km 1106, july 22. 32m, N 65˚36 W 128˚36. 9am-3am (oops.)

we got up at about 7, i think. it hadn’t calmed, but was definitely calmer, and i was worried the wind was just going pick up again later, so off we went. the wind was probably what was most in charge of our days, and the wind is impossible to schedule around. for awhile it would keep to a rough schedule of picking up at around 10am and calming in the evening, around 5-7pm, maybe. but you think you have that figured and then it blows hard for three days and you’ve got nothing.

the day turned calmer as it wore on and by late evening it was golden and idyllic. we had passed the camp on the opposite side of the deh cho earlier in the day while we lunched on patricia island, but learned later that they didn’t see us/thought we were a boulder. this river is wide.

most days we cooked dinner while cooking breakfast, and would then thermos-up dinner and eat it in the boat later so we wouldn’t have to stop again. this also went with the idea of not wanting to cook at our campsite before bed. today however, we ate cold leftovers for breakky and planned to stop to cook dinner since we had such a great early start. well, we did stop to cook dinner, but it was 9pm. i guess getting an early start doesn’t mean stopping early. it’s REALLY hard with all the light to not think it’s 6pm from evening onward. after that we thought we’d stop and camp soon, but there didn’t look like any good camp spots and we got drawn into the grandeur of carcajou ridge and the water got completely still and we put neil young on and the river carried us away.

journal excerpt: paddling in total calm at 2am. blessed time, sacred space. neil young’s harvest moon. carcajou ridge wonder and silence. red quartz abalone fossils in abundance. silence. reverence. for this magnificent landscape and place. t h a n k y o u. almost paddled into three cranes standing one-legged in the water, they just stood there noiseless as we drifted in talking about where to put our tent for the night. we thought they were decoys of some sort in the low light. we left the island and aimed for shore and there was sac dene! pulled in down beach from them and settled in.

gratitude list for today: a calm day and late night on the water; HERE, thank you; sun rise and set and mama moon; the rock here. HOW?! how was this rock made?!?; kilometers making hay.

one month on the rivers today!

6th photo by emma.