We were joined for the day by “She-who-floats-on-mud”. I watched Heather step lightly on top of mud that Kookork sank into and that I’m sure I would have drowned in … I’m so envious! She did almost 20km with us today, before returning to Orangeville. Lots of discussion about how she refuses, reduces, re-uses, and recycles (as a last resort) and how that applies to my old-fashioned and now inappropriate plastic-bag-within-plastic-bag approach to trail food. (A blog post on that coming!)

‘The Stumbles’

Mid-afternoon I got ‘the stumbles’ — the light-headed unsure almost-staggers I used to get racewalking when I used up my available glycogen stores and exceeded the rate at which I could use gluconeogenesis to make glucose from fats. The solution I eventually came up with today was to eat the carb-rich Indian Channa I carry. I’ve not felt like eating them before. But today they sure worked!

TLDR: I examined everything I could think of … Waist belt too tight or positioned wrong; dehydration; low electrolytes; too much blood pressure medication now that I’m working harder and losing weight …  I drank lots; I changed the position and tightness of my waist belt; I ate somewhat salty snack; I ate the carb-rich Channa. And beginning some 20 minutes after I ate, I began to feel like myself and was able to climb the hills without issue. Ultimate decision: to eat my all my Channa in the early afternoon and to wash it down well with water. Let’s see!

Highlights: 

• A wonderful clear sunrise over Georgian Bay! (Alarm time changed to 5:30am) 
• The 20 km with Heather, through fields of bobolinks, across forests so overgrazed it was really a shady pasture, into beautiful quite mature species-rich forests, and always trading stories. Thanks, Heather!
• Our campsite west of Kolapore and beside a pretty little falls where the landowner placed four red plastic deck chairs. We were welcomed by a neighbour and had a fine chat. 
• Few bugs and no poison ivy for another day!
• A very poignant bench and sign in a lovely open woods:  “Wendy loved the Bruce Trail. And I loved her.” 
• More and more apple blossoms as we (disquietingly …) moved southwards and away from the cool lake down and over to the Beaver Valley. 
• California gorp — thanks, Anne! (Count the ingredients!)
• #blazeoftheday (a new style of hanging white blaze) 
• #blazeoftheday (topped by 4 species of lichen on an 8cm*8cm square of wood)
• #blazeoftheday (road scrawl) 
• A gorgeous pink senescing Trillium!