April 20
I'm not sure how this will work today as the Blog made me go to Google Chrome and now the Blog format is all changed on my screen.

The tracks for the most part were going in his direction of travel.

Eventually he came to a moss covered expanse of solid rock. The tracks had gouged a well worn trail in the mossy covering.

The rock itself extended from the bush and disappeared out into the water of the channel. The highest parts of the mounded surface was perhaps fifteen feet above the beach surface and appeared to extend a quarter of a mile or so ahead. Other trails in the moss joined the one that Bob was following and in a few moments he came upon a half dozen depressions and shallow crevasses. All of them held water! Bob knelt down beside one that appeared to be about a foot deep and scooping up a handful hesitantly took a taste.

Smacking his lips he said aloud, “A bit brackish; must collect here from the rain so maybe not any springs. Now where do I set up?”

He looked around, the closest small reservoir was perhaps fifty yards from the edge of the bush. ‘Further than I’ve been practicing, makes it not for sure.’

Bob walked over to the bush line, un-shouldered his pack and leaned it and the bow against a shrub then turned and headed back to the raft. This time he stayed away from the trails, keeping close to the waters edge.

After double checking the security of the raft he took the axe and headed back to where he had left the bow and pack.

As he approached the rock out crop he walked to the waters edge and in a few moments had found a half dozen oysters cling to the rocks. He knocked them off with the axe then continued on; the oysters clutched to his body with one hand and the axe in the other hand.

He continued on into the bush several feet; leaving the oysters and the axe he went back and retrieved the pack and bow then picking up the axe he proceeded several hundred feet further into the bush. He selected and cut down two small bushy balsam trees and then and armful of alder and willow branches. He dragged all these out to the edge of the bush then proceeded to wedge them into crevasses a few yards out in the open.

He went and found several short logs and chunks of wood and after packing them up to the cut bushes used them as support and props. Finally he went back into the bush and cut several armfuls of balsam and spruce branches which he arranged as a bed behind the wedged trees and brush.

He skirted around the water holes and examined his handiwork from several angles then went back re-adjusted a few branches. Shrugging mentally he said aloud. “It’ll have to do, I hope the buggers are thirsty. At least I’m a bit closer than I would have been.”