"19 Days Needed" e1- Dropped off Alone in the Wilderness

I'm going to write a book on this trip. That's what it's all about. I'm going to write an autobiography. And I need to be out here to do it. I need my brain working as it does when I'm out here. It doesn't work any other time the way it does when I'm out here. Things come to me. Clarity comes to me. It was a lot tougher than I had thought. Quite a bit of it. And I need it. And I like it. And I like thinking out here. I like to set time aside to just think. and i remember that from my 10 day 10 item trip that was a big part of it for me and that's been like i don't know six years seven years eight years now i go go so and a concussion and traumatic brain injury ago all right buddy you guys have a good one nice to meet you too yeah take care very nice to meet you have a great trip beautiful couple i got dropped off on the train with we're parting ways now and I'm going to finally be solo on a canoe trip for the first time in a year. See you guys. Is that the train again? Like downtown Toronto right now. That was ridiculous. A ridiculous train ride. All sorts of things went wrong but we are here out in nature alone. I didn't mind riding on the train with those two nice people. I'm sorry I don't remember names. Never met them before. They had no idea who I was and we shared a lot of stories and it was good. but now I am very happy to be finally alone this has not happened since my accident I have food for 20 days my route is going to take me about 24 days and I might push it to 28 days to make it for four full weeks one month in the wilderness which I like the sound of it will be by far my biggest undertaking I've only ever spent 12 days out consecutively on the same trip before I have an in-reach for safety i'm not going to see anybody for a very long time i got my single blade as you see i have a double blade with me as well for windy days but i do like the single blade i'll use it as much as possible total of 80 pounds of gear plus all the miscellaneous stuff the map case that weighs 10 pounds because there's so many maps in it for so many days fanny pack here with all my stuff in it water paddles poles safety equipment there is a lot of gear there's a lot of stuff to be responsible for on this trip in a beautiful remote part of Canada Wabakimi provincial park call me Bailey you can call me Bailey you can call me Bailey but the The hill comes with it. Oh, yeah. I'm so lucky. This is bedrock. I can just walk on it. It's not just a bunch of boulders. There is that, too. Don't get me wrong. Like, right here. I'm about to get hung up on. I got a strong northern drawl. I highly suggest you go check out Stephen Wilson Jr. and Charles Wesley Godwin. You can call me Bailey, but the hill comes with it. I don't listen to rap anymore. I don't listen to hard rock anymore. I listen to old man freaking, you can call me Bailey, but the hill comes with it music. All right I'm about ready to get back in the boat. Now. It's enough walking. It's double-blade time not knuckle puck You know, where are my fellow? 1984 bros and sissas it's knuckle-puck time and I was like Give me a chance to look at the map make a little bit of a plan for today A spot for a break. Let's start my right make a sandwich And so I cut some big thick slices of cheese because the cheese already soft. It ain't gonna last long either Let's get into us what we can and I need the fuel Moutard preparing moutard preparing to be free. Not sure if you guys know I didn't know until very recently I bought it, it's called the Bee Free black They did some things but this handle that you used to you would think you used to scoop up water with Comes off with the lid when you have to open it to scoop up water. We should have been here But anyways, it's darker It's supposed to be a little bit tougher and then they have a little insert for a charcoal carbon piece at the top Which slows it down significantly and it's all gone after lunch a couple sips gone before that and then after you get a piece of pizza toppings And through the rest of the way crazy regret. The regret is huge. I feel nasty. I feel nasty as hell on this ---- I am so very very over it. I can't navigate properly. I feel disgusting I'm not not into it. This is not a good flight not happy with my decision But it's part of the trip now take note of this people sometimes less is way More percent of the effects are all gone and relieved. Oh, this is about a lot of black flies though It's uh, it's seven o'clock. I started at noon today was supposed to be an easy day rough easy easy low mileage day this is the worst black flies have been the whole day by far and this is where I went to camp. Joseph! some freaking bugs man. nice camp there's my boat down there in the water my food bag down there the river there's a little fire pit with the old tin foil and my camp. I like my hair I live with three girls and I actually like it you know what I mean they did it to me just messing around the first time and I asked for it this time to keep my hair out of my face and I can put my hat on easily and stuff so I like it all I wanted