Sunday, July 06, 2008

Waking up to an alarm clock….hell.

We set our alarm on my digital watch for 5:30am and got out on the water quickly to avoid the wind (we were learning). We had an interesting thing happen last night. Yesterday, while paddling around our little island, we had taken a minute to look at a large pine tree that was leaning way out over the water. I had stated that it looked like it was about to fall over and how I wouldn’t want to be under it when it finally decided to go. Well, it went! There was a storm last night and the big ole pine gave up and plunged into the water. It woke us both up and I commented how the beavers must be celebrating this morning. We headed out across Thursday Bay. The wind was low and we had no problems getting across. Friday Bay was another story. Our goal was to get to the south end of Friday and then portage over to Papoose Lake. We paddled like maniacs and finally made it. What is the deal with the wind in our faces all the time? We did take a moment in the middle of Friday Bay to stop at some little islands. There was a bald eagle sitting on the bank and Mark paddled me over to see if I could get some photos. I got pretty close before he retreated up to the top of a tree. A small group of seagulls then proceeded to harass him while I snapped away. It was fun for me because that was the closest I had ever been to an eagle in the wild.

As we portaged out of Friday Bay, the scenery changed completely. We were now making our way through a grassy creek with many lily pads and evidence of beaver and muskrats everywhere. We emptied out into Papoose and then followed the stream into Chippewa Lake. We pulled over a beaver dam instead of portaging and soon found ourselves in Niki Lake and then finally in Wagosh Lake. There was only one campsite on Wagosh and we got it. We were the only ones on the lake and it was a beautiful day. Later, I would decide that this was one of my favorite lakes in the BWCA. I don’t know why. It wasn’t that amazing, but I connected to it in some way. The campsite wasn’t even that wonderful. It sits on the top of a hill that you must climb from the water’s edge. Mark did a little fishing and caught us a nice dinner while I unloaded and set up camp and took a little afternoon nap. When he returned from fishing, we cleaned the fish and ourselves. We took our first “bath” in the FRIGID water by dumping water over each other. Holy Cow! Not pleasant, but I did need a hair wash! I had a little friend in camp that evening. As I took care of all our needs, I walked up and down that hill quite a few times. Each time I would head down the hill, a turtle would be making her way up the hill and I would startle her and she would scurry back down. I felt so bad for her because it happened about five times. Poor thing was probably cussing me out for disrupting her travels. Finally, we settled in and she made her way up to the campsite in the evening and settled in right by our campfire. A friendly garter snake met me on the trail earlier also. I don’t know who was startled more at that moment. He jumped up almost as high as I jumped when we saw each other. I have never been more amused by wildlife as I have here in the BWCA. Our evening was so relaxing on little Wagosh Lake. I think it was the first time that I actually felt like I had settled into this alternative life style. As we sat by the fire that evening with the sun setting over this adorable little lake, my body had finally shed all the tension and stress of my life at home. I think it was at that moment that I fell in love with this place and knew I would be back.