Side note: I have not encountered mosquito clouds like that since the late '90's in Manitoba. The sky was filled with dark clouds of mosquito swarms. The dogs went from their golden colour to black. The only way to escape was to run and even then the swarm kept pace just waiting for you to slow down. I escaped to the cab of the truck, frequently during the few hours that I was there, just so that I could have some peace and quiet. The collective buzzing was ear splitting and highly distracting.
By the time the end of July rolled around I was ready for some mono et mono time with nature. My original plan was to hike the Lake Superior Coastal trail from Gargantuan to Katherine's Cove... a multi-day adventure. This plan ended up a pipe dream. I had an unexpected work commitment that I could not get out of which meant I would not have enough time to complete the hike as planned. I toyed with scrapping the trip altogether.
NAY!
I needed a break from the world and more particularly from people. There is no better place to do that than the back country of Lake Superior. This trip was going to happen. It would just be different from what I originally planned.
I loaded Gimli (the older dog) into the truck and to took him to the "doggie spa" and went home to finish packing, so that Ferg and I could hit the road early the next morning.
NAY!
I needed a break from the world and more particularly from people. There is no better place to do that than the back country of Lake Superior. This trip was going to happen. It would just be different from what I originally planned.
I loaded Gimli (the older dog) into the truck and to took him to the "doggie spa" and went home to finish packing, so that Ferg and I could hit the road early the next morning.
The first dilemma I faced was the realization Ferg requires a lot of food.... more food than I do. I started packing "Turtle" (the name of my pack when I am happy with it) and soon realized that I would not have room for the essentials.... the litre of adult beverage I planned on taking.
What to do... what to do?
What could be sacrificed for the bottle? I considered leaving the first aid kit at home, but considering every back-packing trip I have taken it has been needed by the dog or myself, I quickly concluded the first aid kit was in. In the end I eliminated one towel (the dog and I would need to share) and my polar fleece pyjama bottoms.... a small price to pay for liquid libations. I also made the executive decision the dog would need to wear a pack as well..... poor him.
What to do... what to do?
What could be sacrificed for the bottle? I considered leaving the first aid kit at home, but considering every back-packing trip I have taken it has been needed by the dog or myself, I quickly concluded the first aid kit was in. In the end I eliminated one towel (the dog and I would need to share) and my polar fleece pyjama bottoms.... a small price to pay for liquid libations. I also made the executive decision the dog would need to wear a pack as well..... poor him.
I spent the rest of the evening looking for my Katadyn water bottle. I looked everywhere that night and again in the morning but it was no where to be found. No biggie. I would just have to rely on the water pump to filter my water.
Unfortunately the water bottle was not the only thing missing. As we were leaving I could not find a leash to save my life. With two dogs in the house I have at least 4 leashes, but all seemed to be missing when I went to leave. It was too early to purchase one at the store. Time to improvise. I found an alternative option when digging around in the basement... a horse lead. My Dad gifted me with this lead 15 years earlier, even though I don't have a horse, he thought it might be useful. I took it to be polite. Well joke was on me..... Dad was right, it did come in handy.
My excitement mounted with every km that passed on the drive to the Park. I really did not know how much I needed this trip until I was on the road. I felt energized and three feet taller... factors that are indicative of the start of an epic road trip. I paid my fees at the Agawa office where I was told to "Have your permit on you at all times... well not when you are swimming... but have it near." I nodded and pushed it into my pocket. Back in the truck- headed to the Orphan Lake parking lot.
It wasn't until we reached the parking lot that I started to get nervous about the hike portion of our adventure. See Ferg can be exuberant on the leash. My left ring finger can attest to his vim and vigor. 5 months ago he took off at warp speed to say hello to another dog. The result was a severely sprained finger for me... a finger that is still not fully healed. I have gotten used to his impromptu pulling during daily walks and for the most part I can stop or redirect him by shifting my weight or hold on the leash. I feared having a large cumbersome pack strapped to my back would interfere with my ability to control him and would set off a chain reaction that would leave me hauling out the first aid kit. As it turns out there was no need to worry. All those training lessons at Pet Smart paid off. On the extremely rocky sections I told Ferg to wait, I would walk down to the next landing and then call him to me. Guess what? He listened.... Woot Woot!
