The dreams….unbearable. So lucid you’d swear they are real. I lay awake in a daze for half an hour wondering what is reality. I gradually crawl out of the tent. Is it just me of do things not smell as bad as they have been? Oh, it’s just me, my nose is constipated from being sick.
The good news is that I can talk. The bad news is that nose goblins have invaded my head. This brings us to another interesting reality. It is much like the reality of wiping one’s backside. We have no Kleenex. If we did have tissue I’d have to carry dirty ones around with me for another 4 days. So this leaves me with two options. Suffocate in my sleep or do what’s called the “farmer’s blow”. My grandfather was a farmer; he never showed me this move. You place one finger on a side of your nose and hold it against the ridge of your nose, blocking passage of air and various nose things. You inhale then blow out the other side of your nose with all of your might. This is very much like blowing your nose, but without the handy dandy Kleenex to catch the creatures when they come rushing out at mach 2.
The key to the farmer blow I figure out is leaning. How did I figure this out? Well you see, the first time I attempted this finishing move of a washed up grand prix wrestler I didn’t lean. When you don’t lean it goes all over your chest and arm. So lean in kids.
It’s misty and cold again. Who the heck ordered this weather? There were no shots of unhappy snot covered wet campers on the promo DVD…..I’m starting to wonder if this was worth the moula.
I’m starting to forget what my real life is like. I almost have the feeling that this is what it will be like for the rest of my life, wandering around the mountains with French girls. Family, friends, work, the Internet, my blog, all seem so far away that they might as well not exist.
We have a short 1.5 kilometer hike to our original camping destination on a previously unnamed lake. Matt has graciously decided to lend his name to this lake. So we’re on our way to Matt Lake. The terrain is better than yesterday, we make good time.
We come over the edge of a ridge and there is Matt Lake far below us. It is beautiful. It has stopped raining and there is not a lick of wind. In the middle of Matt Lake just below the surface is a boulder the size of a hotel. It looks surreal. We start to make our way down to the lake. It’s insanely steep. It’s so steep that you can touch the ground with your inside elbow as you traverse. While this is scary it’s also awesome as the hills down to the lake are covered in wild mountain blueberries. Delicious!
We make it down to the lakeside and take off the packs for lunch. I walk over to the lake with Vero Super and SPLASH! We step right in the edge of the lake on what we thought were dry boulders. Other than wet feet and a surprise we are fine. The lake water is so clear that it is hard to see where the dry starts and the wet begins. Amazing. We fill up our water bottles and head back up the hill after lunch in search of good tent spots.
As we’ve found out before, Vancouver Island has the worst camping ever. Our tents end up being hundreds of meters apart. The tent I was in with Jackie and Amanda got the last pick of tent spots. The other groups swiftly grabbed their previously identified spots and set up quickly. We were left to wander around and pick through the leftovers. Hours go by. Still no good spot. As we’re walking around and time to set up is drawing to a close we sit down in despair. Then BAM right in front of us a spot reveals itself. It’s small, and on a hill but with some moderate rock moving and shuffling we could make it work. We get to work. It takes us a while. The rocks are large and sometime embedded in the ground. It doesn’t help that I’m a tent perfectionist. I think I’m this way because I’m six feet and two inches tall. If the tent is not set up right I get wet. We finish setting up the tent and head down to the kitchen.
It starts to rain lightly. We go through some first aid training and make supper. We then play a great group game of Mafia. After the game I’m feeling exhausted as I’m still quite drained from being sick. I call it a night and silently drag myself back to camp while most stay up and eat mountain made cheesecake. As I make the long walk back to camp the rain starts to intensify…..it’s a soft rain by now. The wind is picking up though and the sky is darkening. Could be a bad night.
Our tent is dry. The smaller rocks we set up on drain the water around and under the tent. Hopefully this will keep up. I crawl into bed and shiver. I’m freezing cold. As we’re not allowed campfires (Outward Bound rule) your body is the sole source of heat you have. I have all of my clothes on and in the sleeping bag. Still cold. As I drift to sleep I hear my tent mates Amanda and Jacquie come in. Amanda has a treat for me. A hot NALGENE. Amanda had one for each of us. It’s the French girls idea. You boil water, throw it in your nalgene (water bottle) and put it in a sock in the bottom of your sleeping bag. BRILLIANT! My heat problems are over. It starts to rain even harder and the wind has picked up even more.
A few hours later……It’s pouring cats and dogs. Our tent and its occupants are dry as a bone. We hear talking and yelling outside. Something’s wrong at the closest tent to us. We see a headlamp approach. It’s Super Vero. The other tent is completely flooded, everything and everyone in it is drenched. They had accidentally set up in a run off area where when one pool above it gets full it overflows and runs directly through their tent to the next pool below. They have to move and reset their tent in the dark. We offer space for one person but they don’t take it as they are already soaked. The other tent folks come down and are in a similar position. A small river has made its way through their tent and they have to dig trenches to divert the water. We offer assistance but they decline….phew.
I fall asleep warm and dry….still sick, but dry. The first full week fades away.