Monday, July 03, 2006 It rained during the night, no lightning. The morning was clear. Breakfast: Hot drinks, western cheese omlettes, hashbrowns, bacon. Powdered eggs are pretty mediocre but the hash browns are good. We try to consolidate packs for the 340 rod portage ahead. Group B passes by on the portage before we're packed up. We still had 7 packs, 2 canoes, the stove, 1 gas can fishing poles, paddles & 1 large bag of trash to carry over a mile. We decide to tag team the canoes. It is a pretty level portage with a few up/down hills. I got lost on the way back for the second load when the trail drops off the edge of a large flat rock. I finally found the trail just because I knew it had to be there. Things always look different going in the opposite direction. We started east & south on Basswood Lake. It was pretty choppy & windy. I pumped water & helped paddle from the middle over to USA point. There was a canoe in front of us trying to sail, but they didn't seem to be going much faster.
Lunch: Beef jerky & crackers on a rock island across Basswood. No one wants the tub cheese. We went around USA point & start looking for campsites. We checked 5 or 6 sites & end up at the 1st of three sites north of Washington island. We put the tents down in the pine trees. The fire grate is up above in a big open dirt area. Great view of Basswood & some small islands. Dinner: Beef Stroganoff (good) Carrots (not good) G caught & released pike since it was after dinner.
1:30 a.m. I turn over on a bug that starts attacking my head. I ask Dan to check out what is attacking me while I hide under my sleeping bag. Is was a small fly-like hornet with black & yellow stripes. We caught it in a shoe & I started to throw it out of the tent. The hornet flew back in & stung me on the inside of the wrist. I screamed, the hornet landed on the tent floor & got hit by the shoe. I put cortisone & Rexeme cream on it, took 2 benadryl & went to sleep. The boys didn't even wake up, I'm glad we weren't being attacked by a bear.