Thursday, September 22, 2011 East Pike Lake to West Pike Lake (6 miles, 1 portage, 130 rods; low=42 high=50)

Woke up about 6:30 to a gray, misty morning. We have a very short travel day today so we’re in no hurry. We have an oatmeal breakfast and break camp. We’re loaded up and on the water by 9:15. The mist/drizzle continued throughout the morning but there was just a light breeze so not a bad travel day. Just one portage today but with the damp conditions, it was slick and had to really watch your footing.

We headed for the third site over along the north shore of West Pike. We thought in case there was a little afternoon sun the west-facing site would be nice. We pulled into the site right at noon. We had a lunch of chicken quesadeas (very good) and then setup camp. The sun never did come out but the mist would stop long enough for the tents and tarp to dry out. Occasionally during the afternoon, a light mist would pass through but nothing more than that. It wasn’t the nicest day but certainly not bad. Since there was a fire ban when we entered and we knew we wouldn’t be having a fire, we setup the tarp right over the fire grate area. This worked well, with the logs around the fire grate providing a comfortable sitting area. This was a nice roomy camp with plenty of room to park the canoes for the night.

After supper and cleanup, there were a few small breaks in the clouds and we almost got to see a sunset. We had a nice view to the west that was slightly elevated above the lake. A very good spot to sit and enjoy our Barons and hope for a little more color.

The color never came, but with a dry, calm evening, we were able to sit and enjoy it without being under the tarp. This allowed us to stay out a little later but still in the tents by about 9:00.