Thursday, June 17, 2021 When I got up, Pete was already out fishing, and he came back with two trout for breakfast. After we filleted the fish, we ate them with cornbread sliders for breakfast. Pete suggested we stay another day, as he was really enjoying catching the trout. After cleaning up, I got distracted by butterflies and flowers.
The Eagle reappeared during this time for some more distance pics. I spent a good hour on the butterflies. About 11:30 we planned on fishing our way down to the east end of the lake with a stop at the Ranger station. Our first stop was campsite 1422. After exploring the campsite, I started toward the Ranger station only to turn around as the waves were getting bigger than I was comfortable in. We ended up taking naps at the campsite hoping the wind would let up. We got a short break in the wind and went for it. It was about a mile to paddle back to camp, but it took about an hour. For about 15 minutes I was paddling directly into the waves, and when I looked at my garmin later, I actually lost ground while moving perpendicular to my intended direction of travel. These are the biggest waves I have ever been in, and it was a confidence builder. Even though more confident in these waves and my ability, I still want to avoid these conditions in the future. The wind died down to calm seas about an hour after we returned to camp. Lesson learned: just wait it out! Although experience also has taught me that sometimes it takes a long time for the wind to calm down. My last entry in the journal this day: “The North Star Northwind Solo is a good canoe”! My time on Kekekabic has been wonderful but makes me want to get back to this lake and explore it more. In fact, after every trip, I wish I would have had more time to explore, as each trip is about the journey, not the destination, as usually the final destination is where you start.
The forecast for tomorrow is winds increasing throughout the day!