Thursday, May 21, 2009 Temp this morning is in low 50’s, much more comfortable than the 80’s yesterday. Today, we break camp and head out for Seagull by 8 am after breakfast of buttermilk pancakes and sausage links. Slight breeze out of the WSW, behind us and to the left of us. Quite the pleasant morning.

Breeze picks up by the time we make Kingfisher, but it is to our back so we make good time. By the time we get across Kingfisher to the take out to Jasper, the wind is stiff and makes unloading the canoe a chore. Shouldering the canoe is a task as well. Onto Jasper and the wind picks up more. We hardly paddle a stroke. I do need to be vigilant on the rudder as the wind wants to turn us sideways. I troll across the lake with no results. We get to the Alpine portage and there are two canoes and four people with a small space for us to take out. We make our first trip and by the time we finish on the Alpine side, there is a father and two daughters taking out. They are starting their trip in the opposite direction into the wind. I feel for them on Jasper as the wind is funneled down the lake. There is certainly quite a bit of burn area as we progress. Jasper was burnt on both sides. The only green was at the campsites. We still enjoy the scenery.

We get on Alpine and the wind is even worse. It is coming from our left flank and when we get in open water, it is challenging to say the least. We press on and make the last portage of our trip, 109 rods into Seagull. The wind is battering us on the shore and the canoe bobs all over the place. We get about our business and Krista starts counting ticks. We stop on the Seagull side of the portage for lunch as there is plenty of room. One other couple heads our way and we talk about the weather and campsites. They highly recommend a site on the north end of Seagull. He caught a nice laker right from shore. We decide to give it a try as there is a lot of open water to cover to make the site and the wind just gets worse and worse, but still not a bad as Wednesday. The campsite we are aiming to get to is #472. It is to the Northeast of Miles Island. We figure the island will help protect us from the wind. There is still fire damage all around us. Navigating is difficult because we are traveling so fast due to the wind, and my mind is focused on staying upright in the water. We have some serious back chop when we get near islands and make turns. I am not exactly sure where we are on the map, but know we will eventually end up on the north end, so I am not overly concerned about knowing exactly where we are on the map.

Well, on top of all this stress, guess what I see up in front or the canoe on the water? A snake making his way to the east on our right side. I am not sure what he is, but he appears to be 3 feet long or more. I don’t say a word as Krista is not a snake’s biggest fan, and we are doing enough rocking and rolling in the water without her excitement. As soon as we get along side, the snake decides to reverse course and hitch a free ride on our canoe. He lifts his head and gets within a foot of the side when I decide to take matters into my own hands. Krista is still unaware there is an attempted hijacking taking place. I paid good money for this Kevlar canoe, and I’ll be durned if a freeloader is getting on board this train. Well, I am not the most deft paddler to begin with, and when it comes to snakes and canoes, I leave much more to be desired. Krista half turns around and wants to know what the heck am I doing back there? I don’t know where the snake went, but he did not get in. Now, Krista keeps looking back to see if Mr. Snake is following us. Needless to say, no pictures were taken of this serpent encounter. This is the second time this has happened to me. The first was a water moccasin nearly thirty years ago.

We make the campsite around 2:30 pm, our earliest arrival at camp all week. I am relieved to get off the lake with all the wind. The site is as nice as the couple said it was. There are tent pads galore. The latrine is well hidden up high and takes some navigating to get back. Our last night out is a memorable one. After dinner, we try bank fishing and Krista hooks into a northern. It looks to be about 4 pounds and she is grinning from ear to ear. She caught it on a blade dancer by Berkley, in ¼ oz Perch body. I get something too, but it gets off. After the wind dies down, we get in the canoe and try our luck. Krista gets into a 2 lb smallmouth just below the rock face to the east of camp. She hooks and loses some more. She has a couple really strip the line and go deep before they get off. One finally broke her line. I’m just playing photographer as I am getting no action. After she loses my only perch blade dancer, we get no hits. We fish til dark and Krista hits the sack.

I stay up and catch a satellite streaking across the sky. This is the only cloudless night we have. Stars are abundant and bright. I finally call it quits around midnight. Many memories to cherish.