Superior Dream Blog

7.29 gp



Journal entry 7.27.10 :

We slept in. It was 10:45 am by the time we hit the choppy water of the wedge shaped Cork Cove. The night before I had stayed up later than normal, and braved the bugs to watch the sun dip below the hills to the west. As the color drained from the sky Dragonflies zipped around chasing and capturing whatever insects were within reach. There were hundreds of them, shaded black by the evening sky and the metallic blue of the water in the cove. I stayed up late to witness the end of the day, that was my excuse for sleeping in.

So when my alarm went off at 6 am, I rolled over. Luke was still asleep and looked peaceful. I wanted that, so I buried my watch in my sleeping bag where the other, 'Get your ass out of bed' alarms would be smothered and go unnoticed. The next time I woke up it was already late and I could hear waves on the rocks at the entrance of the cove.

Sitting in our kayaks Luke and I assessed the situation. There were no white caps out in the open but the waves crashed hard against the rocky points that define the Cork Cove. I felt a bit uneasy but was willing to give it a shot. How big could Ashburton Bay really be? We should be to Marathon by lunch, I figured.

Wrong.

Look it up. Ashburton Bay, Ontario is huge. With the 3 meter (9ft.)waves and 40 knot gusts forecasted, (None of which we saw) we decided it best to paddle up the Little Pic River and stay at Neys Provincial Park.

At the boat landing we ran into Les, Ingrid, Amanda and Bobbie-Sue. They were just getting off the water from a canoeing adventure up the river. We chatted and Les offered us a ride to the gate house where we needed to go to pay for a campsite. After packing up our gear we met the gang at their campsite and were promptly offered a beer. (Good move towards becoming instant friends.) The crew was from Thunder Bay and they take trips to go camping and try their hand at fishing often.

Post shuttle to and from the gate house Les invited us back for a fire later that night, adding with a smile as he drove off, "I'm sure the girls will offer you more beer". He knew us from the start. Over a few beers we shared our stories and laughed around the fire. The night ended with a walk down the to the beach to listen to the waves and guess whether or not we would be paddling in the morning. --

To the crew camped at site 107, thanks for making two wind-bound kayakers' feel like part of the family. Your company, laughter and of course the beer, was much appreciated. Especially the second night.

All in all we got off and to Marathon without a hitch. Now we need to find our cache and maybe, cross your fingers, a pizza.

Paddle on!