I took pity on Ferg and carried his pack the last 1.5km of the trip, so that he could frolic in the water. After walking 3 km on a hot day, loaded down by the weight of his food, the cold water must have been refreshing. Ferg would swim, run across the cobbles to me as if to say "You don't know what you are missing!!!!!" and then run back to jump in again. When we turned the corner to head up the trail he substituted Superior with the Baldhead River. Steep banks down to the water..... NO PROBLEM! Nothing would deter him from enjoying the water.
We arrived at the camping area to find we were the only ones around.... I did a subdued happy dance, as I was still wearing the pack and it is hard to dance with a pack on.
It did not take long for Ferg to substitute his love for water for his love of dirt. Exactly 30 seconds after arriving at the spot we would call home for three days he looked like this....
He was not happy being the only one who was dirty and managed to cover my face, hands, legs and shirt with a combination of dirt, twigs and soot. So much for trying to stay presentable. I spent the rest of the weekend looking like Pig Pen from the Peanuts comic.
It didn't take long to set up camp. Even the tarp went up faster then I thought it would. All that was left was to bear hang the food. There is a perfect tree to hang food from on the other side of the point. I headed over that way with my rope and lucky rock ready to have the food hung in one or two tries. The only problem was I switched the hanging rope with a lighter weight version, trying to reduce the pack weight. On the first try the rock went up, up, up in the air..... all the rope followed. Now the rope and rock were hanging 11 feet in the air from the wrong branch of the tree.
Lovely.
It was too high to reach. I had a slight moment of panic followed by the voice of reason... "Go get your hiking pole." I extend the pole as far as it would go, stretched my arm up as high as I could and tried to catch the rope on the end of the pole. No use it was short by an 1" or 2. I tried again, this time on my tippy toes. I successfully hooked and pulled down the rock and rope. It took three more tries but I got the rope over the right branch and the food hung.
My bliss at having the camping area to ourselves was short lived. About two hours after arriving, a group of 10 kayakers came in and set up camp at the largest site. An hour after that a family of 6 set-up camp in the site next to ours. Last year the privy for the camp site the family was staying on was eliminated which meant the family had to use my privy or hold all bodily functions for the weekend.
7 people... one privy... no doors or occupied signs. Made for some interesting times. Definitely no lingering at the privy this year.
The addition neighbours also meant Ferg could no longer be off leash, as he was in jumping mode and kept launching himself at the parents and small children. Good thing he had some time to burn off energy prior to their arrival or he might have flattened one of them.
When Ferg was not swimming, rolling in something, investigating smells or leaving a pee-mail trail he partook in his favourite past-time.... napping. He napped and napped and napped.....
As you can see, I sometimes joined him. There is nothing more delightful than a little nap in the middle of the day, lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves crashing on the shore and the birds gentling tweeting in the distance.
When I wasn't napping, I kept myself occupied with reading and meditation. I finished my first book- "The Ocean at the End of the Lane" by Neil Gaiman the first day.
I was slightly nervous that I did not pack enough reading material, but took comfort in the fact I still had the Louis L'Amour my Dad gave me, up in the truck. Worst case scenario I would hike 8km drop off the finished books and bring Louis down to the site.
The next day I started "The Gathering" by Anne Enright. That is when I found it..... a picture of my Grandpa Max tucked between the pages acting like a bookmark. I had used the book to smuggle some photo's out of my parent's house when I was home in July. I had emptied my treasures out of the book before packing it but I obviously forgot one. The picture brought a smile and a slight welling of tears.