to do when I got here was lay down and now I'm rejuvenated there's a nice sight regardless of the frickin black flies I'm gonna go look at the rapids and maybe take a cast maybe I'll make fish for supper maybe I'll make fish for supper if I catch one sounds okay I wish I would have turned the camera on not that it's a crazy big fish or anything it was the first cast after I said all that nonsense running my mouth we'll get a fish epic epic walleye for supper i got a fish right away and this is a small eye but i'm gonna eat them because uh well because it's the first fish i've caught here and that's why i'm gonna try for another two that is very cool i got him on the jig i didn't have to jig he hit it right away a little small eye these are pretty bad i've done rusty bug net you know what the biggest thing with these things are is that like when you hawk up a loogie and you want to hork it out you got to remember that you had this on or else it just sticks and then it stinks i'm so gross i'm the grossest person you know just ask my daughters they know they call me gross all the time all right one more one more and i'll be happy with that bittersweet i didn't get it on camera but i also didn't have to get in the boat with these two walleyes this one's a little bit bigger than the first small eye very good meal for myself here i don't need much and this is plenty this is plenty so thank you mr. walleye thank you mr. jig happy with the jigs this is why I love this place I literally just walked up this is on the ground and either fell out of a tree or collected by somebody else before but real-time folks real-time your fire good bug repellent good the start of my cooking fire ready to go a comfy accompaniment out here keep the boogeyman away just like that one flick of the lighter now all I have to do is run around like a madman and get some more firewood but it's not hard here on account of abundance of firewood and of people little amounts of people mainly need a smoky fire right now I'm not ready to cook just yet just grabbing stuff off the ground grabbing stuff up off the ground so this is the ganache like I've shown you before I've used many times in videos before I don't know if I've given it the highlight it actually deserves so titanium it's called the Ganesha there is a reason behind it I believe the dude who makes them deals with a lot of people in Nepal who have natural disasters and whatnot and he's helping them out with that I believe that's the reason for the name of that anyway it doesn't matter it's a fantastic pig stove the best one that I have ever used like I've said before it is fantastic it's like the Bush Buddy rigged right up on steroids okay so that's ready to go down and it comes with this fire mat type thing put on the ground to go with that the not so new was new a while ago Agua Pan Agua Gear guys make the saws they make axes now they make the pans so I've had this is a second one I lost lost a ton of gear after my big trips a a couple weeks ago and this is one of the things my Ganesha was one of the things as well and the Ganesha guy sent me a new one and the Eggo guy sent me a new one so thanks a lot folks i appreciate that this is this will be the first time i use this pan but i have had its twin and it is an amazing amazing piece of gear that i would not want to go on a trout or sorry on a fishing trip without whether or not it's trout or not while I that combined with that makes a fantastic cooker I'm gonna use that to cook over the over the fire instead of the fire and it runs all on twigs I've collected a little bit of twigs it'll run all on that that'll be plenty and I'll get a better cook than I would on the fire I know this from experience for sure this dude sees my walleye for sure bro you ain't hiding you ain't fooling nobody I really hope while I was over here doing all my stuff that he didn't come and steal my food for nice fillets this dude just dove right into the water like underneath the water to try to get some scraps it's hard out here for a seagull again with this like in the old man's beer I can just kind of light it up no birch bark no messing around fire driven forest and you can see why that is for sure also a good smoke generator get rid of the bugs too if you use shoes good smoke generator good smoke generator I got some bigger pieces of kindling or thumb thumb sized stuff go in the door gets stuck down in there there's all these little slots and Ganesha is your uncle you know no disrespect man could be your aunt who knows I think in this day and age you could even be Ganesha yourself if you wanted Almost looking ready. I think a little splash of Fish crispy. Yeah, she ready. She ready You gotta keep the heat going with this thing For any kind of fish cooking, but it's nice and easy. Maybe a little bit more heat actually Looking a little better like this get it up on the side kind of deep-fried style You don't have to use a ton of oil as long as you can maneuver the pan around quite a bit But you can these are all but done look at my enormous plate I have to put all this fish on smells good looks good. I've not tried the spicy