We both slept a little better this night and rose to a beautiful, calm morning with a light breeze out of the west. After our breakfast of coffee, peaches, and peanut butter bagels, we broke camp at about 8 AM. Just before we left, I saw a family of otters swimming by.

Base camping was a wonderful experience for Grandpa and I. We could explore the area we were in without having to take down, portage, and set up all of our gear. Our day trips broke up what otherwise would have been a bit monotonous experience.

We headed for American Point, where we were planning to camp that night on the south end of Englishman Island on our basecamp site from our 2014 trip. You couldn’t have asked for a better morning. The water was calm, sunlight danced on the waves, and the light breeze was at our back. We prayed aloud back and forth as we paddled and reached American Point in what seemed like no time at all before dropping south to Englishman Island.

Finding some people investigating the site, and still feeling pretty good ourselves, we decided to push onward under the optimal paddling conditions. We followed the southern ends of Englishman, Long, and Gold Islands before striking off to the far point that marked the far shore. Once again the wind was at our back. I had seen a beautiful site on the southern end of Clark Island on one of our previous trips and was hoping to grab it to make for an easy paddle in the morning. This being my fourth trip on Saganaga, I found that I knew the lake pretty well and we never got lost or even bewildered. The advantages to spending time on the same lake every year definitely include an intimate acquaintance with every island, bay and open vista. Saganaga remains my favorite lake.

The southern and northern sites on Clark Island were taken, so we pushed further north toward Campers Island. The third site (coming from the south) on Campers Island was open so we claimed it. This is an incredible site and would make a wonderful base camp for a big group, with many beautiful tent pads scattered through a lovely grove of red pines and a latrine in good condition. Someone had left the site clean and in incredible condition.

We were tired but pleased that we had paddled about nine and a half miles and placed ourselves within easy reach of the channel so we could take our time coming out. We ate summer sausage sandwiches once again and enjoyed a hot cider before setting up the tent right next to the fire grate area, once again for convenience. Grandpa napped while I read Sigurd Olson’s The Singing Wilderness and played my guitar. When he woke up, we just lounged around camp. We shore fished for a little while and Grandpa caught a small bass. I went in swimming also and hoped I didn’t catch giardia since the water looked a little green (the waves had been blowing into our campsite all day long).

We made another meal of chicken teriyaki with rice for dinner. Grandpa enjoyed a hot chocolate while I enjoyed a mocha and another cup of coffee, and we watched the sun go down as a front slowly began to move in. Grandpa and I were both surprised at the relative absence of bugs in the middle of August. They were present but they were rarely an annoyance, which was perfect since we spent lots of time sitting around camp on this trip. As the sun set, I lit up another campfire and we watched it burn down before hitting the hay. This evening was so still and quiet it was almost surreal. I listened to some squirrels and/or mice chase each other around behind our tent, and at one point even went out to check our hanging trash bag, which thankfully was fine.