June 20: Day 17: MacDonald Island Mooring Buoy

Forest Therapy, Lookout Encounters, and Blog Progress

We awoke in our latest favorite space to yet another beautiful day. We took our time easing into the morning, enjoying our coffee alongside a fresh breakfast of granola, blueberries, and plain Siggi’s yogurt.

After spending some time working on the blog, we decided it was the perfect afternoon for a walk. We loaded Artemus into the dinghy and motored over to the little dock by the shore to find the trailhead. Right at the start of the path sits a local outhouse—always a reassuring sight to note, just in case!

[Photo: A view of Lil' Ollie and the tiny island, from the trailhead]

We started our hike at a very slow pace, mostly because Artemus likes to explore on his own terms. Unlike a dog who trots straight ahead, he prefers to wander off the side of the trail, acting as if he wants to dart off and hide in the dense brush. I think his caution today was because he heard two distant voices ahead and knew someone else was in the woods; he's always a bit more confident on the trails when we have the wilderness entirely to ourselves.

[Photo: Artemus climbing down from a tree stump Greg had placed him on.]

Greg handled his leash while I forged ahead, hoping my lead would encourage Artemus to follow. I ended up being a bit too fast for them, though! They had actually explored this path earlier in the week, but I hadn’t set foot on it in at least three years.

As I hiked, I could feel my body just lapping up the exercise. It felt incredibly good to be out and moving like that. The forest was so wonderfully aromatic—true nature therapy—and I soaked it all in as I made my way to the final destination of the path: a beautiful lookout point featuring two cement benches overlooking the inlet.

When I arrived at the lookout, one of the benches was occupied by two women. We struck up a wonderful conversation, and I learned that the older woman was one of the senior leaders at the camp where we are currently anchored. The younger woman, an 18-year-old, helps out at the base camp located just around the corner and up a ways—past the very same waterfall we had bathed in three years ago! Greg and Artemus soon joined us, and we had a lovely chat with them, even sharing the old story of Artemus's famous dive off the boat in Desolation Sound back in 2019.

Before long, they needed to head back to camp for lunch, so we said our "so longs." As they returned down the path, Greg and I sat on the benches for a few minutes alone, quietly enjoying the ambient sounds and the spectacular view.

Eventually, we made our way back to the trail to finish the forest loop. I absolutely loved every minute under that lush green canopy as we walked back toward the dinghy.

Once back aboard Lil' Ollie, I turned my attention back to the blog and had a highly productive session. I managed to get several more days' worth of posts completely drafted with all the text in place! Now, the heavy lifting is done—I just need to add the photos and finalize them. I'm hoping to wrap up the formatting tomorrow so I can shift my focus to other things, like getting some regular exercise.

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