Monday, June 14, 2021 The first three words I wrote for this day’s entry sum up the first day “Long Hard Day”. But I must add, it was worth it. Got on the water early (Left no Trace!) and paddled along the east shore of Harri Island. The lake starts off calm, but as we reached the Northern tip of the Island, the wind was picking up and we were paddling in some medium to large swells, which turned out to be good practice for later in the trip. Many people have mentioned how Snowbank is a large lake and the waves can get pretty big. These waves were not epic, but probably the largest I had paddled through to this point in my life. We kept heading toward the portage through these conditions, I was nervous but the longer we went, the more comfortable I was. We finally got to the portage into Boot, and all went well. I was a little slower on the portages than Pete, so he would get ahead and do a little fishing as I caught up.
The portage into Ensign was a little longer. I started with the Canoe and my pack, putting the canoe down after 12 minutes, but carried the pack all the way to Ensign in 38 minutes total. I figured about another hour to go back for my fishing bag and canoe. As I got to the Canoe, Pete had already brought my fishing bag with and dropped off there, so I grabbed that and the canoe for another 30 minutes of fun. When I made it back to Ensign, whitecaps were coming to shore. We headed into the waves going straight north where the waters were calm, then worked east and north toward the Vera portage, stopping for a break at campsite 2086, just across from the bay to the portage. This campsite was very nice, and we considered stopping for the night, but there was a lot of daylight left and we hoped to get the Vera portage behind us.
Picture from the top of the Vera portage – my comment “Tough” – but it wasn’t that bad, it was just a long day from Snowbank to Vera. I carried the Canoe and tackle across the portage, went back for the 40lb pack and when I got to the top of the hill with said pack, I set it down and just laid on the rocks, thinking about how I wanted to go this way because I had read reports that the Vera & Knife portages were tough, but beautiful. I read correctly. It was a lovely view of Ensign, and after about 10 minutes I felt better and finished the portage. Pete had gone ahead to check out the campsites, and he set up his tent on site 1243 (4*) on the North Shore of Vera. Just as I got on the water, he had worked his way back to check on me. We fished our way to the campsite without collecting a meal. As I set up my tent, Pete checked out the restroom, and called back for me to get my “Little Silky” saw. I picked it up and as I started toward the trail I heard “Permission to enter camp”. After more than 7 years, I finally met Forest Service employee's coming to check out the campsite and our permits. And the best part, I had a saw in my hands. They checked our permits, answered all my stupid questions with patience, and said part of their visit was to check the Latrine and do any required maintenance. I offered to clear the tree from the trail, but accepted their offer, as they said it was their job. And they did a professional job, it was hard to tell where the tree was dispersed to when they finished. Pete cooked his awesome hamburger/potato/vegetable hotdish, we ate, cleaned and he then went fishing. He was out past dark, and I was out cold getting a good night’s sleep.