Thursday, June 04, 2009

After our long day yesterday, we welcomed the shorten version of our trip plan for today! Our goal today was to take a site I had visited in 1988 on Little Saganaga Lake.

Flash back to August 1988. I had been on a trip with a very good friend. We had paddled all day in a lightning storm and heavy rains to Little Saganaga. Just before we had arrived, the weather cleared and the sun had reappeared. It was welcome as we were completely soaked from the day of rain. As we landed at the campsite, we noticed an open point away from the campsite that offered warm winds and sunshine – but little cover. We set our tent on the point and began the process of drying out. Later that evening, storms reformed and forced us into our Eureka Timberline tent. The last thing I remember seeing from the “night of terror” I remember it as, was looking out over the lake to a wall cloud approaching and winds picking up. For the next four hours, our tent placed awkwardly on an open point was pummeled by wind and rain. The sound of trees falling around us was defining. We were literally lying spread-eagle on the bottom of the tent holding it down and praying for the storms passage.

Fast forward 21 years, we arrive at the site and set camp (in a much safer position). It was no small task getting here. The 45 rod portage into Little Sag was very pretty. The rapids leading into Little Sag were just off a postcard!

As when we first entered Little Sag Lake we were greeted with a head wind and white caps. Resting only once, we pulled into the site at 11:40AM and set our base camp for the next day.

Spending time at this site gave me a chance to reconcile myself with the site where I almost died. For years I wrestled with this experience and now, I was having the opportunity to re-visit this site. Here’s a picture of the spot – you can see the lack of cover, even after all these years!

The day’s totals: 1 portage, 45 rods and 6 miles of territory. Started the day at 7:10AM and arrived at Frost Lake at 11:40AM.