Food packing

The packing has begun for our circumnavigation of Manitoulin Island. Here is a sample of some of the dried foods we are bringing. This does not even include the fresh produce - 2 bags of apples, 1 bag of oranges, carrots, etc. Our personal gear, safety gear and tent, stove and fuel are also ready to go. My next post will be the dress rehersal where we will attempt to stuff it all into two little hatches of our kayaks. I'm seeing in my future: no camp chair.

After a few weeks of rejections for my manuscript, Dogsled Dreams, I have finally had a little light shine down on me with an acceptance for a short article from Mushing Magazine! I can't describe how exciting that one is, since I subscribed to that awesome magazine and read it from cover to cover for ten years.

12 days till launch.

Bike training

Home from work early today and poor dog looking at me like she's just the most neglected mutt in the history of neglected mutts. So instead of my usual paddle which she watches from the sidelines, I decided to do my cardio on my bike. Here's a sample of my ride:

Cocky, 24-year-old self: Whoa, there's a tree hanging across the trail at the bottom of this enormous hill! I could totally grab it and duck my head under the branches as I whip past.

Sage, 38-year-old self: why does this bike seat feel smaller every year...whoa there's a dangerous tree ahead. Should stop and walk under. But there's the angry mob of mosquitos behind me just waiting for me to stop. Maybe I can make it...

Editor's note: Terry did indeed make it under the tree as she flew down the hill at approximately 45 miles per hour - resulting in a triumphant millisecond of exhaultation before she noticed the deep crevice that her front wheel promptly buried itself into. Terry then did indeed fly over the handlebars and land softly in a cold mud puddle. Mosquitos rejoiced. The end.

Manitoulin trip itinerary

More intense planning this week as I did some chart work and figured the bearings we'll need for each leg of our circumnavigation and the time it would take. Travelling at 3 kts. - if there is no wind - we'll be able to do the whole island in 8 days. But there will be wind. Most likely there will be a headwind in whatever direction we are going. Click on the image to enlarge.

Brilliant paddle tonight. The water was so still I could hear the "whirring" of the blades slicing through the water on each side of the kayak. The blackflies loved it. Coming through the narrows back onto our lake, I saw something swimming in the water. As I got closer I could see a distinctly ringed, puffy tail floating along behind the back of what I assumed was a beaver, but obviously not. I've never seen a raccoon swimming before and they are great swimmers! Possibly because of the density in their bodies, most of him floated. His back was half dry when he got to shore. He turned to stare at me as I glided silently past him. He was trying to figure out what I was. The house was shining as the last rays of the sunset hit it. My smile could not get any wider.

Dehydrating

The dehydrator is going full bore these days sucking the life out of meals like homemade chilli, moose meat sauce for pasta, ground deer meat to add to soups, veggies to add to each meal and stewed-fruit roll ups. Here's what a bag of dried chilli and mixed veggies looks like. 14 days of food adds up. Hoping that taking the water weight out of most meals will aid in battling 20 knots of headwind as we push a fully loaded kayak through the breaking surf.

I've returned from the Coastal Level II kayaking course held in Killarney by ORCKA. And I passed! I've got bruises in strange places - those crazy cowgirl re-entries seemed a good idea at the time - lake water is still leaking out my ears and nose, and I've made some cool new friends who also think hanging out upside down in a kayak, in the icy waters of Georgian Bay, in June, is a fine way to spend a day.
I'm still working on my kiss-the-bow party trick. Though, I don't think I'll be doing much of that in our circum nav.