To Rutherglen, ON

Turns out that storm last night was more severe than I thought, and I might have been wise to take more precautions.  Oh, well!

Today was cooler but so windy that I made very slow progress into Mattawa, where I parted ways with the Ottawa River and ran some errands.  I decided I couldn't make it all the way into North Bay as I had planned and stopped near Talon Lake.  The campground has no showers, but I scrubbed myself off in the lake.

The biting flies are just awful.  I thought I'd encountered them in Michigan last August, but those were a different kind.  These are smaller, their bites are very painful, and they don't turn off the tap when they're done, so you get a little drop of blood that either smudges (e.g. on clothing) or dries in place as a painful scab.  And they're much better at getting into a tent than mosquitos are.  Fortunately they're also easier to smush.

38.4 mi