Wolv

5 - Into the storm

    I jarred awake, wide eyed, and my heart pounding. I sat up and took a few deep breaths, trying to slow my pulse.

    Wow. I blinked my eyes a few times, and looked towards the screen window of my tent. The sky just above the eastern horizon was licked with a faint but obvious red glow. Morning. I lay back down and sighed, waiting for my body to wake up and match my alert mind. I must have dozed off while listening to those wolves!

    I reached up and removed my earplugs, listening to the sound of the breeze rustling in the leaves above me. I couldn't hear any howling anymore, much to my relief. My stomach rumbled, and I inhaled deeply, enjoying the scent of the uncooked Backpacking meal which would be my breakfast.

    A thought drifted through my mind as I sniffed the air. All my food is in the kayak. It shouldn't smell quite that strong... I dragged myself up and zipped open my tent, stepping onto the damp ground and looking at my kayak.

    And stopped dead in my tracks.

    The forward hatch was lying off to the side, with one corner bearing rather obvious claw marks. Plastic was littered everywhere several meters around my boat. I looked down, and realized that the Backpacking meal I had been craving moments ago was spread on the ground before me, along with at least six others. At least, what was left of them. Some kind of tiny animal tracks dotted the earth all around my campsite.

    "You've gotta be kidding me!" I shouted the words at the trees, and angrily kicked the hatch away. I hadn't planned on having my supplies raided. I should have tied up my food!

    I walked over to my boat and peered inside the hatch. Two of my dry bags had been ripped to shreds. I only had one dry bag, only half-packed with food, remaining.

    It seemed that my week and a half of freedom was over.

    I began emptying out the hatch, looking for my map. With well over half of my food gone, there was no way I was going to be staying out here for my full twelve days. Given how little food I had left, I'd probably have to book it back to Nopiming Park as it was.

    It wasn't there.

    No. Oh, please no. I tore open all of my dry bags, desperately hoping that I had stuck my map in one of them. Dang it! I had it just yesterday! I dumped out my remaining food sack, then emptied my bag of clothes onto the ground in front of me. Nothing. Great. My mind raced, frantically working through every possible location. I dashed back into my tent and madly began throwing everything out of it, but to no avail. It was gone. I'd lost it!

    I'd only been out here four days. It can't be that hard to remember the route I took. Heck, I had spent half of this trip staring at the scenery around me; I was bound to remember at least a few landmarks.

    By now, the sun's rays were poking their way over the tree tops at the far end of the lake. I took down my tent and packed everything that I had dumped out up, put the hatch cover back onto its fiberglass berth, and wrapped a ribbon of duct tape around it. I couldn't afford to lose anything else due to a loose hatch.

    I eyed the tiny paw prints with disdain, and snatched up my can of bear spray, hooking it on to the side of my belt. I don't care if that thing was just a rabbit, the next critter that gets too close is getting wasted! They had the whole bloody forest to scavenge for food--all I had was a tiny, waterproof wooden box, so naturally, some furry fiend had decided to take my supplies.

    I had at least eighty kilometers of paddling in between me and the edge of Nopiming Provincial Park, and another ten between the edge of Nopiming and my car. I'll probably have to fish for my dinner. Yuck. I hefted my kayak up and carried it down to the waters edge. I mean, I would...if I had a fishing rod.