There was a massive thunderstorm last night,  and not much rain.  So my plans to simply get up and shoot the galactic center from the point, which is now named Michael's Point, was not possible due to cloud cover.  The high altitude clouds, though thin, block star light, and the low altitude clouds were right over the area I needed to shoot at.  But all that is irrelevant, because I slept through to 6:00 am - this time without any chemical intervention.  My neck was sore, and shoulders stiff.. but surprisingly my legs and hips were good to go.  So after having a cold breakfast with hemp seed granola, as is my general rule before a strenuous day, I headed out after packing up and aiming my solar panels in the general direction the sun should be, if the sun ever breaks through the clouds.  First step would be to go to Killarney and see if the fish and chips stand Mom, Dad and I visited after our adventure here in 1997.  Back then, they had taken me out of school in September and I'm not exactly sure what the reasoning around that was, but probably because it was the only week they could get off together at the same time.  We then, decided we'd go to grace lake - that is, basically an entire week's interior canoe trip, or maybe it was two weeks..  that memory is a bit fuzzy.  Suffice to say, it was not easy, and the weather was unkind - cold rains, all of our gear wet, tent leaks.. broke our rule about no food in the tent because we were all suffering from hypothermia and huddling in moist sleeping bags in the same tent while the little propane stove re-hydrated food mom had prepared months earlier.  I was a large lad of around 210 lbs., but after that trip - I was 175 lbs.  I could use such a miracle again, but It would definitely kill me this time.  Long story short, after that trip - even crossing the tallest portage (in the world? I think..)  Having food that was fresh, not dehydrated, and favorite was a well earned reward.  And sure enough, that store still exists, and they've upgraded into a fancy restaurant with a bar now.  I remember just a little shack on the wharf with the old guy fishing off the back.  After confirming it still existed, and it would open later in the day, I headed for the lighthouse trail.   I'd done my research, because damnit I bought a fancy drone and some idiot politician decided it was 'dangerous' to use pretty much every-fucking-where.  Well, while the lighthouse was noted airspace due to the lodge nearby - it was not officially so, so basic pilots like me can fly there as long as I mind my air traffic radar and don't go into traffic lanes.  It's 7:00am.  The only pilots awake are cutting the grass on the runway.  I'm just doing a straight up above the transmission wires and a slow forward motion for about 50 meters and then returning to my hand.  No sweat.   I parked at the trailhead, found a safe spot away from the people who weren't actually there.. and launched.  Got my footage, and put drony away for... probably another 6 months.

After that, I got my gear together.. water, and skipped the protein bar this time because it was a pretty short trail and I had had really -  a lot of granola.  Probably enough to feed 3 people.  It is VERY good.  And considering what I plan to do AFTER this, will be needed.  The trail goes around the edge of what appears to be a little swampy lake which as far as I can tell is just trapped water from when the waves from Lake Huron crash over the rocks on the 'island' the lighthouse is on.  There were lots of toads, mosquitos, black flies, and the like, but I was prepared and well doused with DEET.  Again, I should have worn my bug shirt.  but it was a bit chilly yet, so I went with my hoodie.. it does provide minor protection anyhow.  The shore was amazing pink and ruby red granite with inclusions of what appears to be slate and of course quartzite.  And as always, when navigating these things after a rain storm, however minor, one needs to be aware of certain rules.   Rocks when wet, usually still provide good grip, if you have proper footwear.  Roots when wet, even over rocks are no step zones.  Lichen, when wet, or dry, is at best, a risky step zone.. and moss, moss is a coin flip.  Sometimes it will provide good traction.  Sometimes, its roots will rip out, and will become the lubricant required to send you sliding on your ass with thousands of dollars worth of camera equipment on your back, down into a nasty putrid swamp never to be seen again.   Thankfully.. I managed to stop myself at the last second, but my ass still hurts, and my pants still smell a bit.

