Day 2 (July 7) -Finally it’s sinking in  - I am here!

After weeks, months of planning, the cross-country drive, I lie awake in my sleeping bag listening to the utter silence. The sun breaks through a cloudbank, heating up the tent mercilessly. I forgot – shade is one of the most valuable resources in the treeless tundra. No trees line Horton Lake – it is flat here with barely a depression in the earth. Camp is a small point on the north shore close to the lake outlet. We putter about the surrounding area, getting used to navigating thru dense brush which grabs at my shoes and legs. I’m surprised by the amount of moose droppings – also some old rifle shell casings and caribou bones. A human or other kill?  A nearby point has stone circle from modern campers. Glad we are in the bush where no one has left their trace.