Canoe Diary.
By NIC BISHOP
July 21
The house looked such a mess this morning!
The living room floor was covered with gear....
piles of warm clothes, bags of food, pots and pans - you name it!
I was packing for a canoe trip in the wild,
and I didn't want to forget anything. Once
you're on the river, there are no shops.
Luckily, I'd made a list of all the things I
needed, and everything was there. But I'm
a bit worried. How is it going to fit into my
tiny canoe?
July 24
Today was the first day of the six-day trip.
My supplies did fit into the canoe, thank
goodness.
It was great to be paddling up the river
at last. The water was so clear., I could see
right down to the bottom.
I watched a terrapin swim slowly under the
canoe. It looked so peaceful and graceful.
Bu things were not peaceful for long. When
I looked up, I couldn't believe my eyes! There
was a moose just ahead! I never realized a
moose could be big. It was feeding on the
river bank and lifted its head to look at me.
Then I saw a female moose and her baby. A
mother moose is very protective of her baby,
so I didn't hang around for long.
July 25
Today I saw a tree on the river bank that had
been eaten almost half! I could see the
tooth marks, and that could mean only one
thing - beavers.
I think beavers are amazing animals.
Imagine being able to chew through a tree!
I looked hard for the beavers, but they were
nowhere to be seen.
July 26
Today I found a great campsite. It's by a big
lake surrounded by trees.
After I'd put up the tent, I went looking for
firewood. I nearly picked up a toad! It was so
still, I thought it was a piece of wood.. At first I
thought, "Gross!" When I looked closer, I saw
that it was really quite a beautiful animal.
Before bed, I put all my food into a big bag.
I used ropes to haul it up into a tall tree
to keep it safe. There are bears around here,
and if they smell food, they sometimes help
themselves. Bears don't usually mean any
harm, but I'd rather not meet one in the wild.
July 27
Last night, I had a real fright. I was just falling
asleep when I heard heavy footsteps outside
the tent. My heart started pounding. Was it
a bear? I didn't dare look out of the tent or
even move! The footsteps sounded so close.
Then they headed off into the night.
When I woke up this morning., my food was
safe!
July 28
The river has become more of a swamp.
Swamps are amazing places. I found some
strange plants that eat insects. They are called
pitcher plants because they have leaves shaped
like pitchers.
I found five ants trapped inside one pitcher.
Dragonflies zipped all around me , hunting
for sand flies and mosquitoes.
The best thing I saw was a baby garter
snake. It was lying by the edge of the swamp,
staring into the water. All of a sudden, it
pulled out a fish and swallowed it whole!
July 29
This is my last day. I think I'm going to miss
camping out and seeing all these creatures in
the wild. I can't wait till my next canoe trip.
Maybe next time I'll see those beavers.
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