Apparently Wes crashed the sea plane in the land of the midnight sun… given the immediacy of his “did you hear that?” comment, and the fact that the ladies were still snug in their beds at night when the 20-pounder went off, and the fact that it looks like they are paddling in full daylight, once again is making me question the whole space/time continuum in the Trail-verse… And where there’s smoke there’s what, gentlemen? FIRE! And again, what’s with the stubble on Wes’s face and the not-a-whisker on Mark’s?  Must be that Mark took a pledge to A) always have razor and B) use razor even in the direst of circumstances…

And rather than being on a lake (or up a creek) without a paddle, looks like the abandoned cabin came complete with a sound canoe and TWO paddles!  Oh what good fortune!  I see that Mark has taken the forward position in the canoe- the POWER STROKE.  Let’s hope the Wes earned his canoeing merit badge at some point in his outdoor training or else the canoe might not be making the most direct line toward the smoke and fire and their ladies in distress!

I will say that this story line is moving right along…  no drama at the “abandoned cabin…” only a mere way-station  to carry the men back to where the real story is.  But did they leave a note for the cabin owner? Any journalist worth his press card should have his pencil and notepad handy… let’s hope Mark had the decency to leave his calling card to inform the owner of who filched his property, and under what circumstance…