canoe gives me the ability to bring along more seasonings, olive oil, onions, bacon bits, cheese, etc. Also, I am not as conservative with fuel. When backpacking, I seldom have coffee or anything hot for breakfast. Now, I make up a full thermos of coffee and usually have hot oatmeal. One morning, I had eggs (dried whites) and hash browns (dehydrated); they were pretty good. I also brought along a small Dutch Oven, which would never go on a backpack trip. So far I haven't used it, mainly due to the time and effort required.

Bill vacumn packed meals for 90 days. He uses a two-quart pressure cooker and makes lots of beans & rice, chili, stews, etc. He cooks one large pot each morning and munches on it all day long; he does not have an evening meal.

Neither of us use bear canisters, it would take 10-15 each and they are expensive and awkward to pack. We do store our food in double (some times triple) airtight containers. We are both very careful to keep a clean campsite. We look for bear sign before selecting a site, plus we camp mostly on islands. We know those precautions are not foolproof. We both have pepper spray canisters; I carry mine on my belt all the time. I also have a .44 magnum revolver, which I loaned to Bill until his .44 catches up to us.