Day 9

May 17th, 2019

Today we woke up at 4:30ish, skipped breakfast and got on the water early in order to beat the wind on Lake Du Bonnet.  The lake was glassy and beautiful.  Once we hit the north end we stopped for granola and peanut butter, which was delicious.  After that, the day can be summarized by headwinds and portages.  All of the dams are ugly (in my opinion) and the portages are not clearly marked.  On one portage, around Great Falls Dam, we ran into some very friendly Canadian fishermen. Trevor and David gave us some venison, applesauce, Lipton tea packets and kind words.  It’s awesome to encounter such generous and helpful people. 

The winds have been strong in recent days but we have persevered.  Winnipeg River is more difficult than I expected.  I am expecting the lake to be darn near impossible so hopefully I continue to be wrong in my assumptions.

Lunch was summer sausage and parmesan cheese in tortillas, and we completed the meal with some dark chocolate, which was lovely.  Happy to have all the dams behind us…no more portages for a while.  We’re all nervous and excited for what Lake Winnipeg holds. 

Dinner was venison and mac & cheese with sausage and pemmican.  Camping on private property owned by some Canadian tech company.  I had to find a hole through the barbed wire fence in order to get to a gas station to pick up t.p. and hand lotion.  Everyone is exhausted, but morale is high.  We are in a groove so to speak.  My wrist is feeling better but still not 100%.  I am beginning to fear long term damage given our pace and tripping style. 

Fingers crossed for a warm/calm day tomorrow.  We still have very far to go.

-QP

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