Day 13 – Petting Zoo
July 5, 2012
Start: Tuchuck Campground
Finish: Upper Whitefish Lake
Today’s miles: 35.7
Total miles: 332.2
Splats: 0
Divide crossings: 0
Wildlife: friendly red bird, friendly chipmunk

I feel like I’ve entered a petting zoo here. As soon as I pitched my tent, a red, tattered-looking bird came and landed in the fire pit, where it started munching on the charcoal. It let me get within a few inches of it, which kind of scared me; I thought it might suddenly turn on me. There was also a funny squirrel-like creature with a very short, almost ball-shaped tail and a mini-chipmunk that came right up to me (and my dinner) until I shooed it away.
The ankle seems to be doing fine. It doesn’t really hurt and isn’t too swollen, but it’s weak. Last night, walking around camp without the brace, I rolled it three times in about 2 hours, most of which was spent sitting. I also learned that I should avoid jumping. I discovered this while performing a fancy bear-bagging maneuver this evening.

