Day 18

Another inferno. The sun blinded us all day as we pushed for 60 km in the heat. We are all more tanned on our right side than our left from paddling eastward for the last 3 weeks. We had good current, save for some dragging. After the first 40l we decided we’d maybe go 10 more before camp. After Mackie and Bill (who were paddling in the same boat) rammed Bryan’s boat (a camper), a huge splash fight erupted. 15 minutes later 2 boats were tipped, 5 campers were swimming, and the rest of us ferried to shore to empty our boats (where a campsite was immediately chosen). The site is brutal for black flies as it is tall grass interspersed with puddles. Bill and I like to say this site has a bit of a drainage problem. Today the boys spotted multiple sturgeon lurking beneath the surface of the river. The first one made the guys in the last boat yelp with surprise . They told us it was half as long as their boat – amazing. The final days of our trip are drawing near. Every night we sit in the tent, counting the km’s to the next site and to the end, just to be sure we’re on schedule. Let’s hope we can keep our pace through the braided channels ahead. The sun is swinging low along the horizon.