I slept in a bit late since I wasn’t in any particular hurry. The forecast called for thunderstorms and high winds over night, but it seems like they never came. Everything had been secured. I even had my boat tied to a tree and weighted down. Better safe than sorry. I remembered to snap a picture before heading out.
It was a completely uneventful day of paddling. The scenery looked the same as before. The river twisted and turned just like before. The only interesting thing was when I got to camp. I suppose there was one asshole that zoomed by me on his boat leaving a big wake for me to deal with. Boats are just cars without lanes.
It was clear that someone had recently cut all the reeds blocking the entrance. It would have been really hard to get in before. The site is up a steep bank that made for work during unloading.
The site was freshly mowed too, even the trail to the privy.
It was only mid afternoon and the sun was intense, so I hung a clothesline and made sure everything I had was fully dry. It’s easy to accumulate a little dampness from morning condensation or a bit of rain. Of course after it was all dry, a lone rain cloud appeared and started to sprinkle causing me to frantically stow it all away again.
I noticed a little visitor getting some sun. After a minute of me watching he decided to slither back into the brush.
I finally got around to using the privy in the middle of the night. The mosquitos were terrible. I started to realize how new it was. I even took a peek down in. I think I was the first person to ever use it.
I didn’t take a picture of it because I figured I’d spare you all. Is that what you guys want? Should I take pictures of the privies? This reminds me, I haven’t even had to use my new poop shovel. I had some random plastic thing for years and I finally decided to upgrade for this trip. The upgrade is super fancy too. It’s like the La-Z-Boy of cat hole trowels: The Deuce of Spades. It’s not that I’m looking for an opportunity to poop in a hole, but it kinda seems like a shame not to use it, right?
Mileage: 17.6
Total Mileage: 145.6
Today’s Audio: Hozier – Someone New
Day 10
I can only imagine what that site looked like before the grass was cut considering the hay left to dry on top. So who is in charge of caring for these sites? The county they are in? Your audio selection yesterday sent me down a rabbit hole….. I listened to a portion where all kinds of things were going offline as they were troubleshooting the power issues after the explosion (which can be clearly heard). Apollo 13 was on TV this week with Tom Hanks and I had watched it again, so was all primed for the real life audio. I had just turned 21 and the country was focused on the developments. Anyway….. the privy question…..not a fan of the “inside works” view. You could always take a picture of the various structures to put a photo collage on the wall in your bathroom when you return. Safe returns, our own privy councillor (English high-ranking politicians who would advise the king/queen).
Auntie B
Apollo 13 is a great movie! What’s crazy about the whole thing is that Gene Kranz was one of the oldest in his mid 30’s. They were all so calm and collected as they thought through everything. Kranz’s book is pretty good.