Day 15 - Robinson Lake (Sunday, August 17) [full index]

(no mileage, no portages)

In the morning I headed over to the large patch of blueberries on the south side of the island. There were more big juicy blueberries here than anywhere else on this trip, and my morning bowl of oatmeal became more about berries and less about oats.

After breakfast I hiked back behind camp to the tall white pine containing the eagle's nest, hoping to get some pictures of Junior and his family. One parent briefly swooped in but didn't stay long. For the better part of an hour it was just me and Junior mostly standing around looking at each other. I passed some of the time by examining the remains of past meals that were scattered around the base of the eagle's tree. There were heads of very large fish and many assorted bones, some from decent size animals. Eagles are beautiful, graceful birds, but it's easy to forget sometimes what big and powerful predators they are too.

The day had become very warm and windy. This would be my last day on Robinson Lake, so I returned to camp to finish some chores and begin preparing for tomorrow's departure. I gathered water, cut more firewood and fixed one of the log benches in the sitting area. Then I made some final adjustments to the campsite's monument to objects lost and found, a collection of "artifacts" left behind by others. Most pieces of trash I find get packed out, but some items just seem to belong with the site as a sort of record of its human history. This particular collection contained a pair of sunglasses, a button, and a rusted fragment of an old Sport Specs glasses case, all of which I had arranged into the shape of a face. Okay, don't blame me. Blame two weeks of near total seclusion!

Just before dark I began to hear an owl hooting from across the lake near Gardners Mountain. It was a warm night, and I retired to the tent early so I could get a good night's rest before tomorrow's big day of travel. The warm night seemed to energize the the local bird population, however, and I had trouble sleeping. At some point the owl from across the lake flew over to the island and into a nearby tree. Shortly afterwards another owl joined the party just a short distance down the shore. The two called back and forth for what seemed like an hour before things eventually settled down, allowing me to finally get some sleep.

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