Fortunately the forecast today calls for the clouds to start breaking up and NO rain. Fortunately it's still unseasonably warm, so we have no trouble with anything freezing. After a quick breakfast we get things packed & loaded up on the toboggans. As I'm fastening my second snowshoe, disaster strikes yet again - the rubber lashing snaps off! I usually keep a few shorter pieces of CCS cordage handy and we are able to 'chicken wire' it back together. (Although it would require a little fine tuning down the trail.)

Thanks to all the rain yesterday, what would normally be a hard packed trail is instead almost like breaking trail again. Still once we work out the bugs, we are making good steady progress and take a short break in our old campsite before pressing on. Next the steep downhill provides some entertainment for Aurora sliding down the hill & watching me try to navigate our toboggans down the slope.

After that excitement, at the base of the hill where the little creek flows through, we can hear running water and Aurora even breaks through. Fortunately she just postholes a bit and doesn't get wet. I carry her the short distance across the boardwalk section to where the trail starts to climb out of this low section. After this short climb we are back on the mucker Lake Trail where, for the most part, travel is much easier. Aurora even leaves behind a snowman as a trail marker during one of our rest stops.

my boots are wet but at this point we're on a mission to get back to the van. Besides, as warm as it is today, I never really get cold anyways. Before long we are at the kiosk and then hit the still hard pack of the snowmobile trail leading to the van. As we pass by mayhew lake, slush and even standing water are readily discernible. I'm beyond thankful we didn't have to cross a lake in this condition to get back, as I imagine most of the lakes in the immediate area must look the same. Once back at the van, I tell Aurora to bring Vickie one of her mocha's she'd left in the van for just this occasion; while I begin loading things up. After getting packed we head into town, drop off our rented gear at Stone Harbor then head over to my Sisters Place for a well deserved burger & fries.

From a certain perspective, I could easily rate this trip as an almost complete disaster. Not reaching or even seeing our destination, the rain, equipment failures etc. But, considering it was Vickie & Aurora's first trip and their positive feedback about the adventure, I too can't help but look at it from a 'the glass is half full' perspective. While it certainly was/is a disappointment not to have gotten to Sock Lake. It sure was cool to experience a winter night out under the stars as a family. And looking at our great teamwork getting our toboggans up & around some of the difficult sections can only serve to strengthen our relationship and build confidence for future winter adventures. And considering we were able not only able to survive but, thrive in the rain shows we're able to adapt to challenging conditions on the fly. In the final analysis, this trip had it's share of disappointments and struggles, but I feel it lays a solid foundation for successful future adventures.