Canoe Tripping

These are excerpts from a letter to Margaret, about a solo canoe trip to North Tea Lake, Algonquin Park, that Gordon took with his dog, Scratch.  The letter is dated September 7, 1998, :

"I kept a small diary of this trip and am glad I did, as on re-reading of my daily adventures, I realized that I could never recount to anyone, by memory alone, the subtleties and the intimate feelings encountered on each individual day (and night) spent with Mother Nature, in all her unspoiled splendor!  Up at the crack of dawn, contentfully taking care of camp chores (made camp on what I thought 'must' be the best island site on the lake), then sat meself down on a great rock, wi' a hot mug of tea an' ma wee dug by ma side, gazing at a view that made me question the importance of the 'other' life I was living!"

"My afternoons were spent exploring other island sites, and trekking a bit into the mainland interior, and stopping here and there to touch a tree, wonder at the life of a new bud, and observe insect life as they went about their daily routines."

"The nights always ended with my eyes scanning the heavens, in the glow of the dying embers of my campfire... wondering at the bravery, and the loneliness, of those who traveled these untamed lands before us!"