It seemed fitting to share this excursion with Grandpa. He loved the outdoors... what farmer doesn't. Had we taken a trip like this when he was alive he would have insisted on getting to the camp site differently. Grandpa Max was an energy conservationist. He felt there was no need to exert more physical effort then you needed to in any situation. Why walk when you could ride a horse. Why carry a pack when horses are designed to do that for you. Save your energy for things that require it.
I chuckled when it dawned on me that in essence I was his Sherpa and pack-mule for this trip..... even in death he found a way to save energy. I found myself drawn to that picture over and over throughout the weekend. I could not get enough of looking at him as I remembered him from childhood. Relaxed, confident and powerful. Ahhh the power of pictures and the memories they elicit. It ended up being a happy mistake.
This was the first year that I brought along some meditation tracks on the iPod. I figured the serenity of the location would help me recharge and help prepare me for mediation. There is nothing like communing with nature to help remind you to live in the moment. I found a spot that I that was perfect for meditation. It was secluded and picturesque.
Over the course of three days I spent countless hours in "my" spot. The tree coverage provided the perfect escape from the heat of the afternoon sun and shielded Ferg and I from the view of the day hikers and other campers in the vicinity, but still allowed a spectacular view of the Baldhead Hill. I took to calling this spot the Grotto.
Ferg took advantage of the seclusion of the Grotto to scare the living day lights of out unsuspecting people who walked by. He would barge out of the bush to say hello or bark menacingly from behind the tree coverage..... Ferg does not like his meditation interrupted! These events were usually followed by a gasp, as people thought it might be a bear and a sigh when they realized it wasn't. I must admit I chuckled.... come on it is hard not to!
I mentioned earlier that the mosquitoes drove me out of Sleeping Giant. Well the Baldhead was not without these pesky critters but luckily they were not abundant. A little spritz of fly dope in the morning and they gave us a wide berth. It still did not stop them from greeting us in the morning.
Ferg started every morning with a dip. He often took his time to acclimatize to the frigid Lake Superior water. After the first dip he would swim for 10-15 minutes before returning to shore to shower me with cold water. There is nothing quite as invigorating as being pelted by freezing cold water in the early hours of the morning. It would have been alright if he stopped there... but no... that would be underachieving. Ferg has gusto and is creative. He followed the showers with plunking down in my lap to maximize the damage. One day he even managed to slap me in the face with his sopping wet tail.
DELIGHTFUL!!!!!
When Gimli used to backpack with me, I told people he had a website- www.getpeoplewet.com, as he would shake and send a little shower of water droplets everywhere. Well Ferg has grandeur ambitions. When he shakes it is like whale breaching the water. Buckets of water fly off of his fur and through the air. If he had a website www.wettothe bone.com would be its' name.
The one benefit of the soaking was it tested the performance of my quick dry clothing. Thumbs up to McKinley pants and my Outdoor Research tops. If I had been in cotton, I would have spent the day in my underwear waiting for my clothes to dry. With quick dry within a hour I was just slightly dampish. By two hours I was totally dry. The Bonus... I got to keep my clothes on the entire time.
Sunday brought a visit from the friends I usually do this trip with. This year they decided to forgo "Orphan Lake" as a camping experience but the allure of this place was too strong and they came for a day trip. They brought chocolate; which is the "rental" fee for using my camp site for the day. Ferg begrudgingly "guarded" the chocolate from the chippies. Next year he wants me to include dog friendly treats in the rental agreement.
The water level is high this year and covers most of the beach on the side that has the best rocks. This meant Sharon, Levi and I could not play "Plinko", a game that Sharon and Levi invented many summers ago. Plinko involves throwing small rocks at bigger rocks to see how many rocks you can bounce the small rock off of before it plops in the water. If you are inspired to play Plinko I must warn you to be wary of the wayward Plink.... that random rock that comes hurtling back at you.... usually your head.