This trail was well marked, until I left the forest and found myself on the bald rock.  There really was only one way to go, so I just followed the shoreline and eventually ended up at the lighthouse.   The sign there was so covered in people's scratched in initials that what was written could hardly be made out,  and on the lighthouse itself.. I seem to have crossed paths with the Riddler again.  Last time I saw the 'Riddle me this' tagline, was at Samuel de Champlain but I didn't think about it enough at the time.. but it seems this is a repeat offender.  Perhaps I will run across more of his riddles as I explore Ontario and beyond.  Pretty sure the lighthouse has cameras though, so maybe he's been given a nasty surprise already.  Following this trek,  I had to choose what next to tackle.  It was already 9:30;  I had intended to do the crack but based on what I'd read online (alltrails.com) it wasn't well maintained right now, a few rock slides had happened and such causing the trail to be more than just 'moderate'  People saying also with the weather to carry 3L worth of water per person.  The best I can do at this time is about 2 Liters,  or 40 Liters.   There's no way in hell I'm carrying the blue jug up there.   Considering also I generally use more water than most,  I decide to look for another option.  I really want to see Silver Peak again even if just from the distance, and that leaves flying drony from the road, which is in a bit of a grey area (you can fly over a provincial park without explicit permission from the park, so long as you don’t take off or land in the park boundaries. The highway is not part of the park, so technically you could take off from the road and not land, or crash in the park and be basically ‘ok’). or one final trail - the lake of the woods trail, which has heights of 265 meters and places where you can get a good look at old silver.   Rated 'easy' I would say - Moderate to Hard after experiencing it in 'feels like 40c' type weather.  I expect if I didn't lug 50lbs of camera gear everywhere I went it'd probably be easy-moderate.  Everyone says go clockwise so the view is last, but I decided to go the other way.   Which I'm still not sure if I regret or not?   Going counter-clockwise gives you a nice little  bridge to sit on an island and look around the lake from, before a steep slippery section, which seems to go on for quite a ways, and made more slippering due to morning dew and the light rain last night.  I managed not to fall at all, and soon was looking straight over at silver peak.  I busted out the 500mm and framed it up nicely.   I hope it turns out well, because my editing laptop is once again out of juice.  I continued along the trail, it doesn't do short steps - either you are on flat land, or you are descending by at least 50 meters or more, or climbing that much.  There's the first big ridge you'll walk across, then you're back down at lake level, and another smaller ridge, and again back down to the lake, then another bridge at the end, and one final huge ascent over a fair distance which is fine if you stop and rest when you need to.   I found the tops and bottoms of my toes were getting a bit irritated due to slamming against the toe of my boots as I alternated grasping with my toes to climb and then descending.  No offense to mom, but I'm very glad I wore the hiking socks I bought this time around, as the wool socks she makes for me tend to separate when doing this, leaving painful stitch marks on the back of my foot and toes.  As I write this, I am wearing the socks she made.  They are quite good for daily wear and relaxing in one's trailer after being fully exhausted.  The far ridge on the trail had little of note for photographic interest, but it may be I just didn't notice it.  By this time I was half done with the second liter of water I'd brought, and was suffering from heat stroke.  There was little shade to be found, and what little shade there was was not ideal to sit in.. so I found myself more often than not, hands on knees bent over trying to regulate my heat and calm my heart.  This of course caused me to dry out even more and I was rationing my water, as I knew the BCAA powder was waiting in my car, which on this trip has helped immensely, or at least I think It has.  Waking up with little to no stiffness was not something that happened prior to me using it.  And using it directly after a workout - in this case, climbing ridges in stupid hot sun seems to be quite effective,  it even seems to be more refreshing than water alone in these cases - and there are cases when I've had it not after a workout and it has tasted gross to me.  Anyhow, I did get a bit turned around on this trail as well.  The park uses stone cairns to indicate the trail when normal markers will not do, but people have been using them to make 'inukshuks' which confuses the direction of the trail, and leads to dead-ends.  All the more so a problem when you're already dizzy from the heat.  Dizzy, turned around, and 260m above the ground are not things that go together well when trying to find your way, but I was able to find my way due to having the personal gps map and keeping the lake to my right at all times while seeking easier footing in the correct direction.  The trail took me about 3.5 hours, putting me firmly at 1:30 when I stumbled my way back to the car, and it's blessed air conditioning.   I should also note, that this trail is actually about 22km away from the park gate, on Bell's Lake road.  It is somewhat not well kept, and when I arrived earlier in the day I was following what appeared to be another outdoors club bus, which was following a canoe carrier.  The road had lots of washboard and potholes, and I did take advantage of my Car's new suspension and narrow nimble nature to avoid most of these pitfalls.   I wonder if whomever was beyond that tinted glass on the bus in front of me enjoyed watching me dodge and weave between the potholes.  I didn't have much worry because the bus filled the road almost entirely and slowed down to nearly a crawl at even the slightest hint of a pothole.  It is a shame that the all terrain tires I have installed are starting to show their age, and will probably need to be replaced in the next three years, if indeed I can even afford to drive at that point considering the meteoric rise of gas prices. 

