WHAM!!! We absolutely get pummeled by a wicked thunderstorm in the middle of the night! Although these moments are few and far between, it's weather like this that makes us thankful for our Hilleberg tent. Certainly we could hear the wind screaming across the lake and through the trees but, our tent is rock solid through it all and there's no fear of a rain fly getting blown off. Even though he was deeper in the woods than us, Brad tells us he spent time holding his tent up during the heaviest of the torrential wind & rain. He lost some sleep but, he did manage to stay dry. The ropes on the CCS tarp are stretched a bit but, they hold. Our chairs and a few smaller items have been tossed around but, everything still seems to be here and undamaged. And, most important of all, nobody got hurt.

Our weather radio say the worst is over but, that there's a chance of rain all day. Not wanting to be camp bound all day, we decide to keep our day trip short and simple. Just south down the boot shaped peninsula is a campsite so we head off in that direction. While very sparse, this site sports a small sandy landing, we verify that no one is here and pull the canoe up. As we walk into the main camping area we are utterly astonished. Someone has built a huge windbreak with logs (both dead & alive)! There's also some obvious garbage left behind. Casing the perimeter of the camp we keep finding more and more stuff left behind. Innumerable live trees cut down, several tarps, chairs, pots pans, empty cans ......you name it. We gather up what we find and bring it to the fire grate area in hopes of, at least, making the Forest Services job a little easier. Of course this is a tragic set of circumstances but, as we start contemplating this twisted scenario it makes less and less sense. A few of the questions running through our mind, If you're gonna chop down trees and make a huge windbreak, then why all the tarps? If you're gonna rip up the fire grate, then why build a stone fire hearth where the fire grate was? Disgust & disappointment accompany us as we leave the maelstrom. (FYI: This incident was reported to the Forest Service and Tuscarora Outfitters were informed of this camp upon our exit)

On a brighter note, the clouds are beginning to move on and the sun has emerged. So, we decide to try a little fishing and paddle towards the islands. This site is still unclaimed so we get out and explore. In my opinion this is one of the best sites on the lake and we take full advantage of all the trails spider webbing out around the island. Even Aurora has some gracious comments for this site......now.

The weatherman gets it wrong today, as sunny skies move in and we get to enjoy a dry afternoon. Aurora takes full advantage of this circumstance and gets her swim suit on. I join her out in the lake where the water is still a bit cool but, tolerable. I think she would've stayed in the water all day if her Dad hadn't finally given in to exhaustion from all the spinning, throwing and running. Eventually everyone gingerly works there way out into the lake to quickly rinse off 5 plus days of grime & grit. The trashed campsite aside; this day was exactly what we envisioned when planning this trip, so it is very fulfilling and rewarding actually seeing it come to fruition.

It's another reasonably late evening as we sit up enjoying the mild temperature and calm winds. This trip has really been a major step forward for Aurora in her self reliance on these wilderness adventures. I've already mentioned her contributions paddling, but, also her genuine curiosity of how (and why) to do things around camp and a willingness to want to help out. And, for the first time, we let her bring along one of our old digital cameras. She had a ball taking pictures of everything under the sun.