Plinko is a game of skill and athleticism- play it only if you can dodge a wrench or a ball!!!!!
Plinko-Less, Sharon decided it was opportune time to unveil one of her hidden talents...... magic!
As you can see she is totally rocking the Magic here..... levitating sticks. All of us oohed and ached.... even the kids from the next campsite had to come over to witness her awesome talent.
It was fitting that she unveiled her talents at this spot , as it was at Orphan Lake 10 years ago that Sharon and Levi introduced me to the wizarding world of Harry Potter. I have been a fan ever since.
For the rest of the trip, Ferg and I spent our time moving from one side of the point to the other. One side is windier- refreshing on those hot, hot days. The other side offers warmth and access to Day-Hiker TV. Day- Hiker TV is the penultimate interactive Reality TV show. You sit comfortably on the rocks and watch the antics of day hikers who are coming to enjoy the views and deliciousness of Lake Superior.
Who could not be entertain by hikers screaming and shrieking when they venture into the water- "Ohhhhhh Jesus! That's cold!!!!!!".
The interactive part happens when the hikers miss the turn off to the main trail and walk along the spit aimlessly. They usually holler- "How do we get back to the trail?" You get to yell back directions and when that fails you get to use pantomime and gestures to point out where they missed the turn.
Ferg made sure our site was well protected from the day-hikers. Any hiker that was silly enough to trespass was treated to licks and love... so much so that it drove them away. Bye Felicia!
When he was not busy guarding, Ferg entertained himself by rolling in the grass and basking in the sun. I think he could easily get used to living in the bush.
This years trip was marred slightly by a little surprise. As I was pumping water the first night I noticed the pump was not completely filling. Not a problem, the cartridge just needed a little cleaning and then it would work. Well the cartridge was really stuck in the shell. I tried to push it out, but it did not budge. I pushed harder and it moved. PROBLEM... It moved too fast, fell out and crashed on the rocks before I could catch it. The cartridge was cracked in many locations. I tried it and it pumped fast... but I questioned if it was filtering anything.
I had a full evening to hum and ha about my options. I cursed that I could not find my Katadyn bottle before I left. Had I had it, I could use it to filter the water.
Options....
I had Gorilla tape and Crazy Glue both could be used to seal the cracks. The only thing that worried me was the leaching of chemicals into the water. I did make attempts to "fix" the filter but in the end decided to boil water instead. That meant no trip to Beatty Cove as it takes forever for water to cool down after you boil it. Ohh well! Not about to complain about another opportunity to make like a Sloth!
With water at a premium, I HAD to resort to drinking my adult beverage. I know right!!!! So hard done by. I particularly liked this pairing. A little sugary but yum, yum, yumm!!!!
This year something exciting happened. Ferg and I had a visit from the Park Warden. We were chilling in the tent, reading, when I noticed this man on our site in official looking attire. It seems he was checking permits (this is the first time in 10 years that I have had a permit checked). Now I had the permit, but it was in the pocket of my other pants in the bottom of the sleeping bag the dog was lying on. It took a little bit of effort to get it out and to hold the dog back from the Warden. The silly Warden said I could let Ferg loose. I think he regretted this decision. As soon as I took my hand off his collar Ferg launched at him jumping and rubbing against his nice black pants. By the time Ferg was finished the Warden's jet black pants were a pretty shade of Golden. I tried not to laugh.... it was hard.
The Warden was a through man and even inspected my tent. He noted I had two thermarests and questioned where the other person was. I sheepishly admitted that I schlepped down a thermarest for the dog. Yes I am one of THOSE pet owners. As it turns out so is the Warden, so I felt less embarrassed.
The Warden left and I could not hold back my laughter when I heard his peer comment on the state of his pants, post Ferg love- "What happened to you???? Your pants????"
