Thursday, August 15, 2019

Spent a LOT of time journal writing this morning. I have been writing lots on this trip. It has been a year of reflection about trips past as well as more current trips and about what the wilderness means to me.

Yesterday I waited patiently in one of the beaver dam pools while others scouted the bushwhack route. I was soloing the canoe to keep its tender Kevlar skin off the rocks. The wind blew through the trees...the thrum of dragonfly wings as they roared past me, all the while scooping bugs out of the air...birds calling back and forth to each other...the smell of crushed wild mint where Joey had stepped moments before...the reflection in the water so perfect while I gently rocked the canoe creating a ripple that made me feel a little dizzy as the reflected trees were distorted. Doesn't get any better, does it?

This morning we did not have far to travel, so we went swimming and took our time breaking camp. Didn't leave until 11:15. Having actual portages felt so easy. We reached our campsite on Long Island Lake by 1:15pm. But that gave Jose a lot of time to dry out his ingrown toenail and rest. We ate lunch and then Stew fished from shore. He caught a small northern but it had swallowed the hook and it took quite some doing to get him free.

Later Stew and I went out fishing in the canoe...well, Stew fished and I paddled him around. I don't enjoy fishing, but I know enough about where fish like to hang out that I make a good partner in the canoe. Stew caught a good sized northern for supper. Joey spent the afternoon reading by the lakeshore. He had a frog that hung out in the water under a log right next to him the whole time.

Total time: 2 hours

~Frost Lake, Gordon Lake, Long Island Lake