The cloud cover that moved in last night was still at hand when we woke this morning. Rolling waves persisted as well, and a check of the weather radio promised rain and possibly thunderstorms this afternoon. It already looked like it could start up at anytime. We had planned on heading west to check out Curtain Falls & the pictographs located near there. But, with the portentous set of circumstances presented to us this morning, a unanimous decision was quickly agreed upon to stay close to camp today.

There was no set agenda; but, since Vickie had planned on baking muffins later today - shortly after breakfast we set out to bolster our firewood supply. Traveling in a counterclockwise direction around our island, we soon located several excellent downed trees just past a large shoreline opening. Unwittingly, we also stumbled onto something of a birch bark bone yard where numerous large premium pieces were ostensibly piled up. We gathered everything up and positioned it (along with our saw & hatchet) in an obvious spot, then proceeded to continue on our exploratory journey.

Almost immediately I found an old bottle that was completely intact. Once we got it home, Vickie used the markings on the bottle to look up its origin & determined it was an old starch or syrup bottle from 1930s or 40s.

At times there appeared to be a faint trail as we worked our way around the island. Certainly we were not the first to be stuck in camp for a day. On the back side of the island we came across an old rusty (though still completely intact) barrel. It was white & empty but, as far as I could tell, would still be a very useable drum. Not so very long ago there used to be a busy resort located in Friday Bay. My guess is that this barrel was used there and either drifted, or was dumped, here.

Later, near the west side of the island, we walked out onto a small sandy beach. This would’ve certainly been a lot easier to get to from the campsite, had we headed out in the other direction. Never the less, we enjoyed this little hidden oasis and lounged in carefree comfort until rain chased us onward.

Soon we found ourselves back in familiar territory. For now the rain had stopped, so I hiked back (the short way) to grab the birch bark, wood, bottle, saw & hatchet. Once back in camp, while sawing & splitting the wood, the rain returned. There really hadn’t been a good spot to put the tarp, and we really didn’t need it yesterday - so I hadn’t set it up. After the rain started back again, Vickie ‘persuaded’ me into getting it up. So we found a small nook back in the grove of cedars near our tent.

It’s always amazing how the rain sounds a great deal worse than it actually is when sitting under a tarp. Though it really wasn’t raining that hard, it was nice to be able to sit and stay dry. The cribbage board was dug out & we played a few games. The wind & rain persisted, so I decided to crawl into the tent to read & maybe take a nap. Soon afterwards, Vickie would join me.

By about 4 o’clock the rain had stopped, so we ventured back outside. Vickie got a fire going and found what she thought was a perfect flat baking stone. She placed it on top of the fire grate to heat up while she prepared the muffin mix.

Meanwhile, I had continued processing firewood (very near the fire grate) when I heard a loud “pop!” I suggested to Vickie that I didn’t think her stone was going to work very well for baking on. She didn’t seem to take me too seriously. Soon, she placed the pan on the stone and, as she normally does when baking, covered it in tinfoil. About the same time, our water for hot chocolate was ready, so we both sat down in front of the fire grate to take a load off & enjoy a hot drink. No sooner had we sat down when… “BABOOM!!!” The rock exploded again, sending the pan into the air & muffin mix all over the place!

Fortunately, we didn’t get hit, and the tin foil caught most of the mess. We scraped the rest off of the fire grate into the fire & cleaned up the perimeter spatter as best we could. A good laugh was shared and, ever resolute, Vickie quickly mixed up another batch that turned out far better.

For supper, Vickie added some dehydrated hamburger and vegetables to the minestrone mix. This hearty, steaming soup proved to be just the ticket to effectively counter the chilly misty air that lingered this evening.

Since we didn’t stay up too late tonight, our prodigious stack of firewood didn’t take much of a hit. So in addition to our stockpile of birch bark, Vickie grabbed an arm load of premium pieces, to stash away in the pack where our meat cooler had been. This extra weight would be a non issue, since we were planning to camp near Lower Basswood Falls tomorrow. Meaning, NO portages.