I woke at 6:15 to the sounds of loons swimming and fishing in front of our site and the neighbors talking at their camp. I gently roused Dave and Audrey and got breakfast started: oatmeal and Cream of Wheat. I made a note to myself that C of W is a lot harder to clean up, so I won’t pack that again! We changed our camp coffee method to boiling the water in the percolator and then steeping 3 of the Foldgers coffee bags in the water…excellent results.

Our neighbors were packed up and gone by the time we left our site at 8. We paddled back to the east end to explore the real Jenny Lake. The portage into Jenny was steep with a pretty falls. Audrey snapped some pictures before we headed back to the canoe. We knew from the previous day that the portage into Kek Ponds was a walk in the park.

When we arrived at the start of Kek Ponds, 3 canoes were just paddling away. They were younger guys and strong paddlers. We figured we would just be arriving at the next 10 rod portage as they paddled away. It turns out they were struggling at the portage in terms of getting gear out and getting the canoes up on their shoulders. We noticed that there was only a small riffle that we would be portaging around, so we unloaded a bit of gear on shore and Dave walked/dragged the canoe up the rapids. Audrey and I reloaded the gear on the other side and away we went. We were able to pass them and forge ahead. I’m sure they appreciated not having us behind them waiting and/or observing their techniques.

Kek Ponds are quite shallow, hence the reason there are no camp sites (no fish?!). The remaining 20, 15 and 5 rods portages were easy. We ran into a couple we had seen the day before; they recommended the site they had just left – a site next to a high, massive cliff. It would have been a good one, but we wanted to make it to the west end of the lake. The wind made for tough paddling. All of the east end sites we could see were taken. We paddled and paddled. Audrey was getting hungry and thirsty and her spirits were low. We made a pit stop at the island across from Pickle Lake portage for lunch. After eating, our attitudes improved. We examined the map and made a last minute decision to leave Kek and head across the 80 rod portage into Pickle. The path was a slight uphill with a good drop on the other side. Pickle Lake looked to be pretty battered by the 1999 blow down and was very much empty. We again decided to press on. A short 25 rod portage led us into Spoon Lake, which Dave had read would be better fishing. The scenery was definitely better! We paddled to the round part of the spoon and checked out the first two sites – they left a lot to be desired, but would do in a pinch. We continued on to the 3rd site in the handle of the spoon on the south shore. Eureka! This was a 5 star site! It has a fire grate situated up high, overlooking the lake. Three level tent pads were nestled in the shade and void of rocks and roots. The latrine was just a short climb out of camp on a nice path with a gorgeous view of the lake as well.

We set up camp and gathered firewood, working up a sweat in the process. A quick dip cooled everyone down. Dave grabbed the snorkel and went out exploring. Audrey and I noticed some storms approaching and could hear thunder, so we went about battening down the hatches. Dave realized what was coming, so he quickly got back to camp and helped us get everything situated. The ensuing downpour gave us an opportunity to hang out in the tent and play Moose Farkel. While peeking out of the tent, we spied a frog sitting in a hole at the base of the tree across from the tent. Even after the storm passed and we exited the tent, he continued watching us from this spot. The break in the rain gave us an opportunity to string up a tarp for shelter. More storms arrived with thunder and lightning, making us thankful we put the tarp up! Finally, a break in the storms allowed us to get dinner made, use the latrine and stretch our legs. Cop o’ soup for starters, followed by more fryin’ pan bread, Spaghetti, coffee and hot chocolate and apple cobbler. The anglers made some casts from shore while I cleaned up the dishes. Thunder and lightning was again imminent, so the decision was made to get the food pack put up as soon as possible. A quick run through the bedtime routine and everything was ready to be hoisted up. Dave hung a clothesline under the tarp so we could attempt to dry out our wet gear. We went back into the tent, resigned to the fact that we might be in for the night if the storms continued.

Clouds gave way to a gorgeous sunset, which gave us the chance to get out and wet our lines in the east end of Spoon. A small creek coming in from a swamp looked like a good spot. We tried various lures: Lil Doctor Spoon, Rapala, Johnson Silver minnow. No luck…just some follows. Guess that’s why it’s called fishing and not catching. On the positive side, all of the nighttime chores were done, so we could head directly into the tent upon our return. We tried to play cards and write in the journal, but our eyelids weighed a ton! At about 2 a.m., another powerful storm arrived. It was so dark that I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. I finally got back to sleep once it blew over.