OnThe Road Again 2013 # 11

After I had my bivy sack set up, I dug out my little stove and a rather beaten up tin tea pot, boiled some water and made myself a bowel of Chinese noodle soup. It is easy to make and it taste good. One of the advantages of minimal camping is that washing up is very easy. I only had to rinse out one bowl.

After supper I went for a bit of a walk, watched a pair of eagles catch food for their young, worked on my stick for a bit and went to bed as soon as the sun went down. I wasn't tired - I just had nothing else to do. I slept in the bivy sack for the next 7 nights so let me tell you how it feels so I can get it out of the way. It is like being in a cocoon....actually there are times where it feel like I am trapped in a cocoon. If I need to have the hood up and zipped either because of the bugs or because it is raining it can quite claustrophobic. The second problem is that there is no where to put my stuff, so everything is in my pack with its rain cover on it which can make getting up the next morning, especially if it is raining a touch awkward. Its singular advantage is that it weighs very little. The reduced weight makes up for any inconvenience. In the past when I know that I am going to be camping in one spot for a few days I have taken my much more substantial two man tent. It is significantly heavier but much more roomier. However, last year I had had to walk 8 kilometers down a logging road carrying that far too heavy tent (actually it is not that heavy - I m just getting older)....this year fearing that the same thing would happen again, I chose to travel with just the bivy sack and a light tarp. I knew it would be an interesting experience, especially if it rained. Fortunately while misty the next morning, it was not raining.

I quickly got my stuff together and was on the road just after 7:00. As I have said before, I don't know why I bother to get up so early. I almost never get a ride. The walk from my camp ground to the turn off to Raft Cove was only a kilometer or so. It gave me the chance to limber up and to get all of the kinks out from the bus ride the day before. It was hard to find a place to stand because the shoulders were either very narrow or non-existent. There were however, a surprising number of vehicles on the road. Most of them however, were pickups with 2-3 guys in them. All of them looked to be working trucks - working men going to do a job. I was pretty sure that none of them were going to stop for me.

After being there for about 40 minutes, Bob from yesterday passed me going out with a large pile of logs. He sounded his air horn and I waved. About an hour later he came by the other way going back in for his second load. He stopped the truck and I climbed in. It was not the most luxurious truck that I have ever been in and given the state of the roads it was not the smoothest ride . But it was interesting and informative. My driver knew a lot about the business of logging and about the general area. He was always pointing out things of interest along the way such as the windmill farm being built along the ridge or the roads that were being used. He also talked about the various special hidden places that either had remarkable rock formations or unusual trees. It was an interesting journey, but perhaps the most remarkable bit was watching the trees being felled by this giant machine. It was incredibly powerful and efficient. It was also scary to watch how many trees the operator could take down in a few minutes.

 Bob let me off at what appeared to be the last turn. While I, according to the directions, only had about 9 kilometers left to travel - the directions had not been that accurate - I in fact had no idea how far it was. However the odds of me getting a drive seemed rather remote as I had not seen a private car on the road for hours. So I decided that I might as well start walking. I probably walked for a hour or so before a SUV did stop and offer me a drive. The family were off to Raft Cove. I was glad that I did not have to walk. Without a doubt I was excited to camp on the beach with my Rainbow Family.