Speaking of thermarests I question why I brought one for the dog. After the first night he decided the thermarest was not comfortable enough. Nay! The Prince felt that lying on a person lying a thermarest was way more to his liking. Luckily I am restless, that dissuaded him from claiming me as his sleeping surface for the full trip.
It is a well know fact that I tend to retire early for the evening. Every year I try to stay up for the sun-set but get chilled or the call of my bed is stronger than my desire to see a sunset. The first night I tried and this is as close as I got.
The next night I did not even attempt to stay up. I was tired and so was the dog. We were in the tent by 7:30pm, him cuddled in a corner and me happy, happy, happy snuggled in my sleeping bag reading. The final night was the winner. I waited and waited and waited and was rewarded for my patience.
This moment was all the more poignant as we were the only ones around. All the other sites were empty. This show was for Ferg and I and no one else. It left me with a desire to extend the trip by one more day. We had enough food. The only consideration was I had told everyone that I would be home on Tuesday and I did not want to make anyone panic. We headed to bed knowing this was the end to our bliss in the bush.
The next morning I could not wake Ferg up. He was exhausted and had morphed into a grumpy teenager. I packed up the tent waiting for him to rise.
Nothing.
I had to steal the blanket and thermarest from under him. He continued to snooze.
Eventually I got him out of the tent but he refused to leave the front entrance. He refused to eat. He refused to move.
Unfortunately the water bottle was not the only thing missing. As we were leaving I could not find a leash to save my life. With two dogs in the house I have at least 4 leashes, but all seemed to be missing when I went to leave. It was too early to purchase one at the store. Time to improvise. I found an alternative option when digging around in the basement... a horse lead. My Dad gifted me with this lead 15 years earlier, even though I don't have a horse, he thought it might be useful. I took it to be polite. Well joke was on me..... Dad was right, it did come in handy.
My excitement mounted with every km that passed on the drive to the Park. I really did not know how much I needed this trip until I was on the road. I felt energized and three feet taller... factors that are indicative of the start of an epic road trip. I paid my fees at the Agawa office where I was told to "Have your permit on you at all times... well not when you are swimming... but have it near." I nodded and pushed it into my pocket. Back in the truck- headed to the Orphan Lake parking lot.
It wasn't until we reached the parking lot that I started to get nervous about the hike portion of our adventure. See Ferg can be exuberant on the leash. My left ring finger can attest to his vim and vigor. 5 months ago he took off at warp speed to say hello to another dog. The result was a severely sprained finger for me... a finger that is still not fully healed. I have gotten used to his impromptu pulling during daily walks and for the most part I can stop or redirect him by shifting my weight or hold on the leash. I feared having a large cumbersome pack strapped to my back would interfere with my ability to control him and would set off a chain reaction that would leave me hauling out the first aid kit. As it turns out there was no need to worry. All those training lessons at Pet Smart paid off. On the extremely rocky sections I told Ferg to wait, I would walk down to the next landing and then call him to me. Guess what? He listened.... Woot Woot!
I took pity on Ferg and carried his pack the last 1.5km of the trip, so that he could frolic in the water. After walking 3 km on a hot day, loaded down by the weight of his food, the cold water must have been refreshing. Ferg would swim, run across the cobbles to me as if to say "You don't know what you are missing!!!!!" and then run back to jump in again. When we turned the corner to head up the trail he substituted Superior with the Baldhead River. Steep banks down to the water..... NO PROBLEM! Nothing would deter him from enjoying the water.
We arrived at the camping area to find we were the only ones around.... I did a subdued happy dance, as I was still wearing the pack and it is hard to dance with a pack on.
It did not take long for Ferg to substitute his love for water for his love of dirt. Exactly 30 seconds after arriving at the spot we would call home for three days he looked like this....
 |
| Cinder dog! |
 |
| Arggh... dirt |
It didn't take long to set up camp. Even the tarp went up faster then I thought it would. All that was left was to bear hang the food. There is a perfect tree to hang food from on the other side of the point. I headed over that way with my rope and lucky rock ready to have the food hung in one or two tries. The only problem was I switched the hanging rope with a lighter weight version, trying to reduce the pack weight. On the first try the rock went up, up, up in the air..... all the rope followed. Now the rope and rock were hanging 11 feet in the air from the wrong branch of the tree.
