Aus 48

Inside of Outside

Woke early. Milked Sambo the cow with Raku. Warm fresh milk straight from the cow is better than other stuff. Baked bread with Raku. Love wood-fired ovens. Met Toby. Paperwork. Packed. Drove with Bec to Mt. Beauty. Highlands are beautiful! Can't wait to hike them. God convos and cassette tapes on the drive. Passed on a hello to Laura through an OEG crew. Fun on the CB. Errands. Toured RBs house! Amazing! Huge! Beautiful! Curry and a hot tub. Turned lots of his stuff upside down! Books, microwave, stools, spices, etc. Drove to Tawonga hut. Unload, set-up, take stock, have beers, etc.

Aus 47

Inside of Outside

Drove to Mitta. Awesome valley-huge boulders above the river. Met Jane, Bec W, Raku, Jacinta. Re-met Bec B. Rafted the Mitta Mitta in tiny 2-person rafts. Helped Bec and Bec learn to guide. Awesome food! Fresh! From the garden! Slept in fresh air on gear shed verandah. Played guitar until too late. Met Jac.

Aus 46

Inside of Outside

Early morning. Drove to Dinner Plain. Toured the Alpine School. Hung out with Tiwana. Dinner of Gnocchi and veggies. Watched a movie.

Aus 45

Inside of Outside

Went to the office. Met Paul. Chatted with Andy. Biked to Ben's. Chilled. Dinner with Nez, Rolf, and Wrae. Good times. Late night.

Aus 44

Inside of Outside

Chill day. Didn't do much of anything. Vegged. Haven't done that in a while. Watched TV. Played guitar. Later, biked to Kate's with Ben and had a scrumptious birthday dinner. Ate some kumquats! right off the tree.

Aus 43

Inside of Outside

Spent the whole morning playing with Yazi, Toby, Kalika, Zoe and Emilio. Cutest kids ever. I want one. Went shopping. Bought some stuff. Locked myself out of the car. Called RACV. Sat in the parking lot eating ice cream with a stick until they arrived. Got lots of strange looks. Stayed at Ben's place. Played guitar. Learning to pick.

Aus 42

Inside of Outside

Rafting! Some tension, but nothing major. Nearly pinned a raft! Flipped it later. Blokes throwing stones. One hit in the head. Fun day. Drove Sandy, Toby and Yazi to Melbourne. Toby and Yazi are seven and awesome. Sandy too. Stayed at Sandy's parents.

Aus 41

Inside of Outside

Packed up from Gus's. Day of work. Helped a little with the gate. Worked on the frame with one of the young blokes. BBQ at the lake. Bonnie chased some kangaroos. Ran a meeting. Good idea, mediocre execution. Back to typo for Meringue and Blackberry coolie. Sang the guys to bed with Wagon Wheel and Snow is Gone. They were out by the last verse.

Aus 40

Inside of Outside

Guys wanted to wake up early to do a workout with a personal trainer. Confused everyone. I set my alarm for 30 min before official wake time. Lots of questions about Canada. My office day. Did lots of little jobs. Started a frame, but didn't finish. Answered phone a lot. Went for a swim with the guys, then to Thomas and Gabbi's. Beautiful place with beautiful food forest. Fruits, veggies, herbs, grains, goats, pigs, etc. Have a beautiful little house, hutch, hut, thingy that made me really want to build something to live in. Pub with Claire. Faith and Cecilia showed up. Pool. Home. Watched the Green Hornet.

Aus 39

Inside of Outside

Chill day. Second group of guys arrived. Much different. Eagerer to work. Older. Open up more. Good guys. Played Das Boot with them. Overview of the work to be done. Liked it. Gave them an idea of what they were doing. Suze is a great facilitator. Gus is awesome witih the blokes. Claire is a super organizer. Everybody loves Kate. Steve is great at details.

Aus 38

Inside of Outside

Back to work. Meetings, meetings, meetings.

