A Little Longer, A Little Farther
by PixiePaddler
Trip Type:
Paddling Canoe
Entry Date:
07/04/2009
Entry Point:
Fall Lake (EP 24)
Exit Point:
Moose/Portage River (north) (EP 16)
Number of Days:
10
Group Size:
2
Discuss Trip:
View Discussion Thread (12 messages)
Day 4 of 10
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Races, loons, and love…
We slept in this morning, which is typical for us, and got going around 11:00. We started down Crooked Lake.We saw this "interesting" piece of wood coming out of a rock along the way. Creepy!
The fishing was good, but not like last year. I hooked a really nice smalley along the way. Mark was taking it off the hook for me (such a gentleman) and right as he was about to get him off, the crank bait broke in ½ ahd that big ole gal got away! What a BUMMER! Mark estimated that it was about 4 – 4 ½ pounds. Oh well, there are more where that came from! The temps were mild, the wind was calm and the water was like glass. We stopped along the way to have lunch and were joined by camp jays. Those little guys are carnivores! They loved sausage. This was the same campsite from last year that the deer joined me for the evening. We then traveled around the corner to the spot where Mark caught the big pike last year. We fished a little more with little luck. Due to our habitual late starts in the mornings, we often had a hard time finding open campsites. This was one of those times. I have heard tales of people getting up early in the morning to travel and actually getting their campsite for the evening around the same time we get up and out of our campsite! I can’t imagine! So, here we are in the late afternoon/early evening looking for a spot. We saw an open spot up ahead and started rowing toward it. In the distance we saw a LARGE vessel approaching the same site. We got a little panicky as we increased our speed. It was to be a race! But, DANG! That big “thing” was moving soooo fast! When we arrived at the spot (after they did), we were exhausted and amazed at the sight. It was 9 people in a giant Native American canoe. No wonder they rowed faster than us! They were a group that was celebrating the anniversary of Quetico. They had surveyed the site and decided it just wasn’t big enough for their massive group and turned it over to us. After visiting with them, they went on their way and we lucked out and had our site. After our dinner and solar shower (a new addition to our equipment this year…and so well worth the weight), I was looking through the lens of my camera at a loon on the water. I quickly realized that she had a baby on her back! I got so excited and made Mark get the canoe out so we could go get a closer look and maybe some photos. We edged closer to her and then I got some nice photos of her. I was so thrilled. I then got some great pictures of the dad coming in to feed the baby a little fish he caught for it. Here are a couple of the photos I captured that evening. I also got some interesting dragonfly photos. Love was in the air that evening!
Back at camp for the evening, we enjoyed a nice campfire and the sunset. I propped my camera on a rock and took a picture of us. This would be our Christmas card photo this year. We finally hit the hay after organizing our gear and looking over maps. The wind was kicking up a little, so who knows what it will be like tomorrow. This wonderful weather can’t last all week…can it?
Races, loons, and love…
We slept in this morning, which is typical for us, and got going around 11:00. We started down Crooked Lake.We saw this "interesting" piece of wood coming out of a rock along the way. Creepy!
The fishing was good, but not like last year. I hooked a really nice smalley along the way. Mark was taking it off the hook for me (such a gentleman) and right as he was about to get him off, the crank bait broke in ½ ahd that big ole gal got away! What a BUMMER! Mark estimated that it was about 4 – 4 ½ pounds. Oh well, there are more where that came from! The temps were mild, the wind was calm and the water was like glass. We stopped along the way to have lunch and were joined by camp jays. Those little guys are carnivores! They loved sausage. This was the same campsite from last year that the deer joined me for the evening. We then traveled around the corner to the spot where Mark caught the big pike last year. We fished a little more with little luck. Due to our habitual late starts in the mornings, we often had a hard time finding open campsites. This was one of those times. I have heard tales of people getting up early in the morning to travel and actually getting their campsite for the evening around the same time we get up and out of our campsite! I can’t imagine! So, here we are in the late afternoon/early evening looking for a spot. We saw an open spot up ahead and started rowing toward it. In the distance we saw a LARGE vessel approaching the same site. We got a little panicky as we increased our speed. It was to be a race! But, DANG! That big “thing” was moving soooo fast! When we arrived at the spot (after they did), we were exhausted and amazed at the sight. It was 9 people in a giant Native American canoe. No wonder they rowed faster than us! They were a group that was celebrating the anniversary of Quetico. They had surveyed the site and decided it just wasn’t big enough for their massive group and turned it over to us. After visiting with them, they went on their way and we lucked out and had our site. After our dinner and solar shower (a new addition to our equipment this year…and so well worth the weight), I was looking through the lens of my camera at a loon on the water. I quickly realized that she had a baby on her back! I got so excited and made Mark get the canoe out so we could go get a closer look and maybe some photos. We edged closer to her and then I got some nice photos of her. I was so thrilled. I then got some great pictures of the dad coming in to feed the baby a little fish he caught for it. Here are a couple of the photos I captured that evening. I also got some interesting dragonfly photos. Love was in the air that evening!
Back at camp for the evening, we enjoyed a nice campfire and the sunset. I propped my camera on a rock and took a picture of us. This would be our Christmas card photo this year. We finally hit the hay after organizing our gear and looking over maps. The wind was kicking up a little, so who knows what it will be like tomorrow. This wonderful weather can’t last all week…can it?
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