Lovely.
It was too high to reach. I had a slight moment of panic followed by the voice of reason... "Go get your hiking pole." I extend the pole as far as it would go, stretched my arm up as high as I could and tried to catch the rope on the end of the pole. No use it was short by an 1" or 2. I tried again, this time on my tippy toes. I successfully hooked and pulled down the rock and rope. It took three more tries but I got the rope over the right branch and the food hung.
 |
| Home Sweet Home |
My bliss at having the camping area to ourselves was short lived. About two hours after arriving, a group of 10 kayakers came in and set up camp at the largest site. An hour after that a family of 6 set-up camp in the site next to ours. Last year the privy for the camp site the family was staying on was eliminated which meant the family had to use my privy or hold all bodily functions for the weekend.
7 people... one privy... no doors or occupied signs. Made for some interesting times. Definitely no lingering at the privy this year.
The addition neighbours also meant Ferg could no longer be off leash, as he was in jumping mode and kept launching himself at the parents and small children. Good thing he had some time to burn off energy prior to their arrival or he might have flattened one of them.
When Ferg was not swimming, rolling in something, investigating smells or leaving a pee-mail trail he partook in his favourite past-time.... napping. He napped and napped and napped.....
As you can see, I sometimes joined him. There is nothing more delightful than a little nap in the middle of the day, lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves crashing on the shore and the birds gentling tweeting in the distance.
When I wasn't napping, I kept myself occupied with reading and meditation. I finished my first book- "The Ocean at the End of the Lane" by Neil Gaiman the first day.
I was slightly nervous that I did not pack enough reading material, but took comfort in the fact I still had the Louis L'Amour my Dad gave me, up in the truck. Worst case scenario I would hike 8km drop off the finished books and bring Louis down to the site.
The next day I started "The Gathering" by Anne Enright. That is when I found it..... a picture of my Grandpa Max tucked between the pages acting like a bookmark. I had used the book to smuggle some photo's out of my parent's house when I was home in July. I had emptied my treasures out of the book before packing it but I obviously forgot one. The picture brought a smile and a slight welling of tears.
It seemed fitting to share this excursion with Grandpa. He loved the outdoors... what farmer doesn't. Had we taken a trip like this when he was alive he would have insisted on getting to the camp site differently. Grandpa Max was an energy conservationist. He felt there was no need to exert more physical effort then you needed to in any situation. Why walk when you could ride a horse. Why carry a pack when horses are designed to do that for you. Save your energy for things that require it.
I chuckled when it dawned on me that in essence I was his Sherpa and pack-mule for this trip..... even in death he found a way to save energy. I found myself drawn to that picture over and over throughout the weekend. I could not get enough of looking at him as I remembered him from childhood. Relaxed, confident and powerful. Ahhh the power of pictures and the memories they elicit. It ended up being a happy mistake.
 |
| The Grotto |
Over the course of three days I spent countless hours in "my" spot. The tree coverage provided the perfect escape from the heat of the afternoon sun and shielded Ferg and I from the view of the day hikers and other campers in the vicinity, but still allowed a spectacular view of the Baldhead Hill. I took to calling this spot the Grotto.
 |
| View from the Grotto.... bliss. |
 |
| Good morning my pretty's.... Come out and play! |
I mentioned earlier that the mosquitoes drove me out of Sleeping Giant. Well the Baldhead was not without these pesky critters but luckily they were not abundant. A little spritz of fly dope in the morning and they gave us a wide berth. It still did not stop them from greeting us in the morning.
 |
| EEEKS.... It's Cold! |
Ferg started every morning with a dip. He often took his time to acclimatize to the frigid Lake Superior water. After the first dip he would swim for 10-15 minutes before returning to shore to shower me with cold water. There is nothing quite as invigorating as being pelted by freezing cold water in the early hours of the morning. It would have been alright if he stopped there... but no... that would be underachieving. Ferg has gusto and is creative. He followed the showers with plunking down in my lap to maximize the damage. One day he even managed to slap me in the face with his sopping wet tail.
