Sorry about the delay....a little craziness going on here!
August 22 - Day 3
Distance: 19.3km (Total 54.3km)
Time: 5hr 33m
Caltopo Map:
https://caltopo.com/m/B8MTMST
I was up at 9:00am, another breakfast of peaches and strawberries and last night’s tea from the Thermos along with a few spoonful’s of pie. There is a mix of sun and cloud which is heating up the POD, I opened up the windows all round to make it a bit more comfortable. Rain had woken me up once during the night, I don’t think there was very much in total. I am aiming to be on the water by 12:30, my aim is not very good; I did not get away until about 1:30pm.
Conditions were once again very nice, some sun, some cloud, the water not quite “like glass” but close with no precipitation in the forecast. The cliffs are a bit of a letdown, while very high they are obscured by trees and do not come down right to the water. Looking east to the mainland there is a little less haze than of previous days; I wonder if the haze is actually smoke from wildfires currently burning in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.
I came on a very shallow area, is some spots shallow would be an understatement, a lot of exposed lakebed showing just how low the water levels are; remember that the levels are controlled by Hydro Quebec.
I had made note of a small cove on my map, it was my theoretical destination for the day. With my late start, I would not make it there if I stuck to my general standard plan to stop for the day with at least one hour before sunset. I was passing quit a few reasonable places but decided to keep going, It was definitely sheltered but the banks of the cove were poor, a series of not very wide shelves covered in rocks of various sizes, behind this was a thick band of small trees and bushes. At the deepest point of the cove, there was an area of damp sand with a few tufts of grass. The best qualities of this location, very sheltered, absolutely flat, very close to the water and surprisingly free of bugs. It was cooling down quickly; I set up, put on some extra clothing and settled in. I snacked on some hummus, thought about frying up the last of the chicken but instead just had some cheese sandwiches; I just did not feel very hungry.
I received a warning notice of inclement weather on the way, I will get an updated forecast in the morning; probably do another 20km if I can get away at a reasonable time (noon perhaps?). I will be on the lookout for any good spots as it is likely I will be holed up there for at least two nights. Just before midnight I was about to tidy up and get off to bed when some light rain began to fall. I had to step out and quickly cover the screen windows.