The rain continues throughout the night into the morning. We linger in the tent hopeful the incessant pitter patter will subside. It doesn’t. Finally, our sore muscles and full bladders force us towards the inevitable. I get breakfast going as rain persists on and off throughout the morning hours. We hang around camp as I process some firewood for a hopeful fire later but, mostly we’re just a bunch of dead beats sitting around. Finally Vickie suggests we go out for a paddle just to get out of camp.

It is still cold but the rain has mostly stopped for now. There is a little chop out on the lake but, nothing too serious. We paddle for the western end where we find the island site still occupied. We then paddle back into the northern arm continuing our exploratory route around the lake. The campsite there is open, so we decide to check it out. It doesn’t look like much from out on the lake but, once we get past the constricted landing and up to the fire grate a decent site with a couple of nice tent pads is revealed. It’s nothing special but, when compared with ours, it looks very plush. There are even several orchids beginning to bloom on the fringes.

Continuing on, we head for the Sebeka portage trail. I’ve heard this one is a real beast, and figure we can scout it out since we’ll be heading this way tomorrow. The landing is full of chewed up beaver sticks and Vickie & Aurora have a grand ol’ time inspecting them. Vickie even finds a nice diamond willow, while I spot something altogether different. It’s a tiny mud turtle. It could not have possibly hatched yet this year, so it must be a yearling. I hand it to Aurora and watch her play & gaze upon it with fascinated curiosity. When finished, she also freely puts it back where I had picked it up at and tells it to, “Go find your mommy, little turtle.”

Afterwards, we hike the portage trail. I tell Aurora she needs to practice how to safely walk around the big mud holes that are located throughout. Both Vickie & I unwittingly discover some knee deep pockets of muck but, fortunately, Aurora proves she has learned the needed lessons on the return trip.

There is no hurry as we paddle back, as our exploratory excursion continues. We take time to check out the rock wall just west of our site and circle around the back side of our scenic little island before returning to camp. Even though the clouds are finally beginning to break up, it proves exceedingly difficult to get (and keep) a decent fire going with our damp, wet wood. Per usual the bugs are once again a persistent annoyance but, we do enjoy not having to huddle under the tarp for a change.

Of course Aurora has packed in some of her toys, and while she doesn’t totally neglect them; it’s fascinating to note the she consistently seems more enthralled and entertained by the various rocks & sticks that she discovers. A noteworthy item is a chunk of wood that she calls her hammer.

Banadad Lake, Sebeka Lake