We spent today on Emerald Lake. It was sunny and warm, but very windy out of the southwest. Being wind bound, we decided to explore the woods behind the camp. Huge red and white pines and cedars dominated the area creating a forest with little undergrowth.

It was nice being able to walk around and explore. Signs of spring were everywhere with various plants and samplings pushing their way through the ground.

We poked around camp the rest of the morning. Kyle relaxed in his tent reading and writing. Jan explored the woods some more taking pictures. I headed out in the canoe for a bit attempting to fish. I'll say it again. Fishing out of a solo canoe in the wind is difficult. I did manage to find a sheltered bay near camp, but nothing was biting, so I head back for lunch with the boys.

The wind kept blowing after lunch, so we decided to explore the woods some more. I noted a small pond about a half mile to the north of camp. It looked doable so I grabbed my map, compass and camera and starting walking. The woods became a lot more dense the further I got and climbing up and over a couple ridges was necessary. The final ridge was high above the pond below. The pond was very shallow and did not look to have any fish in it as it probably freezes solid in the winter.

Heading back to camp I followed a small stream through a narrow gorge to Emerald Lake. I discovered a neat waterfall along the way. It looked like something from the Shire. I also observed some bacon rock formations along the shore of Emerald Lake. When I got back to camp Kyle and Jan were still off exploring on their own, so I decided to relax a little myself. Apparently, I fell asleep and Kyle caught me.

It was another nice evening and we fished from shore. With my trusty Wiggle Wart attached I had a lake trout follow the lure up to shore. On the very next cast the trout bit and I was able to land a nice size fish. Soon after, a crisis almost occurred. While continuing to fish my favorite lure hit a snag. Upon trying to free it the line busted. Could it be that the only lure to catch any fish for me on this trip was gone? Just as I was about to give up, Jan noticed the lure had floated to the surface several feet out. Using his net and some rope we were able to retrieve the lure. It would fight on another day.

We enjoyed a nice campfire and sunset again. It sprinkled on and off a little as some clouds started to roll it. We would head for the border lakes tomorrow and wondered if we might see other people for the first time. The "Plough Portage" was on the agenda for tomorrow. We wondered if we should dread a portage with a reputation. We'd find out soon enough if it lives up to the hype.