Thursday, June 17, 2010 Day Five: Got up, had breakfast of Egg beater torties with bacon bits, Canadian bacon, cheese, and peppers (yummy), and headed out. We began to see more people as we crossed Jasper and Alpine, and also more fire damage. While the fire damage may have seemed a little depressing for many familiar with the forests of the BW, for the two Kentucky boys, it was still a beautiful sight, because of the new adventure they were on. Also, for us, it was refreshing to see and experience something that was new to our BW experiences. It also was good to see the forests regrowing, with tons of blueberries for those who will be up in a couple of weeks. While we thought about camping on Alpine, we figured Seagull would be our best option, so we would have no portages on our last day. That became a reality when, as we crossed Alpine, the sites along the way were either occupied, or burned to the point that they were usable only as a last resort. By the time we got to the last portage, the 100 rod into Seagull, we met several groups, one heading our way, but many others at the landing at Seagull, heading in, one a group of 30, mostly newbie college aged kids who had not split up yet. The other thing we noticed on Seagull was that the wind was really starting to pick up, so finding a site soon became a priority. It was about the second or third site from the portage that was the first one open, so we took it, an island site. Again, there was a lot of fire damage on this end of the lake, even the islands. There were not two trees large enough and close enough for hammocks, so it figured my last night would be in a tent, rather than dangling in the breeze and comfort of my hammock. While traveling, we had not bothered to stop for lunch, so once we set up camp, everyone just started grazing on whatever leftover stuff was left in the packs, figuring to do the pizza torties later. By the time we had set up camp, the winds had gotten strong, I took a very cold dip in the Sea of Gull. After drying off, we looked over the map for our route tomorrow across the big water, just as the clouds began to roll in. At first, it seemed the storms would be heading to the north, out of our way, but by early evening we knew we would get wet too. I crawled into the tent for a nap after my swim, but wound up staying there once the rain started. And rain it did. Thunder and lightning, winds, pouring rain, and then calm. And then another round all over again, and then another round of the same. And somewhere along the way, I fell asleep. I was in the middle spot of a Timberline 4, between my brother and nephew. They got pretty soaked from the water seeping in through the bottom, but with the exception of the bottom of my sleeping pad, I stayed pretty dry.