We awoke this morning to another beautiful sunny day. Today was my birthday, and we decided to actually cook breakfast this day. After boiling water for coffee (in the lexan french press - YUM!) I toasted bagels in the frying pan. After they were toasted, I put bacon and provolone cheese on them and steamed them under a lid. We ate them as sandwiches.

After breakfast, we packed up our personal packs and then took the tent down. We loaded the canoes at about 9am and paddled to the portage to Horse Lake. We paddled through Horse and over to Fourtown. We had two pull thrus to get to Fourtown. (going upstream) We paddled through Fourtown and fortunately, there wasn't a strong wind, and the water was very calm.

When we arrived at the portage to Boot, there were two groups there. One was loading and heading out on Fourtown. The other was three fathers and their sons. We sat in our canoes, waiting for the traffic to move. One boy, probably about 10 years old, came back to get a pack. He tried to get it on his shoulders, but couldn't life it and get it on at the same time. We told him to put that pack on top of another pack that was on the ground. He did it, and was able to just stand and put his arms through the straps. He smiled and thanked us for our advice. After this group cleared their gear and were gone, we unloaded our canoes and portaged to Boot. We knew that the fathers and sons were heading to Gun, so we slowed our pace (it was my birthday, after all!) and let them get ahead. They were done portaging when we arrived.

We portaged to Fairy Lake and went to see if the campsite that we wanted to stay at was available. It was! We have been to Fairy Lake in the past, and have stayed at both of the campsites on that lake. It really is a magical little lake. The campsite (#1087) has two levels. The beach and kitchen are on the lower level, as well as a nice hammock/hang out area. Walking up a small hill, you find the tent pods. We selected the spot that was best, and set up the tent. The only drawback of this site is that the tent pods are quite close to the biffy.

We went back to the lower level to have lunch, and that's when we realized that we had lost a nalgene. We talked it over, and agreed that it was probably back on the portage from Boot to Fairy. After lunch two of the women went back to the portage and found it. Crisis averted! It was another sunny afternoon, so we hung out on the beach and did a lot of swimming.

Dinner tonight was pizza. My friends gave me a birthday tiara to wear, and I wore it while cooking the pizza! We cook pizza on the stove. First, I cook the Boboli crust on one side, using the frying pan. (individual size crust) Then I flip it over and put the sauce, cheese, and toppings. (pepperoni) The lid goes on, and the heat is lowered. The pizza is cooked until the cheese is melted and bubbly. The real key is using a heat diffuser under the frying pan. This prevents the middle from burning. It's served with parmesan packets. We ate this using the unassembled Orikaso bowls as plates. This is definitely my favorite meal on the trip. After each eating a pizza, we were stuffed! We spent some time organizing our gear and then found a tree to hang the food pack from. A couple rock tosses and the pack was up.

The mosquitoes were starting to come out in full force, so we retreated to the tent and spent some time reading. I opened birthday cards from friends, including a gift card to REI. I had to make sure to pack that down in the pack so that it wouldn't get lost!

It was a marvelous birthday.