Round:Motion

{Deutsch⬇️}
It’s constantly up and down, up and down, the sun burns from the bright blue sky - constantly - the lake glistens as if from another world, while my sweat is pouring and my eyes are burning. All around me: forest. But then - the first night this year that I wake up in the morning and my sleeping bag is neither damp from frost nor from high humidity and then suddenly the trees are green! When did that happen? The sweet cloud of birch scent spreads its arms and embraces my soul - a brief moment of natural romance, which is joined a few moments later by the first swarms of mosquitoes and other small, flying creatures. I guess the time now begins when I have to remind myself very consciously that these little creatures are an important part of the world and the ecosystem, so as not to be consumed by pure aggression towards them. But first - rest day in Nipigon ☺️

Es geht konstant hoch und runter, die Sonne brennt vom strahlend blauen Himmel - konstant - der See glitzert wie von einer anderen Welt, während mein Schweiß durchgehend in Strömen fließt und in den Augen brennt. Um mich herum: durchgehend Wald. Aber dann - die erste Nacht dieses Jahr in der ich morgens aufwache und mein Schlafsack ist weder feucht von Frost noch von hoher Luftfeuchtigkeit. Dann sind auf einmal die Bäume grün! Wann ist das passiert?
Die süße Wolke aus Birkenduft breitet ihre Arme aus und es ist, als umarmte meine Seele - ein kurzer Moment der Naturromantik, dem wenige Augenblicke später die ersten Schwärme Moskitos und andere, kleine, fliegende Wesen beiwohnen… Ich vermute, nun beginnt die Zeit in welcher ich mich sehr bewusst ermahnen muss, dass diese kleinen Wesen ein wichtiger Bestandteil der Welt und des Ökosystems sind, um nicht von purer Aggression gegen sie zerfressen zu werden. Aber erst- Ruhetag im schönen Nipigon ☺️

lakesuperior

When I left White River the unique combination of wind and singing birds, only appearing to announce the arriving rain, joined me. After a few steps through this spectacle the sun left, the dark clouds softened and a few steps later I was completely soaked. I have made a more relaxed plan for a few days and when in the late afternoon a campground came into sight, I thought I treat myself to the possibility of a hot shower and maybe even drying a few things somewhere inside.
Still wet after a rainy night, but at least feeling very clean I was basically ready to leave the next morning, when I sat down with the owner of the place and his buddy Ross for a coffee.
“A shame that you are leaving! Otherwise you could join me when I put the bait out for the upcoming bear hunt!”
A coffee later I decided that this sounded just too interesting to be missed.
Hunting in general, but also bear hunting is such a big part of the culture here and I’m grateful that I could dip my tiny toe into it, to understand it at least a little bit better.
So I spent a whole day with Ross in the woods, we checked on different places, saw quite some impressive bear marks in the trees, found bear hair and all sorts of other tracks that give information about the possible size of the bears, if there are cubs etc. besides the footage of cameras that Ross has in some of the places.
It’s always impressive to me how these big animals move around silently and even though I found quite often their tracks, I saw them only once last autumn in New Brunswick.
And while some hungry bear is now licking off the peanut butter from trees, I walked on towards Marathon with my one day less relaxed plan, but wondering how many bears are just now wondering what I’m doing there.

Days fly by fast. I walk through snow, rain, wind and sun accompanied by dramatic clouds. Small, but long roads between farmland, forests, villages leading northwest up and down many little hills. A few fresh nights in my tent with a bright moon bringing light to all the singing birds and frogs and wonderful people that offer me their sofa or extra bed including telling me their travel stories and opinions about the world. Even though the walking itself isn’t exactly exciting, I get to see and hear so much, that my automatically moving legs carry a very busy head.
Surrounded by an icy breeze I reached Echo Bay today. Lake Huron has been out of sight for a few days, but the gulls tell me constantly, that the big water isn’t far and the very first flowers, little shops along the road and green or red tips on brown branches give hints, that it’s actually spring already!