Friday, August 14, 2020We were cheap and it ended up costing us. Driving out of Grand Marias we drove past hotel after hotel and decided to instead crash in the tent at the entry point parking lot. After a night of restless sleep and hearing the trucks flying past the gravel road next to us. Our groggy behavior was evident right away as both of us misread the map and hopped back and forth over a beaver damn three times until we figured out our mistake from there it was a simple a couple of portages until our canoe graced the waters of ham lake. We pushed through it as our ultimate destination was further down the line: Long Island Lake. After three hours of restless sleep we were both wiped by the time we got to Rib Lake and seeing the campsite open it was hard to deny the open arms it possessed as it call to us. Logan and I both decided that it was a good stopping point for the day.... we had only made it half the distance that we had hoped but it would have to be enough. Soon enough the tent was up and food was settled in our stomachs looking out at the waves and the swift moving water as the breeze rustled the hairs on my arm. I knew that the drift down Rib would be easy and relaxing but was unsure about the speed and how hard it would be to paddle back. We had no choice but to get out and try to catch supper. Drifting down the lake with the wind at our back it quickly became apparent why this lake is a layover lake and not a destination one. The largest fish we had was a 16 inch string bean slime ball of a northern pike. Not big enough for the frying pan... The rest of the fish were smaller. The smallies we caught while fun to fight provided us with no food as well. Paddling into camp just as a storm was settling in we huddled under a tarp for some Knorr sides chicken flavored rice and then crashed in our bags hoping for a better day tomorrow.