Another visitor


 

Expedition to the Torngat Mountains

Day 11: Sunday, August 19
Thirty-some-odd bottles of wine

Today has been deemed a rest day. A bright and sunny morning greets us, like yesterday. We go fishing after breakfast, and the group catches quite a few char of decent size. We move along upriver, fishing here and there and coming across some very fresh wolf and bear tracks, along with lots of bear scat, most of it very fresh. One pile is huge and purple, and I can count the individual berries in it. A little later, I stumble onto a spot with three distinct piles of scat, not two feet from one another, and none older than a couple of days. Good thing there are blueberries in abundance here.

On the way to the lake Normand wants to see, we pass a large waterfall, beautiful, loud and violent. At the lake, the wind is so strong we expend much effort simply walking into it. Lisette and I stay long enough to make a small fire and cook two char for lunch, which are very welcome, considering we have brought no other food for the day hike - we're saving the last bag of trail mix for the hike out of the valley back to the Korok tomorrow morning. We return to fishing not far from camp at around 3:00 p.m.

While cooking supper, Bruno spots another black bear, probably the same one from the previous day, some 400 or 500 metres uphill from camp. It is a large adult, foraging for berries in the scrub. It seems quite oblivious of us, moving slowly eastward on the slope, eating all the way. I manage to snap a few shots with the 210 mm telephoto.

Have been dreaming of food for quite a few days now, not because we necessarily lack food but because I could eat a little bit more and because I could use a sugar and fat fix. In the pantry at home, I have chocolate, a big pot of honey, huge medjool dates, cashews, peanuts, trail mix, cereal, oatmeal, maple syrup, peanut butter, tuna, premium olive oils and balsamic vinegars, thirty-some-odd bottles of wine, three bottles of scotch, a ton of coffee… In the freezer, I have lamb chops, chicken breasts, scallops… In the refrigerator, I have all sorts of cheese, cans of Guinness and Kilkenny, fruit juice, butter, potatoes, olives and I believe some leftover caramel sauce… At the grocery store, I could buy milk, eggs, yogourt, fresh fruit and vegetables… Hmmm… time for bed now.

Day 12: A long, wet hike


this travelogue is part of the subside travelzine
about bookshelf links contact submit