I was up at 5:00am after a very quiet night. Even though the night was quiet, I felt as if I was camped under a streetlight. The moon was so bright you could read by it.

I just finished my breakfast of brown sugar & maple instant oatmeal and am now sitting in my chair sipping coffee (Folgers Single). There is fog over the lake.

I better finish up the chores and pack up.

…………………………………………………………………………………………….. About Noon

I was back on the water by 6:30am paddling through the fog and dodging submerged logs. I portaged to and paddled Lynx Lake. Next was the long portage to Ruby Lake which I started at 7:45am and finished at 9:30am. That included a brief conversation I had with two guys starting the portage at the other end. It occurred to me that these were the first people I had spoken to or seen since the Clark Station.

I also saw what I believe to be two trumpeter swans halfway across the portage. They flew overhead twice (circling) just above the treetops, and they were HUGE!

It took only 15 minutes to paddle to the vacant site on Ruby. Shortly after I landed, the wind picked up and by 10:30pm it was already blowing pretty good. If this wind keeps up I’ll have to plan on being across Shell Lake by 10:00am. I’ll leave early tomorrow. What I’d like to do is to get to Little Shell Lake and camp there (another solo site). Then on Saturday cross Shell early and camp on Upper Pauness so I can be set for a quick exit on Sunday. However, the lone campsite on Little Shell was occupied yesterday, so maybe I’ll go to Heritage Lake and try for the southern campsite there. Then when I leave I’ll be portaging into the western side of Shell Lake where I can hug the shore to the next portage to avoid the wind.

Since it is Memorial Day Weekend, I’m concerned about getting a site on the Paunesses on Saturday.

The Ruby Lake campsite is nice though on a slope. Even the tent pad is sloped, but it will be OK. The lake itself looks like a smallmouth bass lake. I can see that the bottom is made up of basketball size rocks.

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6:30pm

I lazed around camp this afternoon reading and collecting some firewood. I built up a nice supply for the next guests.

I had a great supper tonight – hamburger gravy with mashed potatoes, and probably the best bannock I ever made. The gravy was made with a Country-Style Gravy Mix packet and dehydrated hamburger. The bannock mix was about ¾ pizza crust mix and was baked in front of the fire in a fry pan in the traditional manner.

Everything is calm. The wind died about an hour ago. Maybe we’ll have a change in the weather. So far the temperatures have been perfect!

This campsite is right by the portage to Hustler Lake. No one has come through today. I saw the two guys on the portage, but I have seen no canoes on the water so far.

There goes the FS float plane again. He’s been flying around all day.