DAY 1 – LAUNCH AND SUNSET TOUR

Three days earlier, we’d hidden the boat behind some bushes at Gulsvig Landing, and (of course) it was still there, waiting to pack and launch through the wild rice. As everything else had that long day, it took slightly longer than we’d hoped to prepare and push off, but we set off with equal parts enthusiasm and exhaustion.

The river twisted through the reeds and grasses, and it was pretty challenging to follow the main current. The sun set beautifully, and the northern twilight lingered with us for a while before the mists started rising. It was challenging enough to paddle that I didn't take any photos, but I did check Google maps once or twice when spirits started to lag, and could see that we were making progress. We’d visited our unmarked destination the previous week, so knew vaguely where it was on map.

I’m a little ashamed to say that I gasped in relief when we finally sighted the canoe-landing sign at Wanagan Landing. The headlamp beam had been fighting the mists, and I had let myself become worried that we would slip past the campsite and spend the night looking for a dry place to sleep.

I unpacked the boat in the dark while b1 set up the tent. Frogs (I think!) rustled around me, and the mosquitoes were a moderate nuisance. I had let myself get too cold and stupid, and was glad to strip off the clammy spandex and climb into the sleeping bag. The proportion of enthusiasm to exhaustion was no longer in balance.

[One map says 2 miles. Another says 3 miles. I’d based the first leg of the trip on the first map and our ability to go 2 miles before night fell. Hmmmm!]

At Gulvig Landing

The boat was in the bog for three nights

We got covered in wild rice