Aus 37

Inside of Outside

Up and at 'em again. River meet at 1030. Borrowed Gus's yak. Frankie quite nervous. Ben, Kate, Claire all showed up too, plus bunch of people from the Valley. One six person raft and five kayakers. Took lots of photos and videos. Practiced back deck roll. Gracebrook for eats and photo swap, then to Typo to sort out some scheduling. Back to Gus's for peanut sauce pasta and stir fry.

Aus 36

Inside of Outside

Early up and meet at 845. Ben, Kate, Gus, Frankie, Me. Gather gear. Divvy gear. Load gear. Drive troopies to Lake Cobbler. Wowed by view of Dandongadale Falls. Hate driving near precipices. Bush bashed for an hour plus. Gorgeous mountain views. Got to top of waterfall. Drank all day straight from crystal clear cool mountain streams. Nothing better. Rappelled / Abseiled off several cliffs. Best one - 45 meter drop with a giant overhang, so no wall nearby, with a waterfall beside. Swore when I went over the cliff. Then rock-hopped, bush-bashed, creek-walked for a couple of hours back to troopie. Quick gear clean, and rush to Community Dinner. Had some great venison stew. Amazing event. Everything free, just so the community can come together. Wood-fired pizza. Apple pastries, mixed berry cobbler, polenta, coleslaw, potato salad. Ate too much. Drank some grown in the valley wine. Danced a lot. Combo made me sick, but not enough to stop dancing.

Aus 35

Inside of Outside

Rafting today! So fun. Loved it. Small water compared to Ottawa, but still fun, especially for the guys. Still some frustrations, but much better. Guys had a great time swimming, splashing, and catching lizards. Occasional arguments and disagreements. Played throw rocks at rocks. Debrief at the Whitfield Pub. Lots of feedback and suggestions. Dinner with Faith and Frankie.

Aus Day 34

Inside of Outside

Morning routine. Breakfast. I hate porridge. Brown sugar makes it bearable. Spent all day moving, splitting wood. Great work out. Had good chats with young blokes. Frustrating when they choose to slack. Stayed back from swimming and played pool, ping-pong, guitar. Young guys think my rendition of Miss Ohio is best song ever. They even sang along. Evening meet at the fire pit the guys built.

Aus Day 33

Inside of Outside

Today was my day to do office work. Made some certificates. Put laces in boots. Talked to Ben about Boundless systems. Went swimming with the blokes again. Decided to stay the night. Trying to be bold. Called Matthew for his birthday. Slept in the office. Cold.

Aus Day 32

Inside of Outside

Young blokes showed up today. Nice to be on program again. Went to Jimmy's and split wood and stacked it. Pretty good fun. Then swimming by the bridge. Narrative approach is tricky. Fine for individual conversations. Haven't figured out how to apply it to group management. Beat Revenge of the Titans today.

Aus Day 31

Inside of Outside

Lost my headphone. Helped Fran with guitar in the morning. She's good. Ate Nutella for breakfast. And lunch. Plus a can of lentils. Cold today. Wore a toque and three layers. Lots of talking in prep for tomorrow. Blokes coming. Excited. Listening to The Omnivore's Dilmma. Corn, corn, corn, everywhere. Slightly disgusted.

Aus Day 30

Inside of Outside

Woke to sunshine and breezes. Beautiful. Breakfast of tea and lentils and grapefruit. Abluted myself in bathroom sink. Then! More music! Awesome Bands. Hussy Hicks. Nicky Bomba. Can't remember the rest. Bought a CD. Haven't done that in years. Danced more. Chatted with an American girl. Drove home. Tired. Stayed at Claire's. Started to learn The Cave by Mumford.

Aus Day 29

Inside of Outside

Woke to downpour. Sat in car slightly drenched to eat breakfast. Went to café. Read the paper, did a crossword, relaxed. So nice. Fran and Claire are backseat drivers, but probably needed it. Went to music. Music and dancing from noon til 2am. So good. Danced so much knees hurt at end of night. Heard some great bands. Met some really great people. Can't spell their names. Many stories. Cooked dinner on camp stove behind building. Ate with chopsticks made from sticks. Suze and Faith showed up. Tried to pick up a girl, but no luck.

