Friday, June 16, 2017

Brad was not looking forward to today and the long Tuscarora ~ Missing Link portage. I tried to bolster his spirits by telling him he had done a great job so far and that this would be out only portage of the day. He remained skeptical. The water was already choppy as we headed out but, caused us no problems on the short paddle east over to the portage. Since we planned on leapfrogging the portage I re-instructed everyone to remember everything that they would need to bring across. With that we were off.

I told Brad that once we get this initial climb behind us; the rest of the portage, (though long), should be relatively easy. There are plenty of mudholes to contend with along the way but, none are too deep. We cross paths up with a Father/Daughter heading into Tuscarora and advise them to avoid the trashed campsite just west of this portage and wish each other well. Once across; Aurora is entertained by all the frogs and, most especially, tadpoles that are in the shallow sandy water of Missing Link Lake as we finish bringing the rest of our gear across.

Missing Link Lake is deserted, so we have our pick of campsites. The choice is quite easy, and we claim the middle site on the lake. In my opinion this is by far the nicest site but, it appers someone has pulled up the fire grate and discarded the log seating. It's just sitting exposed on a the rock face of this elevated site. Not sure what's going on because it appears a brand new latrine has just been put in place as well. After camp is setup, I gather the scattered boulders and build up a wind break around the grate. While I don't set the tarp up for this one night stay, I do set both of our hammocks out - and they are put to good use.

This site is also exceedingly weedy, so I'm wondering if it hasn't been closed or something like that? There are, however, a preponderance of wildflowers in bloom around the perimeter of camp. After giveing the hammocks a dirty beating, Vickie and I decide to go out for a paddle on this lovely evening. The brook trout aren't very cooperative but, we enjoy the serene setting as we paddle around the lake. That is until the resident beaver expresses its displeasure of our intrusion by smacking it's tail on the water.

Later that evening, back in camp; Vickie notes that for the first time this trip, the lake we're on finally has a mirrored surface (which is one of her favorite things to photograph). Aurora uses up the last of her color packets in the fire and we all pose for goofy pictures for our little shutterbug.