Tuesday, June 21, 2011 A quick side note here. On the way out of the cities I learned what I thought was going to be a seven day trip, Sun - Sat, was now a 6 day trip as we would be returning on Friday because of obligations for some of the group. Tuesday morning I was up about 5:45. Out of the tent just before 6. It wasn't raining. Lighter clouds in sky with an occasional sighting of the sun through the hazy clouds. Things were looking good compared to the weather reports. Too windy for myself to go out fishing though so I waited an hour for Gary to wake up. The water was restless and so was I. I needed to wet a line. I replaced the clogged water filter, the old Pur Hiker has held up well since '95. It has seen the Appalachian Trail, Smokey Mountains, some wilderness areas in the Blue Ridge and Chesepeake Bay areas and even did a stint in Italy. I listened to the weather reports on the Radio. Still rain and wind for the next few days. After he woke up, Gary and I ate, washed it down with a couple cups of joe and hit the water. It was windy but nothing we couldn't handle. We fished the north end of the lake and then headed across the top of the lake to the east leg of Polly. The wind was picking up and we ducked into coves and little bays to fish. Gary caught a nice bass in a bay on the east side of the east leg. In that bay a stream entered the lake between two big, er, huge slabs of rock that must have reached 20 to 30 feet above the water. They were like big fat pillars. Sentry's standing gaurd over the entrance to the stream. Pretty neat. I'll add the pictures later. We paddled farther into the east leg and found one boat at the south end. We tried to find the southernmost campsite but could not locate it. The wind was picking up quite a bit. We decided it was time to vacate the area and head back. The wind made for a good walleye chop drift up the east leg. Would have been better in a regular fishing boat though. As we drifted north, we couldn't really tell where the wind was coming from. It was starting to whip around every island and point from all directions. We rounded the NE corner and drifted westward across the top of the lake. The wind was really picking up. It was loud blowing through the treetops and the white caps were emerging all over the place. We were having a hard time holding the canoe on track. We were blown into the campsite at the north tip of the long peninsula and nearly crashed into the rock. We were able to stop and turn at the same time narrowly missing a collision by less than a foot. We were now being blown across the the north end of the lake in a slight SW direction. We saw a couple canoes fishing on the quiet west side of the peninsula on a good walleye spot. Meanwhile, we were holding on for dear life. I had my paddle in the rudder position and just tried to keep us straight into the waves. Zooming across open water, we were moving like we had an outboard on the the stern. Right between two islands and then a quick turn to starboard and we found safe harbor on the quiet side of the island. We could see our site. The tarp blowing in every direction, the boys trying to get it down and secure the kitchen. We paddled over to the site and rounded the point into still water. Beached the canoe and started helping. As we secured camp the wind picked up considerably. Gary and I notice a glass vodka bottle with the bottom broken off. Adam found it in the woods while he was looking for firewood earlier in the morning. I tell ya, the yahoos and the trash they leave. Bastards huh. We watched as the tree tops swayed and the sound of the wind was like a frieght train. Someone noticed the base of a tree, the tree with our food pack hanging in it, was lifting up a few inches on one side as the top swayed. Up and down the roots and dirt went. We watched and hoped it wouldn't come down or if it did hopefully it would fall with the wind. If it took a 90 degree fall to the left it would have hit the tents. It never did fall. The roots are strong. About 3pm the wind really is blowing hard and the rain starts to come down harder. We tie down the tarp to the ground over the kitchen and wood to keep it dry and we evacuate to our tents. I am in mine and the other three in one tent. For nearly three hours we are stuck in our tents. I inspect every square inch of the old Kelty Quattro 2. It also has held up well, being bought the same day as my Pur Hiker. There is a single floor seam from side to side that can use some new tape though. it is still stuck to the seam on the floor but has pulled away from the material for the few inches that it goes up the sides. I had a couple of the pole pockets sewn before last years trip to the BDub. I finish reading Sam Cook's "Up North". I recall the time I went on a Boy Scout bicycle trip with him in the early 80's. 1983 I think. About 15 of us. He went and wrote a story about it for the paper. I have it somewhere. Shirt, pants, hat, thermals for sleeping, they are all hanging from the birds nest in my tent trying to dry in the damp air. About 6 pm it seems the rain has stopped. It has stopped falling from the trees as well in the wind. Cold and damp. Very damp. Reminds me of winter in Italy. KQDS states there is a wind advisory until 10pm. I get out of the tent hoping I can get some walleye fishing in but the wind will deny me of that pleasure for the rest of the day. The food pack tree is still up. The wind still blows hard. We put up the tarp foot down to the wind. Enough room underneath for dinner and a fire complemented with some schnapps. We hover under the tarp until 11pm. All night long the wind comes and goes in waves. At one point I heard some wolves howling. I thought that was really neat. I loved that. I heard them a couple of times during the lulls in the howling wind. I was able to pick up WELY for some of the Twins game. So much for the wind advisory ending at 10. Nearly midnight and it is still howling. I am reminded of watching The Weather Channels "Storm Stories" a few weeks prior. They had a show about the blowdown storm in the BWCA. It was interesting to watch. Now I think I am going to be in a Storm Stories segment. Twins winning, no more wolves howling, only the wind. I fall asleep.