DELIGHTFUL!!!!!
 |
| Who needs a shower when you have a Ferg! |
When Gimli used to backpack with me, I told people he had a website- www.getpeoplewet.com, as he would shake and send a little shower of water droplets everywhere. Well Ferg has grandeur ambitions. When he shakes it is like whale breaching the water. Buckets of water fly off of his fur and through the air. If he had a website www.wettothe bone.com would be its' name.
The one benefit of the soaking was it tested the performance of my quick dry clothing. Thumbs up to McKinley pants and my Outdoor Research tops. If I had been in cotton, I would have spent the day in my underwear waiting for my clothes to dry. With quick dry within a hour I was just slightly dampish. By two hours I was totally dry. The Bonus... I got to keep my clothes on the entire time.
 |
| Really.... just chocolate!!!! |
The water level is high this year and covers most of the beach on the side that has the best rocks. This meant Sharon, Levi and I could not play "Plinko", a game that Sharon and Levi invented many summers ago. Plinko involves throwing small rocks at bigger rocks to see how many rocks you can bounce the small rock off of before it plops in the water. If you are inspired to play Plinko I must warn you to be wary of the wayward Plink.... that random rock that comes hurtling back at you.... usually your head.
Plinko is a game of skill and athleticism- play it only if you can dodge a wrench or a ball!!!!!
 |
| The Abracasharon... Harry Potter has nothing on her. |
As you can see she is totally rocking the Magic here..... levitating sticks. All of us oohed and ached.... even the kids from the next campsite had to come over to witness her awesome talent.
It was fitting that she unveiled her talents at this spot , as it was at Orphan Lake 10 years ago that Sharon and Levi introduced me to the wizarding world of Harry Potter. I have been a fan ever since.
 |
| The windy side |
Who could not be entertain by hikers screaming and shrieking when they venture into the water- "Ohhhhhh Jesus! That's cold!!!!!!".
 |
| The hiker side |
 |
| Who Goes There! |
Ferg made sure our site was well protected from the day-hikers. Any hiker that was silly enough to trespass was treated to licks and love... so much so that it drove them away. Bye Felicia!
When he was not busy guarding, Ferg entertained himself by rolling in the grass and basking in the sun. I think he could easily get used to living in the bush.
 |
| That's the spot! |
 |
| Red Green Spesh |
I had a full evening to hum and ha about my options. I cursed that I could not find my Katadyn bottle before I left. Had I had it, I could use it to filter the water.
Options....
I had Gorilla tape and Crazy Glue both could be used to seal the cracks. The only thing that worried me was the leaching of chemicals into the water. I did make attempts to "fix" the filter but in the end decided to boil water instead. That meant no trip to Beatty Cove as it takes forever for water to cool down after you boil it. Ohh well! Not about to complain about another opportunity to make like a Sloth!
With water at a premium, I HAD to resort to drinking my adult beverage. I know right!!!! So hard done by. I particularly liked this pairing. A little sugary but yum, yum, yumm!!!!
 |
| Desert! |
This year something exciting happened. Ferg and I had a visit from the Park Warden. We were chilling in the tent, reading, when I noticed this man on our site in official looking attire. It seems he was checking permits (this is the first time in 10 years that I have had a permit checked). Now I had the permit, but it was in the pocket of my other pants in the bottom of the sleeping bag the dog was lying on. It took a little bit of effort to get it out and to hold the dog back from the Warden. The silly Warden said I could let Ferg loose. I think he regretted this decision. As soon as I took my hand off his collar Ferg launched at him jumping and rubbing against his nice black pants. By the time Ferg was finished the Warden's jet black pants were a pretty shade of Golden. I tried not to laugh.... it was hard.
