Thomas Lake June 20th/25th
by Arkansas Man
Trip Type:
Paddling Canoe
Entry Date:
06/20/2004
Entry & Exit Point:
Snowbank Lake (EP 27)
Number of Days:
7
Group Size:
4
Day 6 of 7
Thursday, June 24, 2004
We get up early, have breakfast of bagels and creamcheese. We pack everything up wet as it had rained during the night and was still raining, cold and the wind blowing hard!! We make it across Thomas and Hatchet Creek okay, but when we get to Ima!!! the wind is blowing directly into the protage, the waves are 24-30 inches high, and we decide to wait it out for a while since the girls are tired. While we wait for 4 hours we see several groups come and go, mainly Boy Scouts, two of which capsized in Ima and we helped them get out on bank. Finally, after much prayer, and hope we start out after a slight wind shift... and as if God was just waiting on us to have the faith to go... the wind stopped when we were 100 yards out and the lake calmed!!! Thank you Jesus, Kim Shouted out!! We were able to make it back to Disappointment where I told everyone... Why don't we just go ahead and paddle out, we can be at Smitty's by 6:30 and at Voyager taking hot showers by 7:30... They all said, they would be glad to stay another night and leave in the morning, but I told them not to worry, all the campsites on Disappointment were probably full any way. So we paddled across Disappointment, had a quick snack of tuna and did the 140 rod portage out. As we were about to step into the canoes to leave, I was in the water and Kim was facing me looking away from bank, I told her to turn around very easy and see what was standing behind her... A black bear was about 35 feet behind her. She said, get the video camera, which I did and she got about 10 seconds of video before her tape ran out. But I got several pictures yet to be developed. That made the trip end well! And the hot showers and cold beverages at Voyager North made it ever better. My vacation adventure ended a couple of days early, but it was worth it to have my fiance Kim say she would like to do it again next year, just not quite as hard as this year. I again was very proud of her, she paddled 55 mile in 5 days, and portage who knows how far carrying a 35 - 40 pound pack. She said she never truly realized what I did up here until now, and that she is impressed with me even more... That sure made me feel good!!! It was a great time again to be in the North.
We get up early, have breakfast of bagels and creamcheese. We pack everything up wet as it had rained during the night and was still raining, cold and the wind blowing hard!! We make it across Thomas and Hatchet Creek okay, but when we get to Ima!!! the wind is blowing directly into the protage, the waves are 24-30 inches high, and we decide to wait it out for a while since the girls are tired. While we wait for 4 hours we see several groups come and go, mainly Boy Scouts, two of which capsized in Ima and we helped them get out on bank. Finally, after much prayer, and hope we start out after a slight wind shift... and as if God was just waiting on us to have the faith to go... the wind stopped when we were 100 yards out and the lake calmed!!! Thank you Jesus, Kim Shouted out!! We were able to make it back to Disappointment where I told everyone... Why don't we just go ahead and paddle out, we can be at Smitty's by 6:30 and at Voyager taking hot showers by 7:30... They all said, they would be glad to stay another night and leave in the morning, but I told them not to worry, all the campsites on Disappointment were probably full any way. So we paddled across Disappointment, had a quick snack of tuna and did the 140 rod portage out. As we were about to step into the canoes to leave, I was in the water and Kim was facing me looking away from bank, I told her to turn around very easy and see what was standing behind her... A black bear was about 35 feet behind her. She said, get the video camera, which I did and she got about 10 seconds of video before her tape ran out. But I got several pictures yet to be developed. That made the trip end well! And the hot showers and cold beverages at Voyager North made it ever better. My vacation adventure ended a couple of days early, but it was worth it to have my fiance Kim say she would like to do it again next year, just not quite as hard as this year. I again was very proud of her, she paddled 55 mile in 5 days, and portage who knows how far carrying a 35 - 40 pound pack. She said she never truly realized what I did up here until now, and that she is impressed with me even more... That sure made me feel good!!! It was a great time again to be in the North.
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