seasoning yet Hoping it's kind to me On the way out tomorrow That is a small plate. Oh over to we get one on the camera boom knocks it off lots of fails lots of hills nope okay we end it there and we eat lots of leaf litter and I keep knocking my fish onto the ground perfect believe it or not that fire really did a lot for the bugs they're gone and this is fish crisps is crispy is spicy I have one bite so far that's crazy the ground underneath the fire mat it's almost scorched but what to say it's not on fire this was a real first day of canoe tripping added to by my nonsense but I'm super glad that that's out of my system super glad that I'm out of it all what I was thinking starting to understand that I do have a problem and for the most part I'm gonna blame that on my genetics my biological father to lush also my fault for continuing doing it smarten the f-up Joe Martin to f-up don't be like your dad you know I do believe it's time to get up I have a lot of portaging and waiting and nonsense today so I'm gonna put my wet socks back on with my wet boots because it's gonna be wet day that's all right I'm looking forward to I'm looking forward to getting up and moving started writing my book last night I'm glad I was able to start that on the day one I thought maybe it wouldn't happen for a few days but only wrote a little bit like four pages front back good start oh boy hello world it's me old Joe call me old Joe with the mossy fingers well this one's still heavier than my normal bag it'll bring on the trip it's nothing compared to that not too bad I'll be carrying my canoe with this one 10 to 9 I'm just leaving camp now this is the latest start I have had to a day on a canoe trip this whole season and I have already have like 30 nights in the bush this season alone not even this year but that's good I was it was good to sleep in my portage is literally right across the river I could see it so we're gonna maybe take a cast here before we get out of the boat again and and lugger gear and put the gear back in the boat and do it all again and again and again and again no luck fishing i don't know maybe i have to switch out the plastic maybe they just get dry and used up uh because the tail doesn't look like it's flickering around anymore too too too good so i'll try that next time i care i just thought this looked like a good spot i'm gonna have to walk into the water already this is what i signed up for what i wanted what i knew was gonna happen and what i paid for and what i'm going to pay for in many ways first portage first portage i already took the heavy load and i have dropped my nalgene do a little quick quick maneuver joe quick maneuver slow right down ready one two three okay anyway i already took the heavy load it's a very short portage but at the end there's a surprise i had to walk all my gear out i don't know quite a bit into the water put on a big boulder because the water is super shallow and with the amount of weight that's in my backpacks i'll just be scraping across with this canoe and i would much rather get wet feet than risk breaking my only means of transportation and escape from this route here we are there's some kilometer long portages on this trip and i'm really hoping my food has dwindled in weight by then quite a bit all right this is algonquin park all these rocks will be all sorts of different colors from bottoms of canoes but we are not in algonquin this is a very nice paddling day overcast not too hot i got a lot of short in and out of the boat portages i'm glad for the not hot sunny day today and i don't know how far i'll make it but that's part of the fun I'm actually loving taking things very slow. It's only day two, morning of day two, but I feel good Here's another rapid but I have to portage it out I want to try fishing again Well the jigging Worked now. I don't know. It's feeling more of a pike, but the jigging worked. It's gonna be a pike. Yeah, there's no question Oh, cool. It's a little bit fun new method for me I've just never really done it in a canoe before I've done it in the Great Lakes in a boat But this wasn't my style. It's a little bit different in a canoe. I kind of like it i might be getting the hang of this jigging thing biggest walleye of the trip so far it's a nice nice little guy there i'm not gonna keep him obviously and i just lipped him too perfect perfect no pike action but uh yeah i might have it down i might have the old jigging technique down and i didn't even switch out the plastics that is a nice walleye that is a nice walleye i am happy with that one goodbye i'm having a moment here i um i was paddling and crying literally crying out loud about my brother and i said his name kind of angrily and uh right that second right behind me a fish splashed in the water i'm just paddling this like river system and so i just instinctively grabbed my rod threw it back let it sink close the bail and start paddling and then i started thinking i'm gonna catch a fish right now and and then i caught a fish and it was fighting i'm like that's a big walleye i know it is and then it was a big walleye biggest one i've caught of the