We got up earlier today than yesterday (which would not be hard). David and I had coffee, and at a very reasonable hour Mike crawled out of the tent as well. I asked whether the mosquito situation was better than the night before. Yes, the lesson had been learned, Josiah and Mike went on a search and destroy mission right after they got in the tent and slept soundly after that.

Since we were going to travel today, we also rousted Josiah out of bed at a reasonable time. Breakfast today was bacon and oatmeal. The oatmeal did not receive the same warm welcome from the youngsters as yesterday's pancakes. Good thing we planned pancakes for tomorrow.

We broke camp and went for a dip before launching, since the day was already warm. Then we headed east back across Cummings to take the alternative route into the Korb River, instead of portaging directly into Korb Lake. In stark contrast to when we paddled in two days before, the campsites we passed in the eastern part of Cummings were empty now. Today was Sunday, so maybe the weeklong base campers had headed out in between. Or maybe it was just randomness that made it full one day and empty the next.

It wasn't long before we arrived at the 30-rod portage from Cummings to the river -

Josiah and Mike after unloading. Good thing no one else was around, it seems we blocked the portage -

Mike was of course carrying the Champlain across. The portage was not long so that part was no problem for him, but he still had to perfect his lift. I gave a little advice on roll and momentum, and he was off -

It helps to have a long wingspan -

Smoothly up it goes -

Score! Right in place -

At the other end loading up -

And down (actually, up) the Korb River -

The scene along the river -

We paddled along the river and through Korb Lake, which is like a wide part of the river, then caucused about lunch plans. Everyone thought we should keep going at least to Little Crab before lunch. After Korb Lake we quickly came to the main beaver dam in the river, this time going up stream, and lifted over. Then we paddled upstream to the submerged dam/riffle at the outlet of Little Crab Lake and powered through. Josiah was paddling stern the whole way with David in the bow of the Spirit II and was doing a great job.

Now it was time for lunch. It was hot in the sun out on the river and we were ready for shade. Fortunately the campsite on Little Crab was available and provided some welcome relief -

During lunch we talked about our route out tomorrow. Did the guys want to try going down Crab Creek, which might be more of an adventure than the portage? Everyone was for it, so it was a plan. Say cheese -

Looking out from the campsite -

After lunch it was a quick paddle to the easy 20-rodder to Crab Lake. Josiah wanted to take another stab at carrying the Spirit II here - mostly for the photo op, of course. Off to a good start -

The kid has style -

Going great -

Uh oh -

Ouch, that has to hurt -

Saved with a smile -

Mike carried the other canoe across the short portage, and we hauled the packs over and were back on Crab, where we planned to camp for the night. Now we just needed to find a site. We headed first toward the site on the northern point where the main arms of the lake cross. That site always looked good from the distance in the past, and seemed like it would be shady and catch the breeze on this nice day. It didn't look occupied until Mike and I got right up to the shore, when suddenly a big tarp with two guys under it came into view. Alas, the site was taken. We waved hello but didn't get much of a greeting back. As we paddled on we realized it was the two taciturn guys we had seen on the Crab Lake portage on the first day of our trip.

With that site taken, we went to check the site at the northeast tip of the lake where Crab Creek begins, since we were planning to go out that way tomorrow. But when we scoped that site, we decided it was subpar and we should look further. We aimed for the next site south, but spied a couple tents there as we got closer. Fortunately, the next site on the western tip of the big point was open. As it happened, this was where we camped with my sister on the last night of our 2006 trip, and where we had lunch on the first day of this trip too.

This was a nice site when we stayed here in 2006. Now the water was higher and virtually lapping against the fire ring, and someone had left the big logs around the fire pit in a heaping mess. But after David and I cleaned up the "furniture" it was looking good again. Josiah set up the bear rope on some big pines back behind the tent area. It's great to have the baseball players along.

The only problem with the site was that the trees by the shore did not provide much shade from the sun beating down from the west. That didn't seem to stop Josiah from falling asleep in the sun -

There was a hubbub of activity on Crab Lake after we set up camp. First, the two guys who we had met on the portage a couple days ago and were occupying the site we wanted earlier today loaded up and paddled out. Mike dubbed them Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Thanks for telling us you were about to leave the site, guys. But it was all for the best, because then a big crew of just-older-than-teenage young women paddled into the lake, searched for a site, and claimed the one abandoned by T&T, which was probably its highest and best use anyway. The young ladies were not the quietest group, especially when some fisherman rounded the point as the girls seemed to be skinny-dipping. Shrieking ensued. A family group also spent some time paddling around looking for a site. But all the activity did not detract from the pleasure of being there.

Between swims, some of us read a little. Mike reads Latin, so this might have been some ancient text, but I think it was about the war in Afghanistan -

I found a shady spot nearby to read, and then set up the stove back in the shade too. We were having bean and rice burritos with cheese and salsa (yum!) -

The campsite scene (Mike still reading) -

We went for a swim (actually more than one) after dinner. As we got out of the water, we saw a group of Green Sunfish lingering near shore. They ended up providing entertainment for quite a while. Josiah was intent on catching one by hand. I related how a few years ago we just happened to swat a fly and toss it into a lake where there were some Green Sunfish nearby and the Sunfish darted to the surface and sucked down the fly before you could bat an eye. So we killed a few insect victims and tried it out. Bingo! Those Sunfish are fast as lightning when a maimed bug lands on the surface. Josiah tried to grab the fish as they came to the surface, and almost managed to do it once or twice, but they were too fast for him. Finally the kids got out one of the fishing rods we had been lugging with us but not used -

Eventually a Sunfish was caught and released. Unfortunately, we do not have the photo to prove it. Take my word for it, though, it was about 14" and probably weighed 4 pounds. Really!

After "fishing" and another swim, it was time for evening beverages -

One of the nice things about this site was that (unlike our site on Cummings) there were essentially no bugs during the daytime. But we knew they would come out not too long after sunset, so Josiah armed himself with a flyswatter -

After the sun had gone below the horizon, Josiah took preemptive refuge in the tent, while the rest of us enjoyed the post-sunset light -

Not too long after that, right on schedule, the mosquito hordes emerged, and Mike, David and I scrambled to get our teeth brushed and get in the tents. Once in the tents, search and destroy missions were executed to eliminate any invaders. I read for a while, and when it was time for lights out, I sat up in the tent and could see a beaver swimming by. I had to smile because the last time we stayed at this site a whole beaver family could be heard felling trees all night. I noticed too the mosquito buzzing had already stopped. They disappeared as fast as they came. So I got up for a quick commune with nature before falling into a deep night's sleep, punctuated now and again with the calls of the loons and the girls camped across the lake.