ConSynPro

Woke up early and broke camp, carrying it out and departing the festival with the sisters. Virtually no one was ahead of us on the way - just wide open roads to Nelson and beyond. At AG’s mom’s place I was introduced to the other family members. A bit nervous considering the situation, I connected to the open WiFi to catch up with the ‘net, then taking a shower and a nap. Awoken for dinner, I feasted and then relaxed back into sleep, returning to pleasant dreams. Felt great waking up, and I chatted away with a fierce cup of coffee in the back yard; played with the kids, then headed into Nelson with all my gear, less the computer and hat. Now downtown, I hit the laundromat, grocery store, and the wireless cafe, hanging out at the bus stop reading Into the Wild as I waited to get to the ferry. Once picked up, we headed off along the Kootenay lake shore, back into a steep, glacial canyon. We finally reached Balfour, the terminal of the Osprey 2000 ferry. While waiting, backpacker YR noticed the book I was reading and dropped by to have a chat about it. While riding on the ferry deck, there were gorgeous views and raptors circling over the blue water of the lake. I didn’t care that I had no idea where I was going… YR showed me the ropes of how to find a ride to the campsite. When I asked the driver about the rules, he said ‘Common sense, respect, and have fun.’ Sweet. Heading down the pathway into the trees, I selected a site and set up camp. There I sat on a log at the beach looking out over the water. I read for hours until completing Into the Wild and starting into The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Later, YR walked by completely nude, eating quinoa out of a Tupperware. We had a great chat about backpacker and survivalist lives, as I stopped occasionally to spoon food from tin cans while sipping on the iodine filtered water bottle. He was several years my senior with far more experience living the life outdoors; that night, YR again swung by to check on me, mildly rolling his eyes when he discovered I hadn’t yet met the neighbors. He took me by the blazing campfire, introduced me to the girls from Montreal, and left me there as he strode off to camp.