Tuscarora Lake

Today we rose to a cloudy day. We must have slept well as we didn't notice the rain that had fallen during the night. While making breakfast (pancakes and bacon) it started to downpour and we ended up having a nice stream running across the ground under the tarp. Some tarp modifications made the situation better, but then when I looked back at the tent, we discovered that it was standing in a 1/2" deep puddle. Grrrr. We moved the tent to a dryer spot. In my daze yesterday after the portage yoke debacle I obviously didn't pay attention to the drainage situation of camp. Alas. Live and learn.

We hung out in the tent for a couple hours playing cards and reading books until the rained stopped. Around 11am, the rain finally stopped and we had an early lunch. Then, we explored the lake and checked out the other camps sites on the lake. Tuscarora Lake has many nice camps--several with beaches. The island site in the middle is huge with sprawling rocky shores. We appeared to be the only ones on the lake. We fished a bit with no luck and made it back to camp just before yet another downpour! What a wet trip!

The afternoon became windy as the sun came out. We went swimming and lounged around camp for the rest of the day. More fire wood was cut. I also tested out the yoke by carrying the canoe around camp. The repair seemed to be OK, but I was still rather concerned about it.

Lauren and I then turned to the maps to consider our options. I really wanted to finish the loop we had planned to do via Little Sag, Gabi, Ogish and back Seagull, but I was concerned with getting further away from civilization and having the yoke fail again. I had 428 reasons not to go back the way we came, but it seemed to be the easiest way out. I actually did the math for all the various ways to return to Seagull Lake and the Tusky Portage route would be the shortest distance portage-wise. It was decided to head back to Round Lake tomorrow and to have Andy at Tuscarora Outfitters call Debbie for a pick-up. That would still leave four days for us to basecamp on Seagull Lake and eliminate the portage yoke concerns.

Dinner was Mac n Cheese and mashed potatoes. Lauren really enjoys the campfire time and the one-on-one time that canoe trips provide. You can see by the pictures that she is very comfortable in canoe country! :)

We could hear thunderstorms in the distance as we enjoyed the fire. We were chased to the tent around 8:30pm with YET ANOTHER downpour! Wow, is the Tusky portage gonna be muddy tomorrow.