You averaged almost 2.7 mph which I think is very good, especially with that hull. You must not have taken many breaks, if any, and I wondered if you had a tailwind.
At that point just slight tailwinds, I take floating breaks on a regular basis, if you zoom in on the Caltopo track you can see the little zigzags where I pause for a smoke or to take pictures, I rarely get out on dry land, that's where the bugs are and then they tag along for the next 5 minutes. There is nothing "fast" about that Mohawk, especially full of gear, I would guess that the total payload is about 300lbs (I'm less than half of that)
According to Alvin Einstein, if you paddle counterclockwise you will travel into the past. I'm pretty sure you did that, but am too chicken to edit your direction.
If you can edit PLEASE do so!
I dunno, that unrefrigerated chicken was probably just about ready to fly again on its own, propelled by multiple hosts of winged bacteria. How long do you keep one of those things going?
Yeah at the end of Day 3 it has been 78 hours since the chicken left to the rotisserie, when dinner comes on Day 4 it will be 96 hours! I admit to having some concerns about this and to be honest I haven't reviewed my notes for Day 4 and don't remember what my decision was (intentional cliff hanger for episode 4).
@recped, looking at the picture of your barrel and pack next to your tent, I wondered what procedures (if any) you employed for bear protection of your food on this trip, or in general on your many long wilderness trips. Maybe you've stated before in threads, but I don't recall.
The barrel and pack are on there way into the POD.
I generally avoid discussions about bears, guns often enter into the back and forth and both topics can be divisive. I will answer your question but I ask that if anyone want to continue the topic please start another thread.
First thing, I am only talking about the black bears of Ontario, Quebec and the eastern part of Manitoba. I have only car camped in the grizzly zones and my 2 trips into polar bear territory required a completely different attitude.
Basically I don't worry about bear issues on most of my trips, I know they are around but the odds of a negative (injury or death) encounter is extremely low overall, the few incidents that have happened are almost all in areas such as active Provincial/Federal Parks, active fly-in lodges and of course any areas infected with cottages. The fly-in lodges and to a lesser extent outpost camps are the riskiest locations for camping, I try to avoid them unless they are unoccupied and I can get inside.
Any bear sightings at all are pretty rare (doesn't mean they are not seeing me), maybe 1 bear every 50+ paddling days with 90% of those consisting of not much more that a flash of bear bum as it's scurries away into the bush as I paddle past, I have VERY few pictures of bears, any the ones I do have are barely identifiable. I do have one good video of a bear that came to visit me on the Natashquan in 2015, maybe I'll finally upload it to You Tube, it shows his lack of interest in coming any closer to me than needed but he was definitely aware that I was there watching him. I also have a few decent stills of a large bear on the George River that was only interested in eating the fish he snagged, payed almost no attention to the three canoes that were drifting along maybe 20 metres away.
On to my procedures.......
When I am selecting a campsite I do usually have a quick look around for any recent signs of bear activity, usually I'll move on if there are any fresh tracks.
All my gear (including food) is inside the POD with me, I generally ensure that all food item are put away, even though I know that the smells don't go away, any bear withing a couple of kilometres already knows I'm there. Perhaps being a very stinky solo paddler helps keep them away? I would not be surprised if bears visit my camps after I have left but they will find NOTHING. On many of my trips I am camping in locations which likely has never had another camper or perhaps 1 every few years or on more active routes 1 or 2 paddlers/groups per year. In the areas I mostly travel pretty much everyone is responsible, there may be signs of previous users but I only find trash at remote fish camps and sad to say areas near First Nations reserves.
Time of year makes a difference, I have more concern during early Spring trips, where a bear might be a little hungry, If I do have serious concerns I might utilize my 2 person tent in addition to the shelter, sleep in that and leave all my gear in the shelter.
On this Manic trip I know for a fact there are quite a few bears on the big island, my thinking is that I'm paddling during peak blueberry season, there are no berries at all around the shoreline but inland I know there are large areas that were forested in the not too distant past (there is no active cutting there) that would be providing prime blueberry ground along with all the potential food surround all the small lakes and creeks in the interior. I did see quite a few moose tracks along the shore but even those seemed to be solitary animals making only brief forays to the shoreline again, not much moose food along the shoreline.
I do not own firearms, I do carry bear bangers and flares (never used), most of the time they are buried in my gear, occasionally I'll get them out and pre-load them, If a bear came to camp that was in any way aggressive my intent would be to grab the bangers and my InReach. jump in my canoe and observe from a safe distance. I would make no attempt to protect my gear or engage other than perhaps to launch a banger as I leave. Worst case scenario (destruction of my camp) rescue within 24 - 48 hours is almost certain unless weather is so bad that neither heli's or flat planes can fly. Even without an InReach I usually have somebody following me who would notice my silence and raise the alarm if there was no activity for several days.