Aus Day 28

Inside of Outside

Keep getting tireder. Lots of meetings. Helped Mav shorten whiteboard. Actually, handed Mav tools, while he shortened it, but learned 100 carpentry related things. Used a hand powered drill! And a nail punch. Torn between music festival and paddling. Tried to do both, but didn't work. Not choosing doesn't work very well. Went to music festival! Had a blast with Claire and Fran in the car. Laughed a lot. Drive was tense. Dark, rainy, foggy, windy mountain road, windshield wipers smeared the window. Survived. Music was good. Should have danced more. Met some Mittagundi folk. Set up tent in rain. Not so good. Should be good tomorrow.

Aus Day 27

Inside of Outside

Rafting! Risk management documents in morning. Rafting all the rest. Ben's birthday. Two sporty rafts. I guided one. Lower than when we kayaked. Lots of fun. Two hours to take a strainer out of river. Hand saw and Z-Drag. Lots of play, raft-flipping, boarding, pirating, wrestling, etc. Nice to run river with professional outdoor adventure people. Afterwards, hung out at Claire's, ate fruit and crackers, and enjoyed company.

Aus Day 26

Inside of Outside

Fixed the Ping Pong Table some more today. Did some other stuff. Can't remember. Probably had a meeting. Created a list of Possibilities of Things to Maybe Perchance Put Tentatively onto the Wish List for newsletter. Ears still itchy. Went to Suze's place for dinner with the rest of the crew. Jammed on the guitar and on Claire's charango.

Aus Day 25

Inside of Outside

Sharpened tools this morning. Learned how to use a plane, a draw knife, an adze, a spoke-shave, and a wood auger. Later, practiced by making a decorative dowel to hold the paper towels in the outhouse. Also got started on fixing the ping-pong table. Drove to Wangaretta for groceries. Bought a big bottle of Nutella.

Aus Day 24

Inside of Outside

Wake and on to work. Been a while since I've kept regular hours. Kind of nice. Rode in to station with Gus. Spent much of day cleaning and organizing sports equipment and games, rest on writing a letter to young folks. Aired and folded some blankets. Answered some phone calls. Brian, expert in pioneer woodworking came, showed off some wares. Beautiful chairs and stools crafted with simple tools. Looking forward to getting into the forge and joinery to learn some stuff.

Aus Day 23

Inside of Outside

Planned things. Handed out responsibilities. Made lists. Crossed things off lists. Did random jobs.

Aus Day 22

Inside of Outside

Met Kate's parents. Spoke to her dad about Helmeted Honey-eaters. Drove wildly following Ben and Kate to work. Stuffed envelopes. Learned about Evolve's marketing. Drove with Fran and Claire to Typo. Stopped at an organic shop for bread. Swam in the King River. Typo dinner. Met Al the Wattle-man and others from the King Valley. Twenty kids running around. I ran around with them. Stayed at Typo.

Aus Day 21

Inside of Outside

Went to the river today to do practical training conversations. Was beautiful. Chatted with Claire. Good practice. Met up with Fran, Gus, Denno, and Claire for dinner at Thaila Thai. Awesome food. Drove to Kate's, late. Entering a silent, unfamiliar house late at night and getting into a bed, without 100% confirmation that you're at the right house is unnerving.

Aus Day 20

Inside of Outside

Same as yesterday.

Australia Day 19

Inside of Outside

Training! More training. Lots of great info. Great people. Becoming more practical, less theoretical. Dealing with hassle of Working with Children Check. Back to John and Melindas. Great food. Chill. Bed

Australia Day 18

Inside of Outside

Woke up. Played some ping-pong with Amy and Kate. Was good. Haven't played for a while. Didn't do much else today. Drove back to Melbourne to John and Melinda's. Stopped at a park nearby. Surprised by bats! Thousands of them. Grey-headed Flying Foxes hanging in the trees like black and brown furry fruit. Swaying in the breeze and wings riffling in the wind. So many. Listened to Folk Bloodbath by Josh Ritter about 10 times. Like it. Spent the rest of the afternoon online catching up with email, facebook, chat, online banking, etc.

