George River Solo 2018
Day 2
Start Time: 7/16/2018 12:27 PM
Duration: 6:10
Distance / Total (km): 19.7 / 34.3
There was some rain in the early morning so I slept in until 10:00; it was overcast, warm with only a slight breeze. I wasn’t in the mood for a proper breakfast so I just finished off the lukewarm tea in my thermos and stuffed a fig bar and an apple in my pocket for an on the water snack. Generally speaking I’m using the Pod which allows me to have easy access to all my gear both in the evening and morning but today much of my gear never made it out of the canoe, didn’t want to unload, unpack and then pack up again just for the sake of something to eat. I told myself I would stop for lunch even though I knew this would be unlikely based on past history!
I left camp around 12:30 paddling past the first island on the south side. Beyond lay my first significant open crossing, 2.5km to the next island, the breeze from the west picked up a bit helping to push me along to the next island and then on to the third. Another 2km of open water then in between another pair of islands where I turned to the northeast to begin a 5km crossing to a (theoretical) camp location. The clouds above me were starting to break up allowing the sun to emerge; while nice it also meant increased winds. About 1km into the crossing storm clouds appeared on the western horizon moving rapidly towards me, two separate bands of rain were visible and either one or even both were likely to arrive in 20 – 30 minutes at which time I would probably be more than 2km from shore in any direction! I quickly decide retreat was my best option I turned to the southeast returning to the security of the island shoreline and had a short break. The shoreline here, even if I wanted to camp, was an uninviting jumble of driftwood.
The rain passed to the north and the wind died down a bit so I once again headed out to open water but this time taking a shorter crossing to a group of islands about 2km away. More ominous clouds formed to the west as I paddled to the first small island, I stopped for a few minutes on the leeward side. The shoreline was no good at all for camping, I walked inland through the trees to some “open” areas but here in the shade these open areas were still covered in deep snow drifts! I probably could have camped here but decided I just wasn’t mentally prepared for “winter” camping in mid-July! I paddled on to the large island, the point was mostly sloping bedrock, I went around to the more protected side to see if there were any useful areas, it was flat but very wet sand littered with scattered rocks, driftwood, bushes and a few shallow puddles. I certainly hoped for better camping than this so I once again set off to complete the final 2km crossing to the mainland (In this part of the reservoir it’s a bit hard to tell what is mainland and what is an island). About halfway another band of heavy rain hit along with strong wind and waves, it was a tough paddle but I made it just as the rain let up. This bit of shore offered some options and I selected a small area of sand near the water to put up the tent. It had been a strenuous day even if only 6 hours so I had a quick meal of yesterday’s leftovers and some snacks before drifting off to sleep.
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