Mortality

             
                          Room With A View

Day Three

The further I got from civilization, the more thoughts of an accidental demise clouded my mind. All I had between me and a watery grave was a 45 pound plastic shell. OK, it was a high-tech Kevlar™ canoe, but still, 40° water induces hypothermia in about 10 minutes. Or a miss-step on a mossy rock during a portage could cause me to crack my head. Or perhaps I would suffer a heart attack? Or a BEAR ATTACK!?

Calm down, Batty. Your drive to the area had more inherent danger than this trip. Nevertheless, after a day of four portages and as many lakes, the phrase "dead tired" made perfect sense. That night, after a delicious fresh fish dinner (caught by my son) my sleep was once again interrupted; this time it was a more mundane call of nature which roused me. The moon was high over head and about ten degrees to the north of its position a strange bright light shone steadily through the scudding clouds. Was it a supernova? A UFO? Or was it The Shining Light, that glow that would lead me back to my creator?

I'll never know, but I do know this: I'm not going yet.