I ended up staying up far too late both nights with bonfires on the beach. There is a huge natural depression in the rock on the beach in front of the camp which is absolutely ideal for fires. Some of the guys gathered lots of wood throughout the day and we were able to keep a massive fire going for hours. They cooked oysters on it and some marshmallows made an appearance for a very short time. The wind was blowing quite strongly from the north which kept the smoke going a predictable direction, which is nice. It also made it a tad chilly. Sitting around one of those massive fires always presents the problem of roasting front/freezing backside. My backside was radiating coldness for a good period of time after I left the fire and went to bed. So 

much so that I thought there was a hole in my sleeping bag and wool blanket before I figured out it was just my bum half-frozen.

The weekend was fairly cool for March (as I remember it) and we had a mini-blizzard Saturday afternoon – it began minutes after I set out on a walk.  I wanted to walk down to Pioneer Pacific Camp, in North Cove (practically at the other end of the Island from Camp Columbia) to visit friends who are the site managers. Unfortunately, they were not there so I left a note and walked back. There is something quite peaceful about walking in falling snow. Very few cars were out and only 4 or so passed me on my walk between the camps. By the time I was heading home, the snow was falling at a good rate. It was quiet and falling snow serves to muffle sounds even more. The only sound I could hear was the snow hitting my jacket and the occasional gurgle

 of water seeping through the mud at the side of the road. It was beautiful.

A friend from Vancouver was over this weekend and stayed Sunday and Monday night with me (though I had to abandon her all day yesterday and today because of work and school). We had some laughs and good times remembering our backpacking adventures. I managed to get precious little done over the weekend in preparation for the chem test today. I think I passed… but I feel okay about it, so that is all that matters. All in all, it was a good weekend.