I think this is Mark’s way of sending Doc to the Happy Hunting Grounds…  Why don’t you just throw a buffalo robe over him and have him take a hike??  At least they have the whole portage thing down now.  With Water at your back and land in front of you, that creates a portage- not the other way around like before.

But the fly bite may indeed have it in for Doc… a quick google-check on ‘black fly fever’ reveals that it’s a real thing, although the article states that the flies only feed during the daytime…  But a reminder, nonetheless, that the people at “Trail, Inc.” do their homework.  Oh, and the reference Cherry is making regarding vision?  It’s called “River Blindness.”  Makes you want to be with them, huh?

I am amazed, though, how “extreme” their little canoe/ camping trip is.  Holy cow.  Not content to stay in one place, they apparently are on a mission- covering miles of trail each day, eating what they catch, probably going hungry if they don’t…  Fun, fun.  I am not a stranger to shouldering a heavy load and hitting the trail at altitude, but Mark takes his name-sake pretty seriously!