After I returned to the highway, my next goal was the village of Killarney,  which was some distance - I was already below half a tank, and I expect by the time I get my loot from the fish and chips store and head back to the camp site, I'd be closer to a quarter than a half.  I plan to drive to Sudbury which is roughly 1.5 hours from here to fill up, and then head home over the top of Algonquin, as I know the road well that way and won't be forced to edge my speed higher than 90 very much.  I should be able to make it to Sudbury for Gas with little effort - and I'll have to make sure I do, because there are no nearer gas stations - unless you are a boat.  Which, I am not.  And if my car ever becomes a boat, I will be slightly upset.  I arrived by the Fish and Chips restaurant, and stood at the window.. it was VERY windy, so the window was closed, and I had to go in.  Inside, it was very nice.  Wood polished bar, windows on every wall and an old gentleman reading the newspaper at said bar.  I walked up to the counter, and ordered the adult portion with a drink.  It cost me $30 so it better be as good as I remember.  I was asked to wait outside, and I did.  The wind was constantly trying to steal my hat, and the sweat on my back was lowering my body temperature.   I actually relished this at the moment, because I was still fairly hot from my earlier hike.  My order was ready in what must have been around 5 minutes, and I remarked that things had changed a lot since the last time I got food there in 1997.  The lady at the window was surprised and we had a short conversation about what had happened back then - before she was born.  If that doesn't make you feel old two days before your 42'nd birthday I don't know what would.  With my loot in hand, I returned to my campsite, and actually managed to eat before it was cold.  The fish appeared to be perch, or maybe whitefish.  it was quite a few small fillets breaded and fried.  They were not fishy at all, sweet and tender as could be.  Still the best fish and chips in Canada.  Given that I've had Fish and Chips pretty much anywhere it was possible to get them even on the east coast, I think my word on that matter is fairly expert.  Though, I would never call myself an expert - because people who claim they are experts are actually just idiots, and those who accept the title from another are even moreso.

After cleaning up my plate, I aligned the solar panels yet again, and put on the dehumidifier in the trailer to try to get the humidity down below 75% which it was still hovering at since last night's storm.  It only cycled for about 15 minutes before shutting off.  If the sun keeps out I'll run it again later, but I'm already down to 57% as apposed to the outside which is 70% still.  I moved all my photos onto the editing laptop, and actually managed to edit a few before the battery started to falter again, so I closed it up and started writing this journal entry.  Most of my camera gear is stowed for my trip back, but you know, with these trips, everything generally ends up in different places than they originally were in the car.  I will have to spend time tomorrow morning before I leave ensuring anything that hates vibration is out of the trailer and safely stowed in the car, and that anything that can break open is likewise stowed.  but for now, I'm going to spend the last 2 hours before bed watching the leaves through he skylight in my trailer, with the door slightly ajar as it's supposed to be cold tonight and I need to use my active body heat to warm it up a bit in here before the sun goes down.

And I sign off again for today.

Addendum.  A Coon just wandered down the road and looked at me through the crack in my door.  I told him to GTFO and he left.

Addendum 2.  Someone came to the camp site above me and they are running their car engine constantly, it seems to vibrate at the same frequency as my trailer.  This sucks a bit.  But it'll suck more when they find out the nearest gas station is Sudbury.