DAY FOUR:

It was cool (48 degrees) and misty at 7:15 when we pushed off for our morning river trip. We had arisen at 5:45 and had a quick breakfast of oatmeal, Tang, hot chocolate and coffee, and rinsed out our cups hurriedly so that we could be on our way. As I was paddling along and feeling too cool, it occurred to me that it would have been a perfect morning to try out my new Smartwool shirt purchased on sale at Canoecopia last spring.

We enjoyed a very calm and peaceful paddle, but again, saw no wildlife. A few ducks startled and flew away, quacking at us for disturbing their solitude. There were, again, many large green and blue darners. We traveled slowly to the lake, and stopped to photograph some spider webs in the river grasses that were lit up by the morning sun. It always amazes me when they show up in the misty dew—they are there all of the time, of course, but we are only allowed to see them when the conditions are just right! Such a miracle of construction! And Neil is so patient to maneuver the canoe so that I can photograph something as tenuous as a spider web suspended in the air and get everything in focus. It isn’t an easy task!

We stopped again for a break at the portage site, and then paddled back, taking a side trip down the branch of the river that heads to Steak Lake. I was most disappointed that we were unable to make it all the way to that little lake, but a 90-degree turn in the river blocked our passage. At that point we stopped to photograph a fisher spider on the water, and then we backed out until we could turn the canoe around, and we headed back to our campsite, arriving shortly after 10:30.

Does anyone know what this flower is?

I fixed a pot of Shore Lunch Chicken Noodle Soup (1/2 envelope) for lunch with our cheese and crackers and dried fruit. It was 74 degrees at lunchtime, with some clouds moving over us. We cleaned up some lunch leftovers, and then relaxed around camp for the rest of the day.

Fall is just beginning to make itself evident in the north woods. The maples are starting to blush in a few places, the mountain ash trees have clusters of bright orange berries. The bunchberry plants have their characteristic groups of red berries, and the little purple asters are among the few flowers still in bloom. The white- throated sparrow must be gone—we have haven’t heard a single call. (And how I do miss them!)

I sat and read in the shade on my camp stool and a comma butterfly came and rested on my arm for a little while.

Off in the far distance, some canoeists paddled by, then suddenly one person stood up in the bow of the canoe and dived into the lake. He swam for a few minutes, then got back in the canoe, and the stern paddler did the same thing. They laughed and swam for a short time and finally continued on their way again. Shortly thereafter we heard voices at the neighboring campsite and it became obvious that a couple had stopped for a swim there. We could see two heads out in the water and hear them laughing. I considered going for a swim, but hadn’t brought my water shoes, so I abandoned the idea and went back to my book.

This is a very secluded site. We saw one canoe on the river trip yesterday, and the few people swimming in the distance today, and otherwise no people for the two days.

I photographed a brown dragonfly, explored the little bay to the side of the campsite, and marveled that the two red squirrels that scurried through behind me had never visited the site to beg for food at any time.

We cooked our supper on the fire this evening. As it always does, the smoke managed to find its way into my eyes. Neil had set up the tarp, which was nice for keeping out of the sun for at least part of the time. We had a supper of Mountain House Chili Mac (one of my favorites), Mountain House sweet corn, and a delicious chocolate cake from the jello mold oven, along with our usual beverages. It was about 78 degrees, partly cloudy, and a lovely evening. More humid than previously, so it felt more summer-like. The flies seemed to like the smell of our chili mac, but they weren’t biting, just hanging around.

After enjoying a few of Neil’s always perfectly toasted marshmallows, we took the canoe out for an evening paddle. What a delightful time! A beaver slapped his tail at us, then swam across the end of the bay, so we followed him, to be rewarded with another hard slap! The sun set in a light orange glow to the west and the moon, nearly full, rose in the east. The lake was in complete silence and dead calm as the air cooled around us. I took this photo of the moon from the canoe.

We came back to camp at 8:20, and settled in to our little tent home where we found it to be 60 degrees. We read for a short time by the light of our headlamps and settled in for another quiet night.