This last weekend was amazing. I went on a two day trek across the Great Whale River and then a 20km Honda ride (4 wheeler) with my friend, Jeremie. We hired a local Cree man to take us and the Honda across the river. He was an hour and a half late but we did end up crossing. Once on the other side, we drove about 45 minutes to a small river where we stopped and fished. I should say I watched and Jeremie fished. I was just taking in the breathtaking view. It was at this point that I noticed that my now ancient digital camera appeared to not be working. The screen was white. Nevertheless, I prayed that it was just the screen and took pictures anyway. As it turns out, that`s all it was. The pictures turned out great. Jeremie caught four fish for dinner and we were on our way.
After about an hour and a half of very, very rough terrain (there were Honda paths but through rocks, mud, etc.), we arrived at Last Lake where Jeremie and I were going to make our campsite. It was right on the water and the view was breathtaking. We set up the tent and unloaded the Honda (I WAY overpacked food as usual…just in case). Almost immediately after, Jeremie decided that he wanted to go fishing on the other side of the lake. I decided not to go. I wanted to sleep and read some of the trashy newspapers that I brought with me. He said he would be back at dark. He left and it was only about an hour afterwards that I realized that I had merely my hunting knife with me. What about bears…what about wolves…The `calm` that had overcome me as we left Kuujjuarappik turned into mild worry as I started a fire and waited. I slept. I read. I kept looking around. Nothing. I took a short walk on the beach and was startled by a skunk that I nicknamed `Pepe`. He kept trying to come around the campsite but I managed to be just loud enough and keep the fire bright enough to keep him away.
Jeremie returned just after dark. I had lived to see another day. We cooked dinner and talked by the fire. The Northern Lights came out. It was beautiful and the stars seemed to go on forever. There were a number of shooting stars. Breathtaking. The night was cold but we survived.
The next day, we made a huge breakfast and Jeremie decided that he wanted to fix this canoe that was at the campsite. It had a hole in it. The night before he had joked that he wanted to fix it with my gum and his hockey tape. I laughed it off but he was determined and sure enough, it worked. He plugged the hole and off he went. I cleaned up and packed for the ride back. The ride back was bumpy. I stopped and picked berries. Jeremie fished. We got stuck at points. I had to walk at points. We got back to the beach by 4:05pm. The guy was supposed to come and cross us at 4pm. By 6pm, he didn`t show. Luckily, a guy we had met on our travels was going across and he agreed to cross us. Thanks goodness or we would have been stuck…so close to home yet so far…
After about an hour and a half of very, very rough terrain (there were Honda paths but through rocks, mud, etc.), we arrived at Last Lake where Jeremie and I were going to make our campsite. It was right on the water and the view was breathtaking. We set up the tent and unloaded the Honda (I WAY overpacked food as usual…just in case). Almost immediately after, Jeremie decided that he wanted to go fishing on the other side of the lake. I decided not to go. I wanted to sleep and read some of the trashy newspapers that I brought with me. He said he would be back at dark. He left and it was only about an hour afterwards that I realized that I had merely my hunting knife with me. What about bears…what about wolves…The `calm` that had overcome me as we left Kuujjuarappik turned into mild worry as I started a fire and waited. I slept. I read. I kept looking around. Nothing. I took a short walk on the beach and was startled by a skunk that I nicknamed `Pepe`. He kept trying to come around the campsite but I managed to be just loud enough and keep the fire bright enough to keep him away.
Jeremie returned just after dark. I had lived to see another day. We cooked dinner and talked by the fire. The Northern Lights came out. It was beautiful and the stars seemed to go on forever. There were a number of shooting stars. Breathtaking. The night was cold but we survived.
The next day, we made a huge breakfast and Jeremie decided that he wanted to fix this canoe that was at the campsite. It had a hole in it. The night before he had joked that he wanted to fix it with my gum and his hockey tape. I laughed it off but he was determined and sure enough, it worked. He plugged the hole and off he went. I cleaned up and packed for the ride back. The ride back was bumpy. I stopped and picked berries. Jeremie fished. We got stuck at points. I had to walk at points. We got back to the beach by 4:05pm. The guy was supposed to come and cross us at 4pm. By 6pm, he didn`t show. Luckily, a guy we had met on our travels was going across and he agreed to cross us. Thanks goodness or we would have been stuck…so close to home yet so far…
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