the short, early april solo
by kanoes
slept ok last night. infact, i actually woke up sweating a couple of times.
drank some coffee and choked down oatmeal and hit the water at 9. all blue sky right now and the north wind is building. i will be heading to bootleg via the little pony today.
in many areas the little pony should be renamed the tiny pony. spots narrower and twistier than hog creek. the water level is really low, if it was 3 inches lower it would be impassible. alot of the time i can only get half the blade in the water.
end up having a tough time finding the first portage after the beaver dam...its not very obvious. the dam looks like its been abandoned and is in disrepair...it really drained the area behind it. it looks like an alien landscape now with just a tiny channel to navigate thru.
there will be fire tonight as im able to scrounge up a small amount of wood. i sure like that irwin saw.
my outlook is so much better under blue sky. its still breezy but this site is more sheltered from a north wind than the sioux falls one was. in the sun and out of the wind is a real treat.
ok, this is kinda funny. last night during a tossing/turning episode a loud hissing sound wakes me. crap! the exped is leaking! grabbed the flashlight and checked the valves, they are closed. looking at the corner the sound is coming from i see nothing. finally lift the pad up to look at the bottom of it. odd, the hissing is still coming from the original location...
...i had accidentally turned the radio on. hahah
4pm now and camp is finally set. sleeping bags hung to air out. i can see one tiny cloud off to the far south. a gorgeous day.
my workplace crossed my mind while paddling today, i should have slapped myself.
wely just forecasted a low of 17 for tonight. there was ice on the river edges this morning. with the low tonight, im wondering if i will see the same on bootleg in the morning.
its so dry up here. im sure there will be a fire ban announced soon.
for some reason dinner really hit the spot tonight. it was a knorrs noodle side dish, alfredo broccoli with onion flakes added. maybe many things are better with onion flakes.
no clouds, it will be cold tonight.
im all set for the night now. double bags in the tent, bear keg stashed, canoe tied off on land, lemonade made, EC at hand. the fire ready to go...now i just have to hold off another hour and a half. i wish i would have gathered more firewood today.
(random note to self...next time, bring a small rug for the tent entry. i know kyle (white) brings one and i can now see its merit.)
someone really felt the need to get out to a couple of big boulders.
pouring my 3rd EC/lemonade of the evening. i must not be mixing them as strong as i did last night. :)
robins are singing like crazy right now. in the past, i never used to see them up here.
it is so quiet and still. im starting to hear that forest hum and buzz. someone care to explain that sound to me?
its 8:30 and im starting the fire.
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