................Friday, September 21, 2007

Journal: Woke up at 6:00 intending to get a pic of the sunrise then go fishing but it was windy and raining so I laid in the tent and read my book “Daughter Father Canoe” till 9:30 AM. (the book is great BTW) I am very sore from yesterdays ordeal but feel better now that I’ve had oatmeal and am drinking coffee.”

I spent the time reading my book and taking pictures with the new digital camera I have. I brought the camera manual along as it’s pretty much the first time I’m using it. I realized I’ve come a long way in understanding how it works on this trip. There’s a lot of features on this baby. It’s a Canon EOS 30D and it’s really something. I mosly use a small point and shoot Sony digital and leave the Canon packed away while in the canoe.

Around 5:00PM it finally calmed down so I went out fishing along the near shore. About 20 minutes later a gale came up with horizontal rain and strong gusts. Instad of being blown down the lake I scrambled for a small protected cove and beached the canoe. I waited a good half hour until the wind let up then made a break for camp.

The problem in a solo canoe is when there is no extra weight and you are dealing with a strong wind. I needed to turn the canoe into the wind but for a few seconds I was broadside and it was a little more than scary. I fought a headwind all the way back.

Journal: “Sometimes the gusts were so strong I didn’t make any progress against the shore. The tarp is holding up ok. I packed up what I could. No hot coffee or real breakfast tomorrow. I have a powerbar, granola bar, beef jerky and some Gatorade for breakfast. I hope it’s not raining so I can leave as early as possible.”

*I forgot my warm hat in the car so I'm wearing a fleece pouch that I use to carry an extra reel in. It worked fine but I couldn't pull it down over my ears.