We had reached Christian Beach after six pm and were pretty tired. We set up tents and soaked in the lake for half an hour. That might have been a mistake...
We got out of the water as the sky filled with clouds and the wind picked up. You may remember that the wind was already strong. I set up the camp stove with two little coolers to block the wind. That wasn't enough. My friends, the Kaiser and Nine-toes, stood to block the wind. Still not enough. Finally, we moved the second picnic table on it's side and that helped.
Below are Nine-toes and the Kaiser trying to enjoy kraft dinner salted with wind-driven beach-grit.
Look again at that sunset!
It was a mighty storm with a lot of wind and lightning but not so much rain. I am really proud of my Eureka tent which didn't even shudder. The Kaiser's tent, similar in shape to mine, also did well. Nine-toes had a big tent with exceptional headroom but it was almost folded over in the wind.
How bad was the storm? Well, I've read that in Korea, the Han flooded even more than previous summers and a Gangwon highway was closed due to a mudslide so perhaps our storm wasn't quite that bad. Still, according to the Toronto Star:
The flash storm late Monday night swept through Greater Toronto and parts of southern Ontario, leaving destruction in its wake. In Callander and Mattawa, the storm was so destructive, the mayors declared states of emergency.
...
You think camping is a safe activity, but with all these freak storms coming up, you just never know ... ."
...
Ontario Provincial Police also blamed a tree felled by the storm for the death of Jeff Grey, 26, of Michigan, who had been in a tent in Algonquin Provincial Park, south of Kiosk, Ont.
Two others died in the storm.
On a lighter note, that Nine-toes is probably a better photographer with his own camera. Here is his picture of me with the Kaiser on my camera:
Yeah, my friends have funny names but what can you expect from a guy who goes by 'GeorgianBayBrian'? Nine-toes actually has a full complement of pedal appendages, if you care.
On Tuesday we rounded the northernmost point of the island and returned to sheltered waters. We saw huge carp frolicking (or something) in the shallows many hideously expensive yachts hiding from the previous night's weather.
The island is pretty cool and for those who don't kayak, it is full of hiking trails as well.
Posts
1 comment:
Thank you for writing. I am sory for your loss.
I don't know if it means anything, but I was doing something I really enjoyed that day; I hope the same was true for Jeff and that he was happy that day.
Post a Comment