Ship's Log...
Today was the third day of our communications Blackout with Mission Control.
We've set camp at a highway rest stop beside a lake with an assortment of swamp vegetation and lilly pads.
Cabin Lake is about 20 kms west of a village called English River.
It's the sort of lake that's large enough that you don't mind too much drinking from with the help of water purification drops. Guess I'm more the frontiersman as Captain Utopia was happy to drink the majority of the ship's fresh water instead of living off the land.
The land's starting to live off of us too! No so many mosquitos now, but boy the blackflies are sure in these parts - and horseflies too. They hurt, but not as much as the dreaded deer flies, kids. Watch out for those.
Then there's these wood ticks people up here keep talking about, trying to scare us or something. They look like light brown tomato seeds (think I just got one inside the tent. But I'm not sure...). They chew into your skin and will even burrow inside you. And lay eggs?! The best way to get them off - they say - is to hold a flame up to them and they fall off - if you don't burn yourself first. Then you're supposed to (Got it!!!) pull its head off (I did). They like to hang out in long grass and are abundant in these parts. They can swell up really big, from sucking your blood, and it's appearently a good sign to see some of your flesh in its mouth when it comes off you because it means the head isn't still attached to you.
Wow. At least you can see a Grizzly coming at you.
So, we're on the Canadian shield - ever since the Manitoba border. It's really impressive and beautiful to see the exposed granite rock on either side of the highway. They blast away the hard, ancient rock to make way for the highway. The granite's colours vary from all shades of gray to black with quartz seems running through it with brown and pink as well. As much as I like abstract art, I have yet to see anything to compare with the fascinating patterns displayed on the granite sides of Canadian Shield highways. The local kids like to spray paint sweetheart names and messages on the rock surfaces. I don't like the spray painting, but I understand it.
The soil layer on top of the granite is very shallow. On average I'd say its 45 centimetres deep before you hit rock. This makes for a lot of short trees and shallow ponds - perfect for insect breeding! I've seen people walk around the north in these white, spacesuit-like Bug Suits that protect you from the summertime swarms of flesh-chomping, blood-sucking insects. Another danger is suffering from insect poison overload if too many bite you. I haven't bought a Bug Suit yet...but I might. Say...you could have bought 100 kms ago and now you're in the middle of nowhere and you wish you had? That would be bad.
I've been in a bug swarm before and it can drive you out of your mind because they can fly faster than you! And they absolutely, positively will not stop until they've sucked all the blood they can out of you. And the bug blood-sucking season has just begun, kids!
Guess that's about it, Skipper. The highway's one lane in either direction and only a gravel shoulder (we can't use). Lots of transport trucks and pick-up trucks with either ATVs or fishing boats attached.
Hope to make camp at the rest area just weat of Raith, ON tomorrow evening.
End Ship's Log entry.
-- Major Dude
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network
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