PINQUISIBI RIVER - October 31, 2017

Pinguisibi it is called in the Ojibwe language meaning river of fine white sand. For the last three kilometers, peaty brown water tumbles downhill between granite shores and through boulder chutes to empty into Kathrine Cove on Lake Superior. We hike the old portage trail, Manny and I, where the first people walked carrying their trade goods. He who has been rarely free from a leash, darts here and there nose to the ground familiarizing himself with this place. The bush is perfumed with the spicy scent of damp and decaying leaves, the tart tang of highbush cranberry and mountain ash berries and the clean, cold breath of snow. Snow bunting rise up from the path and flit into the trees, their white wings a counterpoint against the evergreen branches.

As we begin our trek north again, we come headlong into winter, but all is well, for we carry our house on our back. With fuel for transportion and power generation, propane for heat and cooking, water and septic not affected by lowering temperatures, a pantry and fridge stocked with food, we are like gypsies. Where we lay our head at night is home.

I wonder if moose know they inhabit a provincial park and are therefore safe from hunters, as from out of the snow appear two young bulls standing on the roadside. Their healthy hides are chocolate brown and their small spatulate antlers the colour of sand. They stand knee deep in snow unperturbed by our passing and swipe their noses with pale pink tongues just like a pair of domestic cattle.

Sadly, after dark we happen upon three men, two trucks and a trailer field dressing a moose on the roadside. I am both angered and offended.

Real hunters don't hunt after dark.

Real hunters don't shoot game from a vehicle on the side of a busy highway.

Real hunter obey the law and tag the animal they are entitled to.

I'm sure that in the half hour it took me to explain to three different people what I was reporting and where the incident was happening, the poachers were well on their way home with their ill gotten game.

What a shame!