trip so far and um then i just grabbed it let me grab it and pull it in i just i feel i don't feel alone at all right now i feel my brother's presence i don't know if it's god or the universe or my brother isaac i appreciate how i say his name this fish moves anyways um yeah i'm gonna keep this fish and eat it for lunch because i feel like i should i miss my brother isaac so very much but i realize now that he had to go he wasn't cut out for this world he couldn't he couldn't handle it no fault of his own i always prayed for a dad and a brother and a sister at least i still have a sister i love her very much decent fish all right i'm gonna keep him for lunch the walleye on this trip so far i've had this weird these weird worms on their tails on the outside. They're not in the flesh at all, but I'm just gonna cut his tail off sky starting to look a little bit ominous in places over there, especially but yeah, I don't know a couple more portages to do I'll find a camp and cook this fish up decide what to do whether or not to keep going or stop for the day if it comes down I'll probably just end up stopping but making good time. It's only 11 I've only really been on the water for two hours today was a relatively short day I had that walleye and I was hungry and I know I wanted to cook it up So I found this was gonna be either my lunch spot or my spot for tonight camp spot I got here. It was beautiful. I cooked up the fish. I really enjoyed it. Looked at my map a little bit more I realized where I am and how far I'm going and everything. I am on a good pace So I'm gonna call it today for today. It's 1 40 started at 9 Not a big day at all But I have a bunch of little crappy portages right after this that I don't want to do today I already did a bunch so I want to save those for tomorrow because I can and I want to do that right now Set up a tent, get everything squared away Sit in my tent for a while, right? And then I'm sure I'm gonna get very warm in there So I'm gonna go jump in the water after that. That's my plan at least you see it I've been in there writing. It's gonna be for an hour now and it was hot before the Sun came out it was so muggy and then the Sun came out and and it's very sauna-y, very sauna-y. So I'm going in the water now. Can't be as cold as what I've already been swimming in this year, so I'm looking forward to it. Then I can get, oh my goodness, I can dry my boots out even better now and get back into the tent after and keep writing nice and relaxed and chilled. Refreshed and chilled, I mean. Hot, man. That's enough for me. I do not have the balance I used to have, man. I'll knock on the noggin, I'll do that, I guess. jeez as a pine beetle if I've ever seen one I've been sitting here naked for a long time I keep going out to the water and dunking in and keep coming back and writing writing writing writing lots of writing very very productive day for the book hopefully you can see my job it's quite the afternoon thinking about your own life is a wild thing to do some memories and feelings emotions about five estimated about five thousand words ten ten words a line both sides the page is done I was sweaty sweaty sweaty Joe in there dripping off my face I kept jumping I was honestly in there with no clothes at all on I kept jumping in the water every now and then not too bad I couldn't just stay out here because of the bugs it was more comfortable laying down for me than sitting in a chair like that I still will do this I like to relax a bit mattress anyways it's like seven o'clock so I've been in there a few hours and it's time to make supper last thing I ate was that fish a tiny chocolate bar after. Black flies are constant they should die down in a couple weeks or so. Oh, bugs in my bed Bugs in my head Bugs in my bed Eddie Vedder style yeah. Precarious there. Tried a piece of chicken. If that came back fine, the rest of it will, and it certainly did. Pleasantly surprised. Didn't know if I had enough water there. But I got barbecue sauce slash hot sauce mix in here. I'm really excited. Smells good. All right, well, I think I'm gonna go out for a nighttime paddle. Feels so much better empty. That almost went south. I got a Charms Blow Pop, grape style. My campsite looks nice. See it behind me here. It was a nice, peaceful night. I was up until like 10:30 last night. The sun was still up, or I could definitely still see residual light. I'll take a paddle around this other little island here. I haven't cast anything except for my jig. I've caught like four or five fish so far. I haven't even been fishing much. Very happy with the jig. Very, very happy with the jig. This guy has been with me for quite a minute now. Shoulder arm here. He doesn't really go too far as I've heard the thing about dragonflies. Yeah, but if you have it It's just chillin though. I'm not alone. You know, you guys see that woodpecker laughing at me getting a snag Look at my face. I got lit up today. They're getting in my bug net. Good morning How's my face? I haven't looked at it yet, but I can feel it. It was very lumpy and puffy I'm not going for a day at all. I think I feel Phil boots