The sun wouldn’t peak out from behind the clouds all day, and the wind would not let up.
I got up, paddled out away from the slightly swampy shore to wash up in the morning and to collect water, otherwise I don’t think I left camp all day. Anyhoo, here’s what the site looked like from the water on a sunnier day (taken on my way by on day 2)…
Camping on Stoney Lake again. My site on day 5 as it appeared on a much sunnier day
The wind shifted again in the night and my sheltered site was no longer quite so sheltered. The wind blew straight into camp, coming in from the west at around 30km/h, gusting to 50.
a single spot of blue sky appeared briefly through the clouds on this cold and windy day
After breakfast it was time to sit, stare, shiver and hope for the best. Mid-August and the day time high reached around 14C. I sat, waiting for the wind to die down long enough for me to make my escape. I could make it to Youngs Point in about 2 hours if the wind were to calm down…. Still the wind blew. “That’s okay, I can wait….”, I kept telling myself, “Perhaps it’ll die down in the evening…. Perhaps by 4 or 5pm I’ll have my window, such has been the wind pattern these last few days…”
Sick of the billowing of my tarp I tie it up like a boneless roast and go back to sitting, staring and shivering. I was definitely not dressed for such weather…
I wander around the island a bit, collecting some firewood as the wind finally dries it.
A light drizzle comes and goes all day, never really making it past the trees into my camp despite the wind’s best efforts…
Well, this day came and went but the wind never slowed for a moment. Nothing quite like a day like this on an island by yourself to help you learn to just let go of your plans/attachments. Probably a life lesson in there somewhere 🙂
I went no where on this day but felt quite at ease about it. I was dry, my stuff was dry and I would warm up by the fire right before bed and call it a day. Perhaps it was just the kind of day that I needed.
I’d been carrying an emergency blanket around in my 1st aid kit for about 20 years! 20 years and I have never felt compelled to open it up. It still had the price tag from ‘B+B Surplus’ on it and that store has been gone for at least 15yrs!!. Well, on this night it was finally time to crack this thing open because it was absolutely freezing! I unfolded it until it was about 2’x5′ and laid it out between the double layers of my hammock. This, I hoped, would be enough to keep me warm…
…and onto the last day of the trip, Day 6.
eatpedalpaddle 
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