Day Six 6/23/16

Last night while trying to fall asleep in the tent, there was this battle cry from an animal that sounded like it was right in camp with us. I sat right up in the tent and could feel my adrenaline racing. I tapped on Dads shoulder and asked him if he herd that animal and what the heck made that sound? Dad didn’t seem to be concerned about danger so I felt better. Scott says, “What was that”? None of us knew, although I had this feeling like something bad was going to happen but it didn’t. I tell you, if I was solo tripping up here, I would have been freaked out! This morning, over a hot cup of coffee, we were talking about another way out of Lac La Croix and into Lake Agnus. Dad found another portage on the map, that was at the south end of the Bolder River. It was a 120-rod portage but we would be skipping 2 short portages that were extremely hard, and we didn’t want to do them. On our way out of Agnus, we had to run a rapid and just about tipped the canoe when we got hooked up on a rock. How were we going to shoot the rapids in a 3-man canoe? The answer is simple… We’re not! Today’s day trip will take us into the Bolder River again, to check out that portage into Lake Agnus. Scott and I were both happy because we could do some more fishing. Dad wanted to check out the pictographs that were 3-1/2 miles north of camp. But since we are planning on moving closer to the Moose River, where we started the trip, we needed to check out this portage today. After another awesome pancake breakfast and milling around camp for a while. We loaded up the canoe with our day gear and headed into the Bolder River. Dad and Scott said, “No fishing till we get to the portage” They wanted to make good time and I wanted fish again. I would have to wait till the paddle back, but that was ok, because it would give me time to spot the good fishing holes! Ha Ha just kidding. Anyway, we all paddled to make good time and when we landed, there was the second most bogey portage I have ever been on. Scott just about lost his Keen sandal in the muck and it went way up to his knee! The rest of the day would be spent at camp since we knew we were going to be leaving tomorrow morning. But there was no need to start packing yet. Scott says, “Today is one of those days where you dream about what the Boundary Waters is like” For the whole evening we sat and enjoyed the nature show. There were 2 painted turtles hanging out on the flat rock in front of the campsite. They were funny, watching them crawl up on shore and then head off into the water again and again. They kept doing that all evening. Next, there was a beaver that got out of the water and climbed up on shore. He disappeared for a while and then I noticed a rustling in the blueberry patch. That beaver broke off a tree limb and went right back into the water to eat it. He looked really cool, as it’s not every day you see a beaver on shore. Later on, a snapping turtle came by and his shell was covered in the greenish yellow pollen that was floating on the banks of the shore lines. It was like we had our own nature show right here at camp. One thing Dad did in preparation for tomorrows trip to Nina Moose Lake, was to set the timer for the coffee pot! We filled the coffee pot with water and all the remaining coffee grounds, now coffee will be ready for the morning!