Australia Day 17

Inside of Outside

Woke up early to maybe go surfing. Got there. The wave was nice, but no one else was around, so I didn't. In hindsight, I should have. Oh well. Went for a run on the beach instead and then a swim. Later, walked barefoot to Mariner's Falls. Was beautiful and peaceful. Saw some picturesque sheep. People look at you funny when you walk around barefoot. Drove back to Geelong. Stopped at another waterfall on the way. Lots of blackberries. Wanted to eat some, but signs said they had just been sprayed with pesticides. Met up with Kate and Amy. Went to see The Last 3 Days with them.

Australia Day 16

Inside of Outside

First day of training! Woke up this morning and it was raining! Hadn't accounted for that possibility. Walked 45 minutes to my car and then to the training site. Was very wet by then. Lots of great new ideas. Learning about narrative therapy. Actually, learning about therapy in general. Awesome people. Felt like I had found my people here in Australia. Look forward to getting to know them better and joining their community for a little while. Hung out with Ben, Kate, Kate, and Dee for a bit, then drove the Great Ocean Road again. Still beautiful. Went to Apollo Bay. Stayed with Jessie. Played guitar again. Miss my guitar. Watched District 9. Finished Season 2 of the Wire.

Australia Day 15

Inside of Outside

Another day of driving. Drove the inland route this time. Not as beautiful as the Great Ocean Road, but still a great drive. Much faster. Got back to Melbourne in the early afternoon. Spent the time looking for a hostel, because I needed an Australian address to apply for a Working with Children's Check. Found one. Tired. Parked about 45 minutes walk away. Didn't have soap, so I had to spend 30 minutes hunting down a shop that sold soap. Showered, finally. So tired. Watched an episode of 'The Wire.' Cooked up some of my kumara. Delicious. 1st day of training tomorrow. Even ironed my clothes. Haven't ironed anything in years.

Australia Day 14

Inside of Outside

Lots of driving today. Woke up to another beautiful sunrise, but then went back to bed. Drove, and drove. All the way to Adelaide. Took quite a while. Didn't get there until probably 9 or 10. Went downtown looking for a hostel. Many were closed, or booked. Or expensive. Or charged more if you were Australian.  Was gonna stay the night or grab some food, but was just too tired. Dropped Brooke off at a park, and drove out of Adelaide to a rest stop. Slept in my car. Got hot. Opened the windows. Got chewed by mosquitos.

Australia Day 13

Inside of Outside

Woke up. Stretched on the beach at sunrise. So pink! Beautiful. Went for a swim. Ate bread and peanut butter. Took a nap. Started to drive out of the park, but Brooke saw a koala. Stopped and watched it. Found 20+ more koalas all sleeping in the trees. So cool. Walked a bit in the woods and startled a koala sitting on the ground. It jumped up the tree, but then came back down and didn't move. Got within 6 inches of it! Drove some more. Saw the 12 Apostles! Big free standing rock formations. Beautiful. Took a nap on the cliffs above the ocean. Was mostly peaceful, except for the helicopters passing by overhead giving aerial tours of the coast. Went dumpster diving for the 1st time! Got some kumara (sweet potatoes from New Zealand), garlic, a load of onions, squash, garlic, beans, potatoes, and a bunch of bread. Feast! Camped on the side of the highway at a rest stop.

Australia Day 12

Inside of Outside

Monday. Was waiting to hear from Evolve, the place I'll be working with for the next little while. Found out I wouldn't be meeting with anyone until Friday. Took off! Decided to drive the Great Ocean Road. Drove to Torquay, southwest of Melbourne. Stopped and checked out the beach. Not much surf there today. Supposed to be a good place to surf. Kept going. Picked up a hitchhiker. Named Brooke. Nice girl. Good chats. Ate my first ever passion fruit. So tasty! And slurpy! Picked up two more hitchhikers, but only needed a ride a few km down the road. Climbed a tree, and spent time on the playground swings. Didn't have a plan, so drove Brooke to Cape Otway, and camped there. Saw Orion tonight! But it was upside down! Australians call it the Saucepan or the Pot.

