Wednesday, August 25, 2021
We moved north to the next lake, Mountain Lake, and our reserved campsite, Ermine-2. This was also located at the top of a steep climb, but the trail was much shorter than that at Fox-1 and the site had the benefit of a sandy landing. The campsite thus had a view of the lake. The site is a large area characterized by an open, old growth forest.
The previous occupants had packed up their stuff, but they had left it in a pile with a note saying that they would return later to collect it. I don't understand why people think it is OK to inconvenience or intrude on others' privacy.
After setting up the tarp and my tent, I strung my hammock and relaxed for a while. It turned out that this was the only time I used my hammock. We also went swimming that afternoon and did a bit of laundry. The cool water felt great! I love this part of wilderness canoe travel: wading into a clear lake, feeling the goose bumps on my skin, suddenly plunging myself below the surface and coming up for air, feeling my body acclimatize to the water's temperature, exercising the arms and legs and lungs to propel myself through the water, looking at the trees on the shore and the rocks below.
After sunset, we went down to the landing to photograph the stars. The site looks southward. The Moon was up; it was red and its image was reflected in the water, but trees prevented us from photographing it. Jupiter and Saturn shone brightly low in the sky. It was wonderful to be able to see the Milky Way and we could easily pick out the constellations Cygnus, Aquila, the “teapot” in Sagittarius, and the bright star Vega overhead with the naked eye. At home, the stars are so obscured by ambient light that we cannot see these beautiful things unaided. We later sat around our campfire talking about many things.