** Day 4 **
Out and about at 6:15. We swapped our cooked breakfast for a quick-start, packed our camp up in a jiffy and headed out for Friday Bay, shooting for the camp on the Southernmost, Eastern camp. We had talked the evening before of leaving open the possibility to portage on into Papoose, if we felt up to it, and, if the camp was taken.
There was almost no wind today, just a light breeze, and paddling over Thursday and down into Friday was quite nice. When we did reach that site, there was a solo and his dog breaking camp, but we still decided at that point to keep on moving, out of the bigger water, and back into smaller lakes.
The portage from Friday into Papoose seemed longer than the 139 rods as shown on the map. It was really muddy with lots of rocks almost right from the start, as well as swarms of mosquitoes, which were bad from the beginning, too, and downright awful when it opened up onto the creek. There were also several large wolf tracks…that looked pretty fresh. We made quick time of our second trip and got the heck out of there !
Papoose Creek was pretty straight, compared to most, and clear, right on into Papoose itself. The lake wasn’t the cleanest we thought, as we cut across the center and into the creek towards Chippewa. We stopped to check the campsite there, which was empty. It had a nice view of the little lake, but it wasn’t nice enough to entice us to stop for the day.
We moved on down the creek towards Niki, and right out of the chute, came to a dam, our first of this trip. (What a difference a year can make – last year’s trip seemed to be nothing BUT dams). We picked what seemed to be a perfect spot to step out, and it was – pulled the canoe up and over in two strokes, hopped in, and off we went. Now THAT’S the way that should work!
The rest of the creek was a bit more twisted, but with the high water still, it was easy to navigate, and made for a nice, leisurely trip.
As we eased out onto Niki, our question to stay or go was answered immediately when Matthew saw someone walk across the sole camp site. Without even slowing, we kept right on across to the portage. There was a little stream that played out right beside and above the portage that trickled/drained across it, making the footing a bit slippery. Then, the first 20 rods or so of the trail were pretty steep with lots of rocks, making for a tough cardio workout, with extra attention to the calves ! The backside was better though, with a really nice spot to load from into Wagosh.
Good fortune held for us, as the only campsite on the lake was open. We both were ready to push on if need be, through the next mile-long portage. After all, we had been trained well by Lewis himself: If there’s no camp – you go back, or go forward. That’s it.
The camp did not seem often-used, but it would be plenty sufficient for one night’s stay, and to rest us up for that long, early morning portage the next day…and some afternoon fishing. Except for the wind gusting through the trees, and an occasional chipmunk..it was actually pretty quiet, and, the beautiful view didn’t hurt our feelings too much either.
We piddled most of the afternoon with the lake all to ourselves, seeing only one canoe move across the middle heading towards the Niki portage. Matthew figured out something we had not been doing in setting up our tents all this time…making it feel much bigger inside..and making us feel pretty silly at the same time for not having known it – and there it was right there in the printed instructions…which we never looked at!
I made a solo trip out to pump water and was reminded of two things. First, an empty canoe in a strong wind isn’t nearly as easy to control while pumping water, and secondly….I needed to use way more sunblock on my nose!
We ate a late lunch then went out for a mid-afternoon fish – lots of bites, but nothing in the canoe. The fish just seemed to be interested in slapping only, not taking the lure, so we explored the shores a bit before heading back to camp. Over by the portage out, we happened upon a Loon sitting on a nest in the reeds, right at the water’s edge. It was the first either of us could remember ever seeing one on land.
Within minutes of us getting back, Matthew caught a decent Northern from the camp shore. Perhaps it was time for them to feed, but we decided not to go back out just yet. The way the camp was situated, it began to get darker a bit sooner. It was up on a high point, right near the edge, facing out due East. The walk up to the upper level from the canoe put-in was fairly steep, enough to feel the strain on your calves., with the tent pad(s) and biffy back behind, in the trees.
One thing we had actually been looking forward to during the day was our dinner. (We talked with our outfitter this year about using more of a brand of dehyde’s where you just poured in your hot water, stirred, sealed it up, waited, and ate. Tonight’s menu was red beans and rice. Matthew and I kidded around in our worst Cajun accents as we did our separate tasks to make dinner, but as I opened the package, the balloon of excitement deflated. The package had been mis-labeled at the manufacturer, and our red beans and rice experience was now some kind of chicken with rice….and as it turned out…not a very good kind either!
We mouthed enough to get by and cleaned up and on a whim, decided to go back out for some better fishing luck while daylight still held. Matthew pulled out a lure we didn’t us much, and talk about night and day – Winner-Winner Chicken Dinner! They were all Northerns. Even though they were just ax-handles, it was still a lot of fun after nothing all day. Even DAD pitched in with a few. We both agreed we hoped for some Smallies on the next lake.
As much as we hated to stop the fun, we did and hooked it back to camp, getting set to turn in well after sundown, but not quite totally dark.
As said before, the tent pad was up in the trees. We ventilated the tent as best we could, but there was just NO air moving in there. It was right on the verge of uncomfortable, and about 9 or so when we crawled in the tent, the mosquitoes chasing us to the zipper.
We went over our plans for the morning: an early breakfast of bacon and eggs, then to tackle the mile portage over to Gun, then Bullet, then down to Moosecamp. And, if we felt up to it, float the Moosecamp River into Fourtown, where we planned to have our layover day. *** Crooked Lake, Papoose Lake, Chippewa Lake, Gypo Lake, Niki Lake, Wagosh Lake ***