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Lapalme Lake: 46.816667N -74.583333W
A fantastic canoe-camping trip
Francine Gagnon via e-mail
Montreal, October 31, 2003
Six of us forty-somethings went on a canoe-camping trip in that area in May 2003, on the Fête de la Reine 3-day weekend. I think we may have paddled that lake. The weather turned out to be truly fantastic, staying in the mid 20's centigrade, yet there was not a bug in sight.
While canoeing our 30 km trip, my partner and I spotted the carcass of a huge dead animal with an impressive panache. Its skin had changed colour. It looked like gorgeous thick black leather with colourful dark deep textures and patterns visible on its slippery surface.
There was moss and wild flowers growing on and around it, yet there was no smell, no visible decomposition. Perhaps it was frozen during the winter.
When we talked to the park rangers, they thought it was wounded by a hunter and that it went by the riverside to die. It chose the tip of a beautiful tiny peninsula. We were able to approach on water from 3 sides from approximately 6 feet away.
This may sound gruesome but it was not. What we saw was magnificent and impressed us both. We stayed in silence for a while, in awe of nature's way of dealing with death.
I am an artist and a photographer, yet regrettably I did not have a camera. That image is now embedded in my memory.
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