Day six was a half layover day on Hustler. While we liked the views from our site, it was just too exposed to enjoy our time there, with the wind and drizzle that was on and off throughout the day. We did coffee and fried up 12 slabs of SPAM (a salty savory canoe country delicacy for us), finishing some of the cooking while huddled under the tarp during a downpour.

We decided to look for another site on the lake that was more protected from the wind, so we packed everything up and headed out. We first went to the south site which had a nice view and cute firepit, with some interesting tent pads, but it was too small for a group tarp for us to hang out during rain, with a poor landing, so we decided to check another site.

We went back north through the east channel and checked out the site tucked in a bend, which had no ratings on the two sites I checked. I expected it to be bad if it wasn’t rated, but it was actually not terrible – just not flat at all. The landings weren’t too bad, hammocks and tarps weren’t an issue, but the two best tent pads still had a few degrees of slope to them. The only true flat ground was at the firepit seating row, which couldn’t fit 4 of us in our ultralight chairs that we always bring. I don’t always expect to fit 4 of those chairs in a small space, but it’s especially tough when you’re all trying to stay under a single ~12x12’ tarp on a rainy day. Thankfully, the wind was massively reduced at this site, having shifted to be mostly W/NW. We also had a pretty sweet view of the overlapping points of the channel to the main body of the lake, so overall I actually kind of liked this site (as someone who didn’t have to sleep on the sloped ground).

With the remaining few hours of daylight, we just hung out at camp and tried to get a group hangout station set up for the next day which was forecasted as nothing but clouds and on-off drizzle. I tried to dry a few things out, but it was a bit futile as rain kept coming and going, so I had to micromanage my topquilt on the clothesline. This reminds me that I haven’t mentioned my damp sleep situation yet.

You see, our tarps were still wet on the morning of day 2. I either didn’t even think about it, or didn’t think it would be an issue, but I put the tarps in with the rest of the sleep/survival gear that they get packed with, inside a dry bag/liner. My canoe partner’s stuff was compartmentalized into individual dry bags inside the main pack, but my quilts and hammock and pillow were in the main body of the bag, and absorbed a decent amount of moisture. I woke up in the middle of the night on nights 2 and 3 with my hands wet just from touching the topquilt. Nothing worse than clammy hands in the hammock. I hoped stuff would dry out but it just never had much time set up to actually dry.

I was chilly on the windy first night on Hustler, with the wind getting between my underquilt and my hammock, which robs you of almost all warmth. Thankfully it was still a relatively warm night, but tonight on Hustler was looking to get down into the low 40s, maybe even upper 30s, so I was quite happy to be more protected from wind. I actually had my best night of sleep this night on Hustler, after a little stargazing and astrophotography on a somewhat bafflingly clear night (given such tumultuous skies just hours prior).

Indeed, this evening on Hustler was actually quite excellent! The wind died down, the rain stopped, and the clouds cleared. The stars really came out, which I didn’t fully realize until I went down to the water right before bed to fill up quickly. I exclaimed to let the group know, being pretty sure everyone had already gone off to bed already, but no one joined me. Their loss! I knew I had to get my camera and take some photos, and I ended up with some really nice shots. It was just me and nature down there by the water’s edge, with a light ripple of water on the rocky shore, and the dense core of the Milky Way looking positively inviting.

During one photo I heard a wolf howl, and then another, and then an entire pack. There was yipping and growling and some more howls. When the silence fell I stayed still, wondering if I would hear more. The wolves couldn’t have been far, maybe a mile or two. What a cool feeling. Out of all the animal sign we saw on the trip, I don’t think I saw any bear or moose scat! Just three or four piles of wolf scat along the route. Wolves are another BWCA treat for me, and though I have never seen one, I’ve heard them a few times and it’s always magical. Like an owl hooting away, it reminds you how surrounded we are by life, of all sizes and shapes, even in the dark (spooky!).

I headed off to bed feeling quite full – recharged. A bit of a challenging day, weather wise, everyone sitting around camp wishing we were out exploring or cozied up on the couch at home, and then it ends in clear skies, bright stars, and a pack of howling wolves. This trip truly was full of ups and downs, and while we had many moments of annoyance mostly from weather, we also had many moments of awe and peace. It’s hard to know how to feel about this trip, because we did get a bit demotivated by weather and some physical fatigue/foot issues, but we also had some really nice paddles, nice campsites, nice sunsets, almost complete isolation, and good company to boot.

~Hustler Lake