Rule no. 1 Don't get Pwned by Racoons or Bears

Riding mountain was an adventure as always. Rajat proved himself to be a capable camper. I am proud of him. We had the kind of descussions you only get to have when you're out in the middle of nowhere and you NEED to talk in order to keep the bears away. The top five conversations we had were:

1. The Ramayan and Indian Spirituality
2. How to not get Pwned by Bears and Racoons while we sleep.
3. Does Alucard from Castlevania have a mullet?
4. Sucess in Life and Death
5. Comparing the various natural features of riding mountain to World of Warcraft.

Riding mountain is like a cross between Mulgore, silverpine and farralas.

There are a few funny stories that I must share.

As we were sitting around the fire one moonless night the wind shifted and suddenly we heard roaring and horrible zombie noises from just beyond the fire light. We quickly concluded that it was the fire making these noises. I was so scared that I didnt' want to go and get more wood to put on the fire to fend off the terrible darkness. Things look different when you're out in the bush.

Our first night out we wished on five falling stars in a row to not get sick from drinking the water from the creek. There are many horrible ilnesses you can get from creeks. Rajat's water purification skills are unmatched. We didn't get sick.

Another night we were sitting around the campfire trying to look at the stars. For some reason the sun was refusing to set... In the north sky. Eventualy we realized that the sun dosen't set in the north, and the green/grey lights curling around the sky like a waving blanket were something else alltogether. The Blanket waver as Raj calls it.

We saw a large adult male Black bear on the last 9 km of the trail. Only the power of Italian Opera would we bannish our fear of being mauled to death. Singing always makes you feel better.

We got our fill of wildlife from RMNP. We even got a close encounter of the Bison kind! I was very happy. Bison have got to be one of my favorite animals. When I look into those HUGE black eyes I get some sort of spiritual feeling for reverence. A faint glimmer of the power that these big guys once had over the plains. No wonder they are such an important animal so the first nations people. This guy's name is bruce. He decided to come check out Rajat's car.
A good time was had by all. (Bruce included)

The time is now!

Rajat and I are going backpacking in Riding Mountain tomorrow. This is going to be the first time in 5 years that I will have more than 4 days off in a row during the summer months. The meal plan is worked out and all my equipment is ready to go.

The only thing that concerns me a little are the bears. It is fall time and they are very active during this season. As anybody who has ever gone camping or hiking with me knows, bears LOVE me. I always get a chance to see them. Perhaps this time, because Rajat is with me they will stay away.

I've been told that if Rajat dies on this trip, his parents will know who to blame. This gives me a little bit of added pressure to make sure things run smootly. No one has ever died from a bear attack in Riding mountain. I don't think it's going to start with him.