It does not matter how I pack the Grumman canoe, the load does not sit as compact and low as in the Clipper. The seat is not anywhere near as comfortable either, but the wood bead "car" seat does improve it somewhat. This is a bright clear sunny morning at 6 am ready to leave camp 6 on June 19.
Perfectly calm with beautiful reflections mirroring the shoreline in the lake.
From my journal: "Made good time in dead calm. When I got to the turn to the target bay, I canoed past it thinking I hadn't gone far enough yet - into a dead end bay. Aie! Almost got to the point of checking GPS but I figured where I erred. Two pelicans watched my plight from their perch on boulders in the lake, probably laughing at my actions." It is always disconcerting to occasionally realize I am not sure exactly where I am, not lost, just not sure of my specific location. And sobering to get a momentary glimpse into how people that panic, and act irrationally, must feel.
Continuing on I canoe through a narrow channel and out into a large expanse of the lake still dead calm at 9:35 am.
Canoeing down a narrows, there are steep rock cliffs on one side with many ancient pictographs. It is amazing to think that hundreds of years ago a Cree sat in a birch bark canoe and applied red ochre clay paint to create art on these rocks.
After travelling 22 km, including three extra when I got disoriented, I make camp on a small island where I check three spots before finding one that is suitable. The weather has been a hot 31℃ with no breeze whatsoever and I am soaked with sweat. The weather stays the same for both days in this camp, very humid. On the second day the temperature reaches an unbelievable 36℃! Aie!
There is a good spot to bathe along the rock shore, and I hang all my sweat-soaked clothes to dry in the sun while I wash. They dry in record time. Unfortunately there is no shade along shore where I might catch a random bit of breeze, so I sit in the shade, moving several times as the sun tracks across the sky. The "horse"flies are VERY bothersome, the deerflies especially so, their bites hurt big time ... buggers. I kill dozens of flies with the fly swatter. With the temperature going to 36℃ on the second day, I bathe four times, the most ever when camping, or anywhere else for that matter. I am not hungry, just eating a cold supper, this being the first time ever having a cold meal by choice, all other such times being when it is too late for a regular dinner and I eat a cold one in the tent. Sleep comes late in the tent, no clothes on, laying on a cotton sheet spread over the sleeping bag to keep cool.
There are often repairs to perform. Here I use waxed dental floss to sew separated zippers on the fleece shell (bottom) and the Emergency Belt Bag. The axe gets its edge sharpened with a file. At the top is my Repair Kit waterproof bag.