Hot hot hot

August 9

I think today it finally felt like summer. I know that it is already August, so that is kind of sad, really. It was great because the bugs were tolerable enough that I shed my layers and strutted the tundra in my tank-top! And on top of that, there were even trees! I was about 30km south of camp and right near the edge of the tree line. I walked along a lake shore which was strewn with some very determined black spruce that were actually taller than me. Most of the trees I encounter are lucky to break 5 feet. I didn't realize until then how much I had missed the smell of trees. The tundra just kind of smells like moss and dirt, but mostly dirt. Walking along the lake in the heat, with unusually large trees and even a few large cliffs in the background, I almost felt like I was in Kananaskis country. Probably one of my best days so far, even if I didn't find any rocks other than basalt and granite.

The countdown has begun, less than two weeks to go up here. In some ways it feels like it went very fast but sometimes I also feel like I have been here for years. I am really looking forward to sleeping in a bed that does not consist of plywood, a piece of foam and a sleeping bag. Woooh blankets!

Nothing much else to report today, but tomorrow we might go heli-fishing, so I will let you know how that goes.

-A.