Day 4

Today was cold. No rain but an angry sky blowing over low and grey, all day. Spirits were high as we paddled through strange places. Km of river flanked by dead trees form burned down, grey needly skeletons jabbing the undersides of the passing clouds. We made our way through sets 200m wide and half a k long. We are camped in an out of place deciduous forest, far from the water, up on a hill in the woods. It feels as though we are on a hiking trip. The birds sing us to sleep, and as the sun swings along the horizon it slowly curves lower, lower, lower, until it drops behind the trees once and for all. We are now fully in the tripper time zone, and making efficient use of our daylight, of which there is no shortage. Tomorrow we have a good day of lake paddling ahead and I pray for headwinds and good sailing. Tonight the sun came out at the end of the day, after dinner and chased the cold away for an hour. We soaked it up by the spectacular chute next to our site. We spent the time reading, snapping photos, and trying to check our Sat phone messages, the password to which we have lost (oops). We have seen a bald eagle for every day so far, sometimes 2. I hope to get the perfect shot before the month is over.
Yesterday Tom told us, earnestly, that he was a ninja. Bill and Mackie looked at him seriously and told him he wasn’t. Tom patiently replied that he could be a ninja, that all he lacks is the skills and ability. When asked what aspects of a ninja he did posess, he only said “I don’t have the body or skills, but I’ve got the stuff.” Watch out for Tom.