We woke up this morning to fog. This could get interesting. We have to assume we will be picked up today and have to be ready for whenever they manage to get here, so after breakfast (and a pot of coffee) we pack up our stuff and move it to the porch. Then we sweep and mop the floor and have another pot of coffee. We still can’t see the other side of the lake about 300 yards away. We won’t be flying anywhere until this soup lifts. Time for another pot of coffee.
Foggy Morning Delays Flight
9:30 AM The fog has lifted but it is now drizzling. Perhaps the fog hasn’t lifted back at the main lodge some 100 miles to the southwest. We will have to wait and see.
The black flies have taken refuge under the porch. The other guys are inside the cabin. If this is any indication, this trip was well-timed vis-à-vis the insect population. They are just now starting to get annoying.
10:15 AM Still raining and we’re still waiting for our ride.
10:45 AM The plane and pilot, John again, have shown up. He inspects the grounds and we get a passing grade. We get packed and off to Coursol Base.
The sky is still threatening and once we are on the dirt road the sky opens up. This makes the drive even more interesting. You would think a sand road would soak up the rain, but this road seems to get slick and greasy. The rear end is slewing around a little on some of the curves. Joe hits a couple of ruts and rocks a little hard. We are half way down the road and the rain has stopped briefly, which is good because we have a flat. The left rear tire has bounced on a rock or log and the rim is bent enough for the tire to have gone flat. We change it in about 15 minutes with everybody lending a hand. Then we are on the road again. It takes us a little over 3 and a half hours to cover the 104 miles of Clova Road and get back to Chy-117. We stop at the first gas station to refuel and check the air pressure in the spare. Now we just have to get through Ottawa again and back across the border.
Ottawa proves to be no problem with the new directions. Nor did we have any problems getting to the border at Thousand Islands’ Bridge. A stop at the Duty Free to recoup some of the Canadian taxes and pick up some beer and liquor and we head back into New York.
We miss our exit at Watertown. We were looking for a sign for Route 12 but there wasn’t any. We end up about 40 miles further south stopping for coffee, donut and directions at a booth manned by the local fire department for the holiday weekend. We turned around and went north to exit 42 to get on 177 east heading to Lowville and Route 12. We have lost about 45 minutes. We reach Lowville around 10 PM and stop at McDonalds for dinner. An hour and a half later and we are back at the Bolt Hole.
Joe, David and John stop to take a nap and then head home to NJ after breakfast, Memorial Day. I have to cut the grass and will head back Tuesday.
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