Australia Day 11

Inside of Outside

Woke up and went for a run with Andrew along the beach. Phew. Haven't done that in a while. Swam after. Colder than expected. Later, went with Andrew and U. Allan and watched a cricket match. Thanks to U. Allan, I finally understand the game of cricket. Not all the intricacies, but I understand the basics now, and can watch a match and know what's going on. Then went and flew Andrew's kiteboarding training kite. That was fun. Went to St. Kilda, looking for the St. Kilda market unsuccessfully. Drove to John and Melinda's, but took me about three hours, because I got lost, and was too stubborn to call and ask for help. Got there. Was good.

Australia Day 10

Inside of Outside

Went into Bendigo to the mall. Got a lady to cut off my ponytail. Saved it. Might sell it later. Kinda like having short hair again. Drove to Loristown. Had a family gathering with U. Allan, A. Ruth, Andrew and company, U. Barrie, A. Claribel, Eleanor, John and Mindy, Nigel, and Jeanne and Ian. Was great. Sooo much food. Delicious. Veggie curry puffs, corn, bbq, fruit, fish, cheese, and much more. A feast. Also good to catch up with fam. Had a sewing party with Melinda, since my pants had ripped. Saw a sulphur-crested cockatoo. Went to Andrew's place and spent the night in Williamstown.

Australia Day 9

Inside of Outside

Picked up the car today. Wow. I opened the wrong door every time I went to get in the car. Driving on the other side of the road takes some adjustment. Every time I tried to put the blinkers on, I put the wipers on instead. It's a manual. Love driving stick! Learned something about cricket today, U. Barrie explained a little bit about it. Went over to Jenny's place. Drove Jayden and his friend to Tennis.

Australia Day 8

Inside of Outside

Woke up early to go and see some Kangaroos. Drove just down the road and saw them in a field. Tried to get close. They look so funny when they jump. It's just such an unfamiliar motion for an animal. Went and took a tour of the Gold Mine in Bendigo. Went 150 feet or something like that, underground. That was level two. Some of the mines go down like 30 levels or something like that. The network of mines in this area is huge! U. Barrie took me to see his friend how sells/rents cars. Rented a car! Gonna pick it up tomorrow. Freedom. Now I have a place to sleep when I need it, and can get away from the city and go see some things. Awesome.

Australia Day 7

Inside of Outside

Took the train to Bendigo today. Train went through Kangaroo Flat, but I didn't see any. U. Barrie met me at the train station. I tried to get into the driver's seat, instead of the passenger's seat. Met up with A. Claribel and Eleanor too. Met Jenny and Jayden too. Great to get to know family that I haven't seen in a long time. Or ever. U. Barrie took me around and gave me a historical tour of the beginnings of Bendigo, during the Gold Rush Era, and the beginnings of his family history. Was very interesting.

Australia Day 6

Inside of Outside

Went back to the Queen Victoria Market today. Saw Opals! Beautiful. Expensive though. Bought and ate an organic peach. Was so delicious, I walked back and bought another one. Didn't do much else today. Played guitar for a couple of hours. Went to a shisha bar with Christian. That was pretty cool. Really want to get out of the city. Too much city is making me crazy.

Australia Day 5

Inside of Outside

Went and met up with Christian, my next host, host number 3. He was busy working on his thesis, so his roomie Joanne went with me out to a market where I got some fresh veggies. Came back. Ate a million plums from the tree in their backyard, and mowed their grass, which was about two feet high. Played Joanne's guitar! Felt good to play. Christian made Somali Tea, which was delicious. I need to look up a recipe for that.

Australia Day 4

Inside of Outside

Went to the Prahran Market for Breakfast with Wei. Had the best yogurt ever and a chocolate muffin. Walked to Fed Square and met with Wei's friend. Came back and watched some Tennis.

