Sunday, June 19, 2016 Duff day!
We planned our four night trip with two nights on Gillis, and then two nights on Tuscarora Lake, so today was all about relaxing and breathing in the wilderness. Hammocks were strung, and it was still warm enough to go for a dip in the lake, so we had big plans to do a whole lot of nothing!
We hammocked, swam while the warm temps were still upon us, and took a leisurely paddle around the majority of Gillis. During our paddle we noticed we still hadn't seen any other humans since that portage to Gotter. We figured we were the only campers on the lake. The day flew by and before we knew it, it was supper time. As the storm clouds grew to the southwest, the sound of taps played on a trumpet quickly divulged that we were not the only souls enjoying the lake. And what a treat that was to hear those sweet sounds under the pink and orange glow of the impending storm.
About a half hour after this photo was taken, we were safely hunkered down in our carefully placed tent. The storm raged pretty good around us, but nothing we hadn't been through before. Little did we know, that to the northeast of us, a man would die that night in the Boundary Waters. That was sobering news when we emerged from the wilderness a few days later. I think about that a lot when we are out there now, how fragile we are in the presence of mother nature.