Day 17

I put the fly on right before bed as a rebuttle to a dark sky. It rained on us and today was grey and cold, which was a nice change. Huge wide sections of river with steep horizon lines welcomed us. Endless swifts stretching before us, contained by 90 ft limestone cliffs, which erupted suddenly out of the river banks as we paddled along. They are the tallest thing we’ve seen all month. Even in the rain we were curious enough to go up and see them close. For the rest of the day bits of the escarpment would rise up on one bank or another, as the smooth bedrock of the same material slipped by beneath us for 44k. Near the end the sun came out to dry everything for a couple of hours, and now it is drizzling again. No matter, the pressure is 991 and rising, so it should be nice tomorrow. This river has shown us such diversity, and the landscape is changing so fast. It is a magnificent experience to traverse this territory under canoe power. My little Canadian flag duct taped to the back of my boat from day 1 – Canada day, still blows strong and proud day after day.