Australia Day 3

Inside of Outside

Talked to Wei this morning, my next host. Wanted to meet in the morning, so I packed up and took the tram to his place in St. Kilda, south of the Yarra River. Hung out for a bit. Got some lunch. Had some great conversations about poverty and other stuff. Then he went to watch the Australian Open, and I borrowed his bike to go and look at cars. Didn't get a car. Went with Wei and a potential new roommate to the Australia Open. Watched some Men's Doubles, and then sat on the lawn and watched a match on the big screen.

Australia Day 2

Inside of Outside

Woke up and went to the Queen Victoria Market. Huge outdoor market. Oldest in Victoria, I think. Every kind of souvenir available. Bought some bread and cheese and dip, and some slightly bruised fruit. And 8 avocados. Also got a phone. Walked in the Botanical Gardens along the river. Went to the Salvation Army and bought a tshirt for $2. Read in the park, and then went back to my hosts place.

Australia Day 1

Inside of Outside

Phew. Long flights. Left from Buffalo on the 17th, arrived in Australia on the 19th. Didn't do much today. Read some on the flights. When I got here, I found a local bus, and took it into downtown, and then learned how to use the public transit system, to get to the house of my first couch surfing host. Was very tired. Got there. Hung out for a bit, and then slept. Oh so good.

Ten Days

Inside of Outside

Here's some journal notes I kept, while I was camping for ten days solo, in November and December, 2010.

Nov 28
Started hiking prob around 9ish. Hiked for maybe 1.5-2 hours. Camped on flat spot on rocks by lake. Can hear waves. Need to turn off light to save batteries.

Nov 29
Woke late morning. No time keeping device is wonderful. Cooked cereal. Packed up. Walked. Gorgeous views. Sunset grand, but view blocked. Passed a large animal. Deer? Stopped for lunch at cove. Spaghetti, mushrooms, tbits, and green curry sauce. Stretched. Need to stretch more. Earlier to bed today. Maybe 2 hours or 3 after dark. Read some. Figured 60-65 pages a day. Maybe I'll write a letter.

Nov 30
Woke up to rain. Packed slowly. Checked 4 phone message from park. None. Ate granola. Hiked. Cool checkerboard rocks. Walked through the swamp. Thought I'd be caught by the storm. Got to the beach. Made camp. Dried stuff. Cooked. Stretched. Laughed for joy. Huge blocks of cliff in the lake. Dreamt last night that the cliff I was on fell into the lake. Think I'll stay here a day or two. Depends on weather.

Dec 1
Rabbit! Rabbit! Didn't move today. Stayed @ beach. So beautiful. Snowed! Awed. Made a rain catch out of birch bark, balsam? bark, and a found H20 bottle. Made a fire. Dry birchbark is sooooo handy. Hope it's sunny tomorrow. Want to bathe. I stink. Left the sauces outside. Oops. Saw a mouse and a crow / raven. Gotta learn the difference. Ate asparagus today. All dehydrated veggies working great so far. Not as lonely as I thought I'd be. More prepared for it this time? 6 nights still to go though.

Dec 2
Stayed at the beach again. Oh my goodness. Snow on stones took my breath away this morn. Bathed. Frigid! Stayed in for maybe 60 seconds. Standing in snow while dressing was the worst. Sun helped. Ate lots of snow today. Walked for 3 hours. Followed a fox trail and a coyote trail. Texted Mom and Dad. Said all's well. Made a poetry word mix. Ate mock duck and rice / broccoli. Rodents got to one of the sauces. Hung food tonight.

Dec 3
Moved. Camping by a couple of small inland lakes. Frozen! Yesterday no ice on them. So many tracks in the fresh snow--squirrel, mouse, fox? Saw a hawk yesterday. Packing and moving takes a long time. Made snow and cedar tea tonight. Good. Also couscous. Delicious. Listened to the muffled silence of the woods. Loved it. Hugged a tree. Felt really good to hold something like that. Water pump froze. Not so great for winter. Waves are natural washing machine for ziplocs. Need a new sleeping bag. This one has lost lots of loft. Almost finished 1st fuel bottle.

