Day 9 - July 12
Sun mixed with cloud, 20C

We take some time to explore the aboriginal sites around us in the morning. Strong wind keeps the bugs at bay and low, puffy cumulus clouds roll past us at a brisk pace. Some bring brief downbursts of rain, the odd one rumbles with thunder. We've planned a short paddle for today. Our destination is a site we explored last trip, only about 5 Km downstream. A creek has carved a pocket canyon in the hillside and the walls of the canyon are rich in geological features.

As we leave our campsite, the wind is very brisk and the waves are short and choppy. When we launch the canoes, it is a challenge to keep them dry. Thankfully, it's a tail wind and wind and current combine to move us along at about 7 Km per hour without paddling. Our only concern is the waves and we have to move from side to side in the river to avoid the areas where the wind combines with the current to create taller than normal waves. The clouds continue to roll past us, still dumping the occasional light rain on us, but we don't get very wet. The wind, the rain and the low angle of the sun eventually combine to produce a spectacular rainbow.

When we get to our next campsite, we pull into a small sheltered bay and the wind seems to disappear. There are some nice tent sites along the washout from the creek, but we find a more sheltered spot among some willows to get out of the wind. The rocks along the beach are littered with various rock crystals, mostly amethyst.

Across the river from us, there's a cairn of rocks and just downstream there's a huge cairn of rocks on the right bank on a point of land. I wonder if it's a claim stake for the minerals found here.

Towards evening, Brendan and I go for a short walk behind the tents. We hike up the banks to the left of the creek and skirt behind the canyon past a small pond and down the right of the creek bank. On the way down, we surprise an animal near shore - though its not clear at first who's most surprised, it or us. Seemingly very out of place - we are flabbergasted to see a porcupine wander right past us, showing little concern. I suppose no one informed the porcupine that he's living well above the tree line and shouldn't be there. Brendan holds still and the waddling ball of quills almost trips over his shoes, he passes by so close.