We decided that we needed some much needed sleep and did not get up with the sun that morning. I once again cooked up some water for oatmeal and coffee (I personally enjoy cooking breakfast more than any other meal) and we sat next to the fire pit watching the sun over the lake. It was proving to be another great day.

With the camp struck and the canoes loaded up we peered over the maps deciding where to go when we heard small sounds coming from the trail that lead to the toilet. After a few moments a large black Mink came down the trail. He paused at the end of it, looked at us in a “you’re still here?” manner before padding off the way he came. The sight gave us a chuckle and we pushed off from the shore not long after.

Donnie had been dying to do some fishing for more days then he could stand so, seeing that we were only headed into Ima Lake this day, we took our time and circled around many of the islands on Thomas Lake, hoping for a bite. We cruised by many rocky outcroppings covered with seagulls, the only time we ever (including other yearly trips) that we saw so many gulls in once place.

Before noon, or there about, we entered the first of the portages that lead into Hatchet Lake. We met up with at least two other groups (going in the other direction) on the rapids to that lead into a small stream system. Unlike the other groups though, we had the fortune of traveling with the current so we took our chances running the rapids (with success I might add) instead of portaging along the shore.

The area around Hatchet Lake is very interesting. A true Muskeg area, most of the land that stretched out into the lake floated on top of the water. I was easily able to slide my paddle under the shore line into the black water beneath. If I had been walking around in this area I would not have known, until it was too late, the danger of the land I was walking on. Beautiful and dangerous, it is another area that I would like to explore more.

We finished up the rest of the small stream quickly and completed one last 50-rod portage before finally ending up on Ima Lake. It could not have been much past noon at this point so we paddled around to multiple campsites to find the best one; which ended up being on a large island in the middle of the lake. Gopher and I set up the camp and Matt and Donne (who was eager to cast a line) set back on the lake to get in some fishing.

The site was, and remains, one of my favorite in the BWCA. The tent pads are well away from the water and tucked away in some trees (thus sheltering them from any wind) and the fire pit sits well away from the slanted, rock beach, which streches at least 40 feet from the water to the fire pit.

After the camp was set up Gopher and I also decided to get in some fishing so we pushed off in our canoe and headed over near the portage that leads into Alworth Lake to try our luck there. I soon tired of fishing (not my favorite activity) and lay down in the bottom of the canoe and took a nap. After an hour or so, in which Gopher didn’t catch anything, I woke up and we made our way back to the campsite.

Back at the site I remembered seeing an episode of “Survivorman” on TV where Les, the host, made a tea using pine needles, juniper berries, and bark. It was not bad but it left a residue of pine sap on the pot that, no matter how much I tried, would not come off. Matt and Donnie arrived back in camp shortly after that; a few fish for dinner in tow.

At the end of the day we did some swimming off of the rock beach which, on the south side, offered a small four or five-foot drop into the water; good for diving off of. We ate dinner, played with a very large Dragonfly that just happened to be sitting on a log near the fire pit, and sat on the beach, watching the sun set. There were low clouds on the far western horizon but they seemed to be traveling north, so we did not worry about them.