Day 1 – Sawbill to Ada Creek to Ada Lake to Scoop Lake to Cherokee Lake

Our pre-entry night was spent at Sawbill Campground. We had arranged for someone to follow Dave over to Baker Lake (our exit point) so he could leave the car there. That meant we had to have all of gear ready to go at the Sawbill landing before the shuttle left at 8. Because we were a bit on the fence about whether we’d be able to make the trip, our gear wasn’t as organized as usual. It made for a bit of a hurried start. Definitely going to be better prepared for future trips!

A number of groups were preparing to head into the Wilderness, so we paddled off at 9 a.m. and got into a nice rhythm trying to put some distance between us and them. We were fortunate to skip the second 80 rod portage into Ada Lake and to navigate most of the creek between Ada and Scoop. We met some guys coming off the portage into Cherokee. The bugs were tolerable up to this point, and they informed us they weren't bothered by them on Cherokee. Woo hoo! It was a short-lived celebration. The 180-rod portage was up and down. The bugs were fierce. I tied my sweatshirt over my head in a feeble attempt at a makeshift head net. We had decided to do a little gear experiment on this trip – using the mosquito patch and the mosquito repellent wristband. I want a refund! If you like the smell of citronella while being eaten alive, then these are the products for you. And in our hasty packing back home, “someone” forgot the bug spray.

It was around 1 p.m. when we arrived on Cherokee. Dave really wanted an island site, so we checked out the one on the “Big Island” – low and no decent tent pad. We continued on and found a great sand beach site on an east-side peninsula. The camp area is level. The only downside was the camp area was also sheltered from the breeze. Without the breeze we had skeeters to keep us company.

Dave and Audrey paddled over to “Moose Island” – named because it was peppered in moose poop. It also happened to have blueberries. Upon return, we cooked up dinner and realized that in our haste we had also forgotten to pack bowls. Our large drinking cups would have to do double duty. Our eyes stayed open for a quick game of cards and then it was bedtime.