The views of Lake Superior were gorgeous last night as the sun started to settle into the horizon. I was determined to find a camping spot near the lake, and after almost giving up, I found a spot under some cedars right by the water. It was perfect. The sound of the waves put me to sleep.
Around midnight, I awoke to the sound of some rustling just outside my tent. I coughed to scare the critter away, whatever it was, but the noise continued, so I sat up. Suddenly, I saw the silhouette of a mouse crawling on the outside of the tent. I banged my hand against the tent to knock him off. Those guys can tear holes in the mesh. Not good.
I turned on my head lamp and looked through the screen, but I didn’t see any mice, so I went back to shivering in my sleeping bag on what had to be one of the coldest nights I’ve slept outside in this trip.
I few minutes later, I heard the same sound. I lifted my head and saw a mouse scurry across my sleeping bag. Donning my head lamp, I went looking for him. I found him easily enough. He was a cute little fella and I didn’t want to kill him, so I opened the tent and tried to scare him out. But he wouldn’t go. He kept climbing up the mesh and then running to the back of the tent. Finally, I grabbed a shoe while he scooted in and out of the other shoe. I whacked him once and he lay still. I went to lift him by the tail to throw him out of the tent, but he suddenly came to life and squirmed away. Darn! Just stunned him.
I whacked him again a couple of times and he lay still long enough for me to throw him out. I spent the next five minutes checking the netting to make sure the mouse hadn’t chewed a hole in it. I couldn’t find anything, so I went back to shivering in my sleeping bag while recalling the riddle of the farmer who built a fence around the garden to keep the rabbits out, but was puzzled to find a rabbit inside each day. The solution was that the fence had been built with the rabbit already in it. Perhaps the mouse had already been in my tent.
At 2 am, I awoke to the familiar sound of a mouse scurrying around near my head. I didn’t sit up right away, but instead reached gently for my head lamp. I flicked it on and stared into the eyes of the mouse. It sure looked like the same mouse. It’s too bad that mice get a bad rap for being pests because they certainly are cute.
I could see that the mouse was afraid of the light. When he tried to scurry to the back of the tent, I only had to put the light in his face to stop him. I unzipped the tent, and by using the light and some calming words, I got him to leave under his own power. I spent more time checking the netting and finally found the hole he had made. So, I taped it up.
The mouse I thought I had killed wasn’t outside my tent when I checked, so I must have just stunned him. I’m glad the mouse didn’t die for his efforts. It wasn’t his fault. It was mine. I have been breaking the golden rule of not storing food in my tent. I have been carrying more food that can fit into my bear bag, so there hasn’t really been a place to put it.
After the mouse left, I spent the next few minutes packing as much food into the bear bag as possible. Then I grabbed a spare 10-liter MEC Brooks Bag, a waterproof bag that can keep water and rodents out, but not bears, and I filled that to the top. There were a couple of food items left over that didn’t fit into the bags, so I tucked those under the corner of my sleeping bag. Then I tried to sleep with my headlamp on, pointed at the side of the tent with the hole in it. There weren’t any further incidents.
It was an exhausting night, what with it being so cold and with the visit of the hungry mouse. When I broke camp, I was freezing. I wore a jacket, with my Gortex jacket over top, my toque, and my gloves. It took an hour and a few monster hills for me to warm up enough to take off some layers.
The views again this morning of Lake Superior were stunning. I passed by a number of beaches and thought that I could just wile away the days sitting down there, watching the waves roll in with the light wind, read a good book, and eat jujubes all day.
Today was the first day on this trip where I truly felt the freedom of the road, where I truly was so thankful for choosing this path in my life and feeling so emotional about it that I just had to stop for a minute and let my spirit settle. It was a feeling that I can only describe as bliss.
The sun is shining today and I can’t see a single cloud in the sky. A retired couple from Quebec just came to chat with me and to share their apples. What a great day!
