I awoke once again to rain and so on went the rain gear. I
was on galley duty that evening and we had to cycle 163km; it was going to be a
long day.
I left with Louise and Erik. We went through the town of
White River, which is where the inspiration for Winnie the Pooh came about.
There we stopped at Robins Donuts and had some much needed hot chocolate as it
was a chilly day.
As a result of the rain, the chill in the air, and the
distance I was not having the best of days. The ride felt like it was going by
incredibly slowly. The rain made me feel I was cycling with extra weight,
contributing to my sluggish pace. I was frustrated with my pace because it was
such a long day and I had to get my butt to camp because I had to cook. Along
the way I told Erik and Louise to just ride ahead and I would putter my way to
camp.
When I reached the town of Wawa (“Wawa” translates to “wild
goose” in the Ojibway language) I was debating whether or not to go see the
Wawa goose because I had to get to camp due to galley duty. But I was annoyed
that I felt that I could not see anything, rather I had to go straight to camp
because of galley duty. In an act of rebellion (:P) I stopped at the Visitor’s
Center and took a photo of the goose. There I met Gee, Larry, and Louise who
were just leaving and Dan, Joyce and Michel who were just coming. Dan, Joyce,
Louise, and I took a picture together and then we all separated. Louise went
off with Gee and Larry, and Dan, Joyce, and Michel went into town to have a cup
of coffee. I found myself alone again. However...
Right after Wawa I entered Lake
Superior Provincial Park and my spirits were immediately lifted. The trees and rocks
surrounding the road looked amazing, I felt at home amongst the trees. In
another act of rebellion I stopped to look at Old Woman Bay, which was a
favorite place of Bill Mason, who had been a renowned paddler and
environmentalist. While standing on the shores of Old Woman Bay I could see why
Bill Mason fell in love with this place. It was beautiful and peaceful. I will
definitely go back and spend more than a few minutes looking out into that bay.
I finally made it to Rabbit Blanket Campground. Since there
was a break in the rain my priority was getting my tent up. Once that was done
I needed to make dinner. The dinner was an epic fail, probably the worst dinner
of the entire trip to be honest. One, it was leftovers from the previous night.
Despite the fact that my galley crew didn’t even have to prepare the dinner, we
still served it at 8pm, which was slightly shameful. Second, the leftovers were
tuna casserole, which the majority of the riders, including myself, were not a
fan of. But, the dinner ended on a high note because it was Alain’s birthday
and so we ate Nanaimo bars, which Alain bought himself, and pies bought by Adam
and so our stomachs were content with goodies :)
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