Day 7: AuSable's Bank-McKinley Trail Camp

I found the solitude I needed between yesterday morning and the night before. Most of the night was spent next to the fire, in and out of sleep, feeding logs from the pile that I created earlier in the evening. I returned to the hammock inthe early morning, only once the fire had died down.
It was another cold morning, but I stayed awake from the time that I first opened my eyes, looking at the river and all the birds that were already beginning life for the day. A red squirrel caught my sight as I first moved and went into a curious chirp while trying to understand what I was, darting up branches and looking back.

I restated the fire in the morning and woke up slowly with a long breakfast, sitting in the hammock and appreciating the view.An otter ran out of the forest and into the river and began to express it's frustration with me; probably that I was near its home. From there, I packed and continued into the woods, the trail twisting between treat and river, giving up good views of both:

The snow was deep through some parts of the forest, and without the snowshoes I had to run (Jesus lizard style) to get through. I was to meet my dad around 3pm in the town of McKinley (an intersection is all there's too it), but the streets are not marked (at all) while crossing the trail...Thinking I was behind, I picked up the pace and started to jog. Only when it seemed like I was not getting anywhere I took out the phone and checked the GPS position to realize that I blew the road where I was supposed to turn off about an hour back and I was nearly at the next Trail Camp...