Night had just begun to pale when I crawled from the tent. Mist rose from the lake, shifting form like a phantom. With my binoculars, I tried to scan the far shore for wildlife, hoping for moose taking a early drink. It lay dark and hidden. I lowered my food bag, pulled out the coffee and freeze-dried package of eggs, bacon and red pepper, and cooked my breakfast on the rock overlooking the lake.
The sunrise came slowly. I don't recall a more beautiful dawn. It began with the lightening of the sky and the growing definition of the trees. The mist began to move, flowing like beaded tendrils of spider silk outward from the shore. As a tinge of pink began to suffuse the air, the colors of the shoreline also began to emerge -- mutely reflected in the still, mist-covered water. The color of dawn seeped into the high, scattered clouds moving from the west. For a few magical moments, the world existed in shades of pastel.
After lingering longer than intended by the lakeshore, I quickly packed up my camp. However, my departure had to wait, while I spent considerable time appreciating the beauty of the forest from the perspective of the "thunder box". Without going into graphic detail, I will simply advise that a diet of freeze dried vegetarian food is not conducive to a "quick start on the trail", especially if one's system is adapted to a more varied, and less fibrous diet.
Once on the trail, I made very good time. My legs felt strong, and the trail rolled smoothly through the forest. I stopped only to drink, and then only for a minute or two. I took few photographs. As the kilometers passed, and I began to realize that I'd be early for the bus, I began to fantasize about a burger and fries at the Lake of Two Rivers restaurant -- with maybe a strawberry milkshake for dessert. The thought kept my pace up, even as the trail became more hilly and the day grew warm.
Civilization returned as I descended the last hill to the Madawaska River waterfalls and bridge. A crowd of sightseers greeted me, taking turns at the best vantages, sprawling over the ground with soft drinks and bags of chips. I stopped long enough to finish my water, and then took the short route back to the Lake of Two Rivers -- following the road through the Mew Lake Campground, rather than traversing the last climb and descent of the official trail back to the highway.
As I approached the Lake of Two Rivers restaurant and store, I began to taste my burger and fries. That hope was dashed, however, when I emerged from the brush to see a traffic jam in the parking lot, and lineups spilling out the doors. I hadn't realized how the fall colors and warm, sunny weather would bring day-trippers to the park. I could barely wrestle my pack into the building and find a spare foot of wall against which to lean it. The number of people milling about with numbered receipts in their hands boded ill. Looking toward the kitchen window behind the tills, I could count the number of waiting order chits -- at least twenty. The line for ice cream appeared more reasonable, so I settled for a large waffle cone of raspberry lime sorbet.
After finishing my cone, and shouldering my way back out of the restaurant, I walked the last 200 m to the pick-up point. My co-passengers sat wearily around the base of a pine tree. I joined them, shrugging off my pack with a final groan. Leaning back against my pack, I slipped off my boots and socks, wriggling my pale, wrinkled toes. They looked vaguely jaundiced, after hours in my hot, humid boots. I then stretched my legs out fully before me, flexing my toes upward and then relaxing. The tendons behind my knees stretched with pleasure. I slid down further in the pine needles, resting my head on the pack, and looking upward at the blue sky through the boughs of the pine tree. I waited for the bus.
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