It was cold overnight, colder than the broadcast promised. It’s hard to get up when it’s cold.

The sky was gray. We bundled up. After breakfast, we set out for our big day.

the sky was gray, but at least the water was calm in the morning.

We did a loop, about total 25km to 30km, with 10 portages about total 7km on trails. It was about the same distance and difficulty, maybe a bit harder, than what we did last year.

We chose counter clockwise to paddle the loop. I don’t why. It just felt right to do it counter clockwise. But boy, was it a mistake! First of all, it was against the current. You have to paddle twice harder upstream. And then, it was against the wind. Having to beat both current and wind, it was tough. We hesitated couple of times in the middle if we should give up, but we didn’t. We made it, barely.

It’s been over a month since we did this trip. Lots of details have forgotten. I determined to finish this blog early, within one week after the trip, but I couldn’t keep my promise. So have to try hard to get as much as I can now.

We set out at 9:00. Crossing Merchant Lake was an easy 30 minutes paddling. We then did our first portage, Merchant to Big Trout Lake, 1840m. And entered Big Trout Lake after the portage. It was a good some 40 minutes or more paddling on the lake. The narrow entrance to the next portage from Big Trout was hidden behind shore line. It took us both some time and confidence to find it. That was the first time we considered whether it was wise to continue the loop. We didn’t want to be in the water when it’s dark.

i was only carrying a small dry sack with our lunch in it. I felt bad that i couldn't help Feng with the canoe.

the pants split. it's sort of funny and cute, but i would sit in water later the day

After that portage, we entered a series of creaks, ponds that were named OtterSlide. If an otter can slide in the water, you would know that there are inclines of the water. That’s when we found ourselves beating both wind and current. We paddled hard. And we said out loud of “poor us” to ourselves. We talked about whether we should turn around and take a free ride of the water and wind. We blamed the map that it didn’t tell us the water current. But we paddled hard forwards. We didn’t turn around. We went along the loop we planned.

from otterslide to otterslide, one after another

We met a few paddlers. They were all paddling along the current, and wind. They took pity on us, and probably felt smart of themselves. Of course, it was unlikely to meet people who paddled the same direction we did if they was any.

A beaver dam in one of those Otterslide waters gave us a hard time. That’s probably one of the places where otters slide, or beavers. If the water wasn’t so cold, we had gotten off the boat to drag it over. We paddled and paddled. We tried and tried. And we were pushed back by current again and again. Giver up?

imagine when these trees were full of green leaves. paddling underneath this! my paradise! I could never have enough of it!

I started to sing work songs. Yes, that’s me, a natural leader! Haha. It worked! We worked in harmony through the songs, and finally we passed the dam.

It was early spring. The trails weren’t completely clear of fallen trees yet. So they were muddy, rocky, and with obstacles. Feng had to try hard to balance himself on slippery logs or rocks with a heavy boat on shoulders. And many times, he had to either drag the canoe over a fallen branch or slide the boat over it. It wasn’t easy.

balancing on a log

calculating to get the canoe under or over the fallen trees

muddy area, this part wasn't so bad. it was at least flat

dragging the boat over a fallen tree

it wasn't easy, but the view was rewarding. it was muddy, ugly but also pretty

He isn’t a guy who likes asking for help. He enjoys doing things alone. But this time, when I tentatively offered to help him carry the boat, he agreed. It didn’t work out. I knew it wouldn’t. It doesn't work with two people, and my arms are too weak to hold up a boat. I felt bad. He took breaks every 4 or 5 hundred meters. There were so many portages. it’s funny that when portaging, we wished the trail shorter and felt such a relief when saw water again. But when we were on the water, we found ourselves looking forward to getting on the trail.

you deserve a break!

Finally we were in Happy Isle Lake, then a short portage, and we will be home. But it started raining, and was getting windy. And the sky was getting dark. That’s not good.

We worked even harder. Like the time last year when we had to paddle in the dark, we stopped talking and concentrated all our attention to the boat. My Frogg Toggs pants split at the bottom, and I was sitting in water. But I didn’t have time to worry about that. The boat was rocking in pouring rain. We were in the centre of the lake. And it seemed so big and water black and deep in the dark. We felt so small and helpless. Safety was all we worried about.

That’s when I thought about how the fishermen in southern China avoid the word 翻，they say 划鱼instead of 翻鱼。I could imagine how terrifying and helpless they must feel out in the endless ocean when weather was bad.

We didn’t take a break, and hurried the last 340m portage. How I wished we didn’t have to get into the water again. How I wanted to just stay in the woods and waited till the rain stop and wind die down. But we had to go, the woods wasn’t safe in the rainy night either, especially when we didn’t have anything to keep warm.

We were in the mad water again, Merchant Lake, our home. Our campsite was so close, but yet so far. When I talked, I realized my voice was shaky. I found myself thinking that in case the canoe rolled over, I would tell Feng to leave me and get to the shore himself as soon as possible. He had to survive. He could swim. He was calm. I knew he could get to the shore. I was not going to hold him back. I think I had tears on my face.

We put our full strength to each stroke. And, we made it!

I told myself in the rocking boat that I would hug Feng tight when we got on to land to celebrate. But I didn’t. I should have.

We cooked instant noodle. We each had two bowls of noodle soup to get warm and comfort for both our body and soul. We each had only two slices of bread for lunch, and nothing else. We didn’t have time to feel hungry. What a day!

Feng swore that we would never do this again, paddling in the dark it is.

a small shelter and some warm soup would largely comfort our shaky body and soul