Sunday, September 25, 2011

Neither as cold or foggy this morning. After breakfast we decide to try and make it to Cummings lake today. The lake has a bit of walleye chop cutting across from the south so we plan on keeping the canoe very close to shore in the event things worsen. The interminable large boulders just below the surface close to shore keep us on our toes. After we pass the last campsite on the western shore there is a succession of small bays. The wind & waves have diminished so we deviate a bit from out original plan and cut across from point to point. Peering into one of the bays as we paddled by we notice something in the bay that will require closer inspection. It's a young bull moose feeding on some aquatic vegetation. He is quite skiddish and retreats towards the sanctuary of the surrounding spruce forest before we can get a really good look at him.

A short time later, we scare up a couple of whitetailed deer but only get a glimpse of white flags dashing through the woods. Though it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb? We find the portage to Cummings without any trouble. Other than the 2 mile length we really don't know too much about this portage. While being in good shape is a definite plus. I am a firm believer that overcoming portages is more about having the proper mindset & keeping a positive attitude. We went in through Morgan lake last fall and conquered the Misquah ~ Little trout & Kiskadinna ~ Davis portages amoung others. Feeling confident that those tough portages tempered us enough to overcome whatever challenges this trail might present. We had no one to disappoint but ourselves, so if we had to turn back? So be it.

I grabbed the canoe & our daypack while Vickie carried Aurora across. The trail starts out with a long moderate gradual climb. Intermittant rays of sunlight would penetrate through the canopy of multi colored leaves to the forest floor. I imagined the leaves floating to the ground in front of me were rose petals being thrown up in the air from a basket by a flower girl walking just in front of me.

I half expected this trail to be a little used, overgrown death march. It came as a pleasant surprise to find a wide open well worn trail with a minimum of troublesome roots & rocks usually associated with most portage trails. There were a few particularly scenic spots atop some rock knobs where the forest opened up. Rock cairns were placed to show the way, but weren't really necessary. Almost seemed as if someone had shot the moss up in the air & then it landed in globs on the granite. Making the scene even more picturesque was the reindeer moss that was growing on top seemed to "frost" much of the green moss.

At about the mid point there was a long boardwalk to negotiate. Some of the boards were a bit loose & in a few spots the ground beneath was unstable. During high water, I guessed this area might be underwater.

Naturally doing a portage of this length we were inclined to take a few "poses" along the way. Aurora was a bit warm & hungry but otherwise was doing just fine. Of course she is too young to really know any better? But, seeing her taking such great pleasure while in the out of doors filled my heart with unspeakable joy. I wouldn't trade her smile for gold. Hopefully we were laying a solid foundation of outdoor enjoyment for her?

In the final analysis the portage was across an excellent, very scenic, trail. There are some small hills & the mentioned boardwalk. But, in the end barring windfalls, overall length is the biggest obstacle to overcome.

Certainly it was a relief to finally see Cummings lake. But, peering out between the 2 large red pines, that serve as a gateway on the Cummings end, it was a bit unsettling to see the sky had clouded over & wind has a renewed vigor.

We hadn't come this far just to turn back now. The campsite on the east side near the exit to the bay we were in was supposed to be a 5 star? We decided to pull in there and hope the weather didn't worsen. Unfortunately it was occupied as was the island site straight south. We paddled west across the entrance of the bay to check the island site there. Hoping we wouldn't have to paddle into the main body of the lake. Fortunately, it was unoccupied so with a sense of relief we paddled up and claimed it as our lunch spot & safe harbor if the weather worsened.

The long portage had seriously depleted our water supply. Our new Sawyer gravity filter was back in camp on Big Moose. Not being totally comfortable dipping from the shallow bay on Cummings, Vickie set about boiling some water. We even stumbled across a live well someone had constructed to set our water bottles in to cool.

The kitchen area at this site was exquisite. In fact our temporary island sanctuary proved to be beautifully accomodating. Vickie & I took turns exploring the island while the other keep an eye on dinner & Aurora. I found that the entire island was easily explored and offered pleasing vistas in all directions.

Fortunately the wind had calmed and the sun was back out. Aurora picked a bad time to have a blowout. Is there ever a good one? Vickie had packed an extra outfit but, only one. We figured it was better to be safe than sorry. Not wanting to take any chances on the weather turning on us again we decided to curtail our exploration of Cummings lake. We finish off our soup, the remainder of the banana nut bread, grab our water bottles, and paddle back towards the portage to Big Moose.

I thought we did pretty good coming back? Aurora slept the whole way. Even though we took 3 breaks, we still made it back across the portage in just under an hour. It was an idyllic evening to paddle. We contemplated heading back to camp up the east shore in a counter clockwise direction. But, Aurora had awoken and was beginning to fuss. So we retraced our route from this morning.

Once back in camp Aurora was constantly wanting to eat. For the first time on this trip she was becoming inconsolable. This went on for about a half hour or so? Looking back now, I think she was telling us it had been a long day and, she was tired and needed to eat extra. I guess I couldn't blame her? Although both Vickie & I felt the eventual tradeoff had been worth it. For one of the first times in her young life, Aurora had slept through the night once she was put down. The wonders of wilderness!

While Aurora slept through the night, Vickie was awoken by some strange noises outside. It didn't take her long to wake me & I quickly agreed there was "something" out there. After being awoken it took me a few moments to regain my "bearings" as we each speculated on what was making that awful noise. It turned out to be a bull moose snorting & bellering just up the shoreline from our camp. Neither of us had the will power to go out and investigate further. We just hoped it wouldn't come trapsing through our site and inadvertently trample or rip things apart. He didn't, and we slept peacefully the rest of the night.  Big Moose Lake, Cummings Lake