The rain that was supposed to come had not come. I listened to the weather radio (a Motorola GPX two way). They said that the rain was now expected the next day. All if the extra time I had spent preparing for a day in camp with rain turned out to be wasted time.

I decided to not move camp that day. I would just explore the area and do some fishing. We paddled around and did some fishing closer back to the campsite. I found a good stick and had Aurora fetch from the water.

Via coffee isn’t my favorite but was just drinkable. I ate some oatmeal that my girlfriend was kind enough to put together with fruit I like and powdered milk. I reminded myself that I have to eat some of the burger and hash browns she dehydrated.

I had made an anchor system. I had a carabiner on the loop in front for the painter line. I ran a rope through it to a bag filled with 3 rocks. The line came back to the center of the canoe fastened to a figure 9 biner hanging from a loop on the seat drop. It worked well – the anchor point was in the bow but the fastening was done to the seat without leaving the seat. I had it set to use from the stern too, but never actually tried that.

I only saw a couple people that day. It was quieter than I expected. Aurora did bark a few times, and barked again at her echo, but I am hopeful that it didn’t bother anyone. I tried to keep her quiet. She did love chasing red squirrels at this campsite.

The fishing turned out to be pretty productive. A small fat crankbait near rice and moving water was working well. Leeches and tubes had failed to produce. I probably landed 25-30 fish the great majority of which were smallies. That’s fine by me.

It was a beautiful day. I found myself laughing at the dog again, more than once. She was staying very close and being very good for her age.

I ate some trail mix. Just like the day before, what I ate tasted good, but I had no appetite. Trader Joe’s peanut butter cup trail mix is good. It was at that time that I again reflected on being alone. It had not yet bothered me or become an obsession. Times when I sat still quietly were going just fine. I was keeping myself occupied but I thought that was just fine. So far, so good. I thought, I won’t lie to myself, but if I make it through the trip without great distraction I won’t force it and will feel more secure about being alone in the future.

I knew I would move in the morning. I rerigged the tarp over the tent. I packed up as much stuff as I could for the morning. The weather radio still said rain in the morning. The night was slightly cooler. Sleeping came sooner.