A sunny Sunday morning, I eat a quickly prepared scrambled egg breakfast with summer sausage and then hit the water. Clam lake is one short portage away and I’ve heard it’s a pretty little lake. The portage is easy to locate but, I can’t say the same for negotiating the landing. It’s hard to negotiate with something that’s not there. I really must plan my exit because the trail starts climbing, literally right from the water’s edge. It’s a short path that ascends steeply almost the whole way before a short drop back down to grassy landing on Clam lake.

Clam is as advertised. It’s a scenic shallow little lake that is a whole different world from the large deep lake trout waters of Hanson & Ester. Another exceptionally neat contrasting lake. While beaver activity is apparent, I wouldn’t call this a beaver pond. There are a several small islands of which a couple are substantial in size. The campsite (#323) is tucked back in the NW corner of the lake. It’s small and little used, it looks like the last visitor was the local beaver as a large jack pine has recently been felled. However, there is a small island out in front of this elevated site and there is room for a couple smaller tent. Feeling adventurous, I do some minor bushwhacking just behind camp up to a nice overlook of the lake.

Later, I circle the lake and even paddle up the little stream in the NE corner which navigable water predictably ends at a decent sized beaver dam. The lake also looks very moosey but, Bullwinkle fails to show himself during my visit.

Next, I plan on heading to Rabbit lake to try some fishing. As I paddle through the narrows and round the bend and Ester lake is revealed; I instantly realize that the southern island site is now vacant. The brakes are slammed, and I return to camp on Hanson and set a new personal record for getting camp torn down, packed away and loaded up.

My new home is a sprawling site that stretches well back from the water up the rise where there are several optimal, well shaded tents pads. The shoreline is well protected by mature cedars, while the fie grate area is populated with several towering red pines which, not only provide an exceptional canopy, but also offer great tarp and hammock hanging options. There are well developed trails spider webbing out from camp. One leads back to a rise just behind camp where there is a nice overlook to view sunsets; another leads down to the lakeshore and provides shore access to the shallow sandy narrows swimming spot just to the NE. Really the only thing to somewhat complain about is the landing but, it is shallow water so it’s not too big of a concern.

It’s not even noon yet and I’ve got camp setup, including my CCS tarp, and I’m paddling over to the Rabbit Lake portage. The landing here is not the most convenient, especially being solo, but I’m able to make it work. The trail climbs most of the way up to Rabbit before leveling off to a boulder strewn landing. I’m briefly perplexed as much of the landing is thickly coated with what I originally ascertain to be yellow Play-Dough. After further investigation I determine that it is a mass amount of pollen that has washed ashore. While I have seen this phenomenon before, I had never seen it in this volume. A few spots between the rocks it’s 4-5 inches thick.

Rabbit is another lake much like Sema. Small and scenic, and it also offers good numbers of cooperative lake trout. As I paddle around the lake, I take a break at each of the campsites. Neither is anything spectacular but, both are workable sites that promise a genuine opportunity at having the lake to oneself.

Back in camp, my free afternoon entertainment is watching seagulls come and clean up the lake trout carcasses, that the previous occupants left, out of the shallow waters in front of camp. A couple also unwittingly pulls in before they realize the site is taken. I direct them to the mainland site just across the narrows, which is now also unoccupied, and they soon lay claim to.

Having a fire is one of the ethereal joys I normally associate with camping, I relish the whole process of preparing & having one and I can’t remember the last time I knowingly passed on doing so. However, the evening air is still so exceedingly humid that I decide to forego this enduring ritual. The bugs and mosquitos soon educate me as to the egregious error of my thinking and resoundingly remind me of one of the most practical reasons of why I like to keep a traditional campfire burning.

~Hanson Lake, Clam Lake, Ester Lake, Rabbit Lake