With a certain sense of apprehension due to this being a new experience in the wilderness, we hit the trail about noon at McFarland Lake. Yoder took off in almost a sprint while I (after a 6 hours driving the car) had some stiffness to work out. A few hours later, we made it to our first camp, just about 50 feet off the McFarland-East Pike portage. A beautiful site, but water was only to be found by hiking a l o n g way down to one of the two lakes. In fact, replenishing our water was the toughest challenge of the day.

It was eerie. This camp was so quiet, it was unlike anything I have ever experienced before. No birds chirping. No squirrels chattering. Not even the buzz of mosquitoes. The wind was still so not even the sound of rustling leaves. It was quiet beyond quiet.