Tuesday, July 30. We awaken to an overcast sky and light rain. It is to be a moving day, and we are headed to Cirrus Lake. Our original plan was a Quetico- Kasakokwog-Cirrus loop, but the stormy entry days changed all that. So for us "seniors" we have a fairly long paddle ahead to the east end of Cirrus Lake. We pass through the narrows and to the easy 18 rod portage that we had scouted out the day before. No mud, and a delightful sand entry to Cirrus.
On Cirrus we are beginning to understand our limitations more. This is a long open lake, and is easily affected by a west wind. We are not exactly a strong paddling group! While four of us are experienced trippers, one of us said that the last time he was in a canoe was when he was 8 years old! We are running out of steam, and it is also overcast, a bit wet, and some what windy. We find the sites are few and far between on Cirrus, but find the site at the narrows to the east bay before Sue Falls acceptable. The evening turns out to be pleasant, we catch fish for dinner as usual, and the thunderstorms passing by missed us.
This evening we begin a new camp routine. I had brought with to read a copy of "Canoeing With The Cree", by Eric Sevareid, the amazing story of two 18 year old high school graduates that canoe from Minneapolis to York Factory on Hudson Bay in 1930! Before GPS, spot locators, nylon tents, gortex, or Kevlar canoes. They did it in a wood canvas canoe they bought second hand. If you have not read this book, I highly recommend it. The other guys expressed an interest in the story, so I began to read it out loud around the camp fire after dinner. It was great, so many parallel experiences to what we were having, even if it was 83 years later and we are all 50 years older! We could certainly relate to their being wet and cold during the trip, and the issue of how to get along under stress! But really, no comparison as our conditions were a hundred times easier, but maybe our age made it seem hard at times.