The Warden was a through man and even inspected my tent. He noted I had two thermarests and questioned where the other person was. I sheepishly admitted that I schlepped down a thermarest for the dog. Yes I am one of THOSE pet owners. As it turns out so is the Warden, so I felt less embarrassed.
The Warden left and I could not hold back my laughter when I heard his peer comment on the state of his pants, post Ferg love- "What happened to you???? Your pants????"
Speaking of thermarests I question why I brought one for the dog. After the first night he decided the thermarest was not comfortable enough. Nay! The Prince felt that lying on a person lying a thermarest was way more to his liking. Luckily I am restless, that dissuaded him from claiming me as his sleeping surface for the full trip.
It is a well know fact that I tend to retire early for the evening. Every year I try to stay up for the sun-set but get chilled or the call of my bed is stronger than my desire to see a sunset. The first night I tried and this is as close as I got.
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| 8:00 pm sun |
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| Success! |
This moment was all the more poignant as we were the only ones around. All the other sites were empty. This show was for Ferg and I and no one else. It left me with a desire to extend the trip by one more day. We had enough food. The only consideration was I had told everyone that I would be home on Tuesday and I did not want to make anyone panic. We headed to bed knowing this was the end to our bliss in the bush.
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| Sleeping Beauty |
Nothing.
I had to steal the blanket and thermarest from under him. He continued to snooze.
Eventually I got him out of the tent but he refused to leave the front entrance. He refused to eat. He refused to move.
I thought I might have to carry out Sir Grumpy. Luckily his morning swim woke him up. After that he was ready for action. Thank-you cold waters of Superior!
We were packed and ready to head home from Fort Awesome.... no Fort Epic.... forget that Fort Awesome X2.
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| I couldn't agree more with this sign I found in the bush! |
I had heard some other through hikers commenting the day before that it would take them an hour and a half to get back to the parking lot. I had a goal- make it out in that time or less.
Now is a good time to fill you in on a little detail. The Orphan Lake trail is 4 km down followed by 4 km straight up. There are so many never ending hills that my brain refuses to acknowledge them all. In my mind there are only two steep uphills. Every time I am surprised by all the "extra" ups..... "Where the hell did these come from?????".
The up hills leave your legs and lungs burning while the river of sweat rolls down your face and into every nook and cranny of your body. I wanted to stop and suck wind, but I had a goal and I had to meet it. I hiked and hiked and hiked. I did a little "Woot, Woot" shimmy when we reached the turn off for the parking lot. So close.
We continued hiking and that is when I heard some heavy tromping and rustling of the bush. It was coming straight at us. I initially thought someone was lost, then it started dawning on me... that was tromping and the bush was too dense for someone to be in it. I called Ferg to me. The tromping and rustling was getting louder. I had a whistle and an air horn... did I use them.... nope. Didn't even occur to me. What did I do????
Why I break out into song....... "Who's the best dog in the whole wide world.... That's Fergus, That's Fergus." I sang at the top of my lungs... it was pitchy and a little screechy in parts. It was effective, whatever was headed in our direction high-tailed it out of there. It did not appreciate my singing voice.
Even with this encounter and a stop to give a couple some direction we made it out in 1 hour 17 minutes. Yeah us!
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| Celebration food |
On the way home, Ferg slept in the back seat while I spent my time fantasizing about my reward. What was it going to be....... Stackburger???? Ice Cream????
Fried dill pickles ended up the winner and I enjoyed them and this delicious Harvey's burger. Mmmmmmmm!
Until next year...... Take care Orphan Lake! Ferg and I miss you and can't wait to grace your rocky shores again.
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