Dec 4
Stayed by the lake. Found the trail. Right in front of me. So much snow on this beach. Walked to Cypress Lake. Yesterday, 1000s of little black bugs (1mm long 0.1 mm wide) falling from the sy. Greatest concentration under a browned cedar. White pine needle tea tonight. Finished my book. Made a fire. Tried to dry some stuff. Didn't really work. Weird flat trail in the woods. Beaver? About 1 foot wide, like someone dragged a box. Peanut sauce delish.

My phone has sudoku! It's amazing when one's world is focused, the things that become interesting. Every thing I do from pissing to walking to admiring the snow takes on a greater meaning somehow and becomes more memorable. I mean, the highlight of a couple of days ago was hugging a tree. Weird?

Dec 5
It's been cold the past couple of days. I've started eating 4 times a day. Glad I brought extra food. Tried carving today. Made a mimikake. Simple, but I'm proud of it. Some firs have this green algae or something growing on them. Makes their trunks bright green. Startling @ 1st, but cool. Ice formations on the rocks by the lake are amazing. So delicate, intricate, transient. Rival any cave stalactite. Imagine a thousand trees all made of glass, their tops scrunched together like a cauliflower, their trunks extending downwards, but not touching the ground, just floating in air. That's what some of them looked like. I'm eager to get out of here. Starting to get lonely. I looked at myself in my pot lid yesterday. 1st human face I'd seen in a week. Saw a woodpecker today, and saw 2 ravens. Know they're ravens cause they quorked.

Dec 6
Woked up to a raven in the tree above me. Making all sorts of strange calls. Sounded like a hen @ 1st, then I don't know what for 10 min. Then quork, quork, and flew away. Hiked maybe 10-11 k today. Probably my longest day. Beautiful views of course. Found a spring! I think. Drank from it. Wasn't very cold, but that may be because I was eating snow just before. Ate a lot of snow today, since my pump won't work. It's fun stuffing your face into a mound of fluffy snow. Next time I should bring some sugar crystals. Saw some cool trees. A birch with a beautiful gnarly split in the trunk. A birch and a fir that looked like they were dancing, a birch covered in some psychedelic bright orange fungus, and a lot of cedars with this cool light green lichen and dark green moss. Really wish I had my camera today. Texted mom and dad. Hiked until after dark. Probably shouldn't have. Was getting sketchy. Kept slipping, but wanted to get to next beach. Made it. Wish I hadn't--too windy here. 1 more day. Looking forward to seeing some faces soon. Oh! HIked a little side trail to a sink hole. A collapsed cave. Just looked like a big depression in the ground. Wasn't very impressed. Knees hurt a little at the end of today. Forgot to stretch tonight.

Dec 7 (Written several months later)
Woke. Packed up. Hiked for a few hours. Stopped at a fox den and watched for an hour. Didn't see anything, except a vole nearby. Finished all the chocolate covered almonds. Carved again today, while watching the sunset. Made a snake out of a cedar branch. Thought a snake would be easiest. Rested much of the day. Hiked until about 8 or 9 to get back to near the station, then rested. Hiked another 2 hours around a loop trail. Very cool. Trees bent nearly horizontal by wind. Spent most of the night napping in a hollow near the ranger's station.

Dec 8
Woke up very early and headed to the car. Iced over. Cleared it. Packed up. Saw another human. A ranger sitting in the office. Didn't talk to him though. Drove to Paddlefoot for my First Aid course. Saw lots of people there. Was very nice.

Scraps Into Wraps

Inside of Outside

I'm usually pretty proud of my present wrapping around Christmas time. I gave up spending money on wrapping paper a few years ago, and now use only materials that would otherwise get thrown out, usually old newspapers and magazines. My favourites to use are old National Geographics, ever since my grandma started getting me a subscription to that magazine for Christmas. Here's how they look this year.