Today
I woke up in my tent at 5:00am to a loud creaking coming from an abandoned
water tower just outside our campsite. Judging by the scat nearby and the claw
marks on the trees; it must’ve been a black bear investigating the food bags
our group had hung the night before. It’s the things like hoisting food 12 feet
in the air, and having to yell every time you go out to pee that makes me
realize how far out here I really am which is both extremely exciting and
sometimes overwhelming. Today was a long day of paddling. We made it to Fairy
Point on Missinaibi Lake and then and extra 5 miles to our campsite. We were
greeted with a beautiful view of the lake and the good news that we would be
staying an extra day at this beautiful campsite in order for us to complete our
outdoor education introduction lessons. My favorite part of the day was seeing
the pictographs at Fairy Point. My wish, which I nagged Steve Acuff about for
the whole week, was finally granted. Reading about the pictographs online is
interesting enough, but to see them in person was mezmoring. The huge granite
cliff faces were dotted with assorted drawings of different figures, symbols,
and animals which some were up to 1500 years old. As I paddled by and gazed at
the pictographs, I pictured the Shaman’s standing in their canoes and painting
these symbols after experiencing a spiritual epiphany, the story of forgotten
people. I looked around and reminded myself that they shared the same lake that
I paddled on today. As I took in the moment, I also thought of how these
pictographs are some of the last remnants of the Essinovoi tribe which were
some of the first people to live on these lands. To some the pictographs are
simply stick figures on rocks, but to them, it was a canvas of their history,
culture, and heritage. As Bobby’s gopro camera glitched for the first time ever
trying record the pictographs, I got the feeling the Shaman’s spirits were
whispering “We still live here”.
-Steve
Nutt
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