Victoria Bay, ONT to Neys Provincial Park, ONT: Daily miles 32.0, Total miles 593.4
Today sucked. The surf never relented overnight and we climbed out of the tent with anger and disappointment at the prospect of being stuck there indefinitely. We decided that rather than sit and watch another day go by we would carry our boats and gear across the point to a calmer bay on the other side. It was a tremendous pain. Between Hannah’s damaged hands, my sore shoulder and kayaks not really being designed to portage the adventure was arduous. By the end my shoulder was screaming and I undone all of the good two days of rest had caused. I was tired and unmotivated and I hadn’t even paddled a stroke yet. We hit the water about 11AM to variable winds and choppy seas. The shoreline was rugged and we weren’t able to land for the first twelve miles. The sky alternated between sunshine, rain and large threatening storm clouds. It gave the day a very chaotic feeling which matched the way I was feeling after the last three or so days. We eventually stopped on a beach for lunch but the bugs and rain forced us to cut it short and we were back in the boats right after eating having barely rested. The last half of the day felt like it would never end. The weather kept getting worse with heavier rain and stronger wind that seemed to always in our faces. The miles wore on and we wore down. It was cold, wet, hard and I couldn’t escape it. I was miserable. The last few miles into the harbor broke our spirits and difficult surf landing on a shallow sandy beach nearly broke me. We pulled up on the beach and went looking for a campsite at the Provincial Park. It took another two miles of searching to find the office. Along the way I had to see people sitting around, warm and comfortable, in their RVs. They grilled delicious things and watched TV while I was tired and cold. It didn’t seem quite fair that I hard to get here and yet had no comforts to enjoy. It made me question some e of the choices I had regarding what I do for “leisure”. When we finally found the office everyone was really nice and helpful and renewed my faith in adventure. We carried our gear up to our campsite and ended the day much like it began; carrying everything we own a long way. We got showers and are back in the tent, or what I have decided to refer to as “My summer home on the lake”.
