Day 4 – August 2nd We woke up a little earlier this morning so we could get on the water to hopefully find a campsite in the 6-8 mile range and get there before noon to avoid the difficulty of finding a site that we experienced the night before. So we were up, packed and ready to push off around 8:30am and said goodbye to the lake that saved us from miles of travel. Back over the portage and onto Big Knife Lake on calmer waters of the morning. As we were exiting the bay where the portage to Portage Lake is located, we saw a group of 4 canoes out ahead of us and slowed up to let them get farther ahead as we didn’t want to rush them. While we were waiting, we were entertained by a group of 4 loons as they were diving and fishing and just doing looney things; a couple got within 20 feet or so of our canoes. Such a big beautiful bird with a hauntingly melodic song unlike any other I have had the opportunity to listen to. I could have stayed there all day watching but after 10 mins or so, we started off in search of our next home.

Packing up

We took our time today since we weren’t going as far so we fished along the way. We basically followed the US Canadian border the whole time with several smaller portages around smaller waterfalls and rapids, it was a beautiful day! Over the Big Knife Portage onto the Knife River also known as Seed Lake (no idea why, it’s just what the map says) to Melon Lake and then to Carp Lake. It was on one of these smaller portages that we found a pack that someone had left behind. We had a discussion on what to do, take it with us or leave it. We decided to leave it in case the person(s) who left it came back for it as we didn't know which direction the group was traveling. I am glad we did because we ran into the group a short while later that was coming back for it. Turns out they had to exit quickly because a member of their group broke their leg and they had taken him back out to civilization for treatment and were on there way back to continue and finish their trip, hopefully with no more incidents. It was also on one of these smaller portages where Sara would portage her first canoe. After a quick lesson she flipped the canoe onto her shoulders with a little help and off she went, no issues although she said she didn’t have to do it again unless she had to. Before to long we were on the portage from Carp Lake to Birch Lake. While on the portage we ran into another group that told us of the waterfall that needs to be looked at so we took the detour and did some sightseeing. Just a word of caution, just off the trail we took to see the waterfall, up in a tree was a pretty decent sized beehive (or hornet or something that stings, I didn’t stick around to find out) so watch out for that.

Waterfall

Back on the water we paddled down Birch Lake which actually turns out to be a really long lake. After we rounded the corner out of the area immediately after the portage we decided to start looking for a campsite as we noticed the canoe traffic starting to pick up again. We passed a couple of occupied sites and grabbed the first available one we happened upon.

The campsite # 1279. This site has a nice landing in a little bay (if you could even call it that) however it did have a slanted rock surface that was a little slippery which made things challenging. Once up in the site it sprawls out in all directions with tent pads spaced out decently including one just off the trail that leads west off the back off the site. It was like a little bedroom surrounded on the sides and top by forest with a window to the lake. There is an absolute awesome bear hang tree back behind the site (south) a little way, best bear hang tree I have ever encountered. It was a HUGE pine on a slope that had one branch parallel to the ground. If you stood up on the hill and threw your rope over said branch it was perfect! Our food was a good 20 feet off the ground but still at least 10 feet down from the branch and a good 20 feet off the tree!

Campsite # 1279

Since we were arrived so early there was plenty of time to explore, fish and just hang out. I really cherish these times. The conversation is easy and all manner of topics are discussed, heavy, light, serious, crazy, etc… I don’t remember any specific conversations at this campsite but we talked a lot. It makes one realize the distractions from technology in our everyday lives that prevent us connecting with each other on a more personal level. I always feel so refreshed after these trips. Throughout the afternoon some fish were caught and lures were lost. We had some rumbles of thunder but fortunately no storms materialized. We also had a really large rabbit frequent the area, scared several of as we tromped off to the latrine. The evening progressed, we had a fire and off to bed looking forward to another shorter day.

Lakes traveled: Big Knife, Knife River/Seed Lake, Melon, Carp, Birch Distance traveled: 6.5 miles