Windbound for most of day 15. Despite being only about 30 km from the Brochet reservation and the Cochrane river at the start of the day progress on Reindeer Lake was stymied this morning by a strong north wind that had whipped up whitecaps. Instead of struggling in the waves, always a dangerous proposition on a lake this size, I laid low. A few naps to repair the body, a bit of tape and glue to repair gear, and lists written out to organize my time in Brochet when I get there.
Often these strong winds start to decline in the early evening so I ate a large dinner at 2 pm in preparation for a possible night paddle. The waters started to smooth out by 5 pm, so I paddled from 6 to 9:45 pm, covering 18 km as the bird flies but more like 24 as the fish swims.
Being windbound occasionally is just what you sign up for when you’re doing trips that involve large lakes. You just need to be ready to seize opportunities when they arise.
Camped tonight on a small nondescript beach with suspicious 1-2 day old tracks in the sand, almost certainly bear. I set up my bear alarm system for the first time tonight - the only downside is that if the alarm goes off it’ll scare me just as much as the bear! #1000milesolo #windbound #stephankesting #reindeerlake