Suppertime (Hazen photo)
Wednesday evening I went to a KNL presentation of a trip by four guys along the south coast of Newfoundland. Partway through the trip one of the guys got violently ill and throwing up. He decided to take a ferry ride out and abandoned the trip.
I spoke to him afterwards inquiring as to what he thought brought on the illness. He was candidly honest - hygiene. Wow, I thought because its not something I've given a lot of thought to myself when I've been out kayak camping. The most I've done is rinse of pots and pans in salt water.
I discussed it with Craig on the drive home. He recounted his practices as a Scout leader. His rules start with washing hands before any cooking starts. After eating, dishes are washed first in hot soapy water, then a bath in a weak javex bath and then a rinse in clear water.
I've paddled the same coastline but I went anyway to show support for the club. I'm glad I did because I did learn something. I will certainly be more careful in future. Its worth the effort to avoid spoiling a perfectly good trip.
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