Saturday, September 24, 2011

A cold, very foggy morning. Our little alarm clock had us up early today. No fires allowed in the morning, so I linger in the tent and entertain Aurora for awhile. The lantern is put to use keeping the inside of the tent warm. We brought a few extra propane tanks along for just this purpose. Vickie braves the crisp morning air to get her coffee brewing.

After a late breakfast I begin the search for firewood. One nice aspect of a red pine forest is that exploration is unimpeded by the underbrush which doesn't grow well in the pine duff. Of course finding legal firewood is the drawback. Unfortunately red pine & birch are the predominate candidates. Downed red pines are the polar opposite of downed birch. Birch retains moisture and rots, while the red pine will dry rot and turn into useless powder if allowed to sit too long. The trick is to find them before they start to rot. I have to wander a fair distance back into the woods before finding some suitable wood.

The fog & mist are hanging tough yet this morning keeping the sun at bay and a chill in the air. So once I drag my findings back to camp I begin to employ the old adage, "If you cut your own firewood it'll warm you up twice." Even though we can't legally start a fire until 6:00 p.m. I get things ready to go in the firegrate.

It's nearly noon before the sun finally overtakes the fog. Vickie wants to explore the chain of small islands just out from our site. We set Aurora in her pea pod out on the rock shelf while we pack up a few things for our day trip.

The pea pod is essentially a mini collapsible tent. Complete with it's own air mattress. It fits inside our tent at night & we can set it up about camp during the day. If it's too chilly we throw a couple of blankets over the top to help retain heat. Otherwise when it's warmer it has plenty of screen to permit free air flow. Really an indispensable item.

Paddling conditions are excellent as we make our way over to the island. We find a decent spot to land on the east side. Exploring the whole of the island is quite easy as it is covered in mostly pine duff, moss, and plenty of exposed rock.

As anyone who has traveled in canoe country can attest; plants & trees find the most unlikely, seemingly inhospitable, places to grow. Their root systems seem to grow around the rock much like an eagles talon clutching a fish that it has just extracted from its watery haunts. I never cease to marvel in wonderment when running across this scene.

As we pressed on to some of the other islands, it was impossible not to notice the numerous, incredibly large, rocks scattered about. Some on shore and many in the water above and below the surface.

Coming around the last of the islands we noticed a canoe at the portage landing coming in from the Moose river. They wound up heading south. Since the weather was ideal for paddling we decided to loop east around the northern bay then head back to our campsite. Along the way we stopped to check out the 2 campsites there. Both had rocky landings and were situated in nice groves of red pine with excellent views to the south. The northern most one even had a neat rock ledge which provided seating around the firegrate. It appeared the people we had seen last night did not camp here. They must've taken out at the Big Moose lake hiking trail and portaged out from there.

Around the perimeter of the lake there were alot of other enticing spots that looked like inviting areas that be could easily explored. The varied colors of autumn also made staying out on the water a memorable experience. And our stomachs were telling us it was getting to be about supper time so we kept paddling on towards camp.

Enjoyed a hearty meal of wild rice soup supplemented with some chicken. Later the ambiance of a nice fire warmed us as the temperature dropped after the sun disappeared over the horizon.

We use a blue barrel to haul & store our food. We don't hang or drag it away from camp. But, we do put our pots & pans on top of the lid after sealing it up for the night. Thinking that the noise will likely scare the animal away that knocked them off and, also, alert us to their presence in camp. Not long after we retired for the evening there was a commotion outside. One of the lids had slid across a pot. There wasn't even a trace of wind so we knew it had to be an animal of some sort. Of course in my mind I naturally presumed it was Sasquatch or something even more vile. Of course it wasn't all that horrifying? As it ended up being our resident mink just curiously nosing around. Apparently he found nothing of much interest? And left camp without disturbing us any further.

Big Moose Lake