THE FIVE WORN OUT INDIANS
by crazycanoe
Breakfast – Oatmeal and coffee to try to make up for the lost time from yesterday. We had to get back on schedule today.
We started the morning with a “make-shift” catamaran with all 3 canoes and broken spars.
The wind was already starting (in our face). We just figured even if we made 180-degree turn, the wind would as well. We started up Nina Moose Lake to the North Nina Moose River. It seemed we were “on a mission”. Paddle paddle paddle, swat smack (those danged skeeters), portage portage portage, smack, swat, smack, paddle paddle paddle… The skeeters didn’t even let up in the river… “Old virgin portage- shocked man farting with wolves” commented that we were “hell bent for election”. (I personally think he was doing great for his first trip…. ). The first portage of the day 70R, paddle a mile, portage 96R, then we paddled about 2 or more miles to the second campsite east if the mouth of the river on Lake Agnes. It was approximately 9:30 am, and we had lunch here. We relaxed a bit and stated that we were going to have to talk about the planned route when we stopped for the evening. We really liked this site that we were hanging out for lunch. It was huge. I think a scout camporee could have been held on that campsite! It had a lot of character and a LOT of space. “One-eyed girl carries picture box stalking critters” took many pictures while here.
After lunch we pushed on across the Lake Agnes to the easterly portage (115R), and again “hell bent for election” we portaged with 2 passes into Boulder Bay River, following that up to Boulder Bay. We were all again, exhausted and in looking at map at about 12:00pm, we had another portage and then quite a ways to go before even the option of another campsite would be available (with no guarantees how far we would have to go to find an open spot), so we agreed to camp on Boulder Bay at the first campsite. We unloaded and set up camp then sat on the point as a group and reviewed our options. We were not even close to where we needed to be on this date to make our takeout date of Friday, August 1st on Mudro on time at the rate we were going. The truth was, we were working our butts off and we were NOT enjoying any part of the trip. No one wanted to but we agreed that the best plan was to turnaround and go back to our put-in point. The consensus was to go back, taking 3 days, taking out a day early (Thursday, July 31st) just in case we had to sit and wait a day to get a ride. At first we were disappointed – the thought that “we are not completing what we started” but we knew it was the right thing to do at this point. Part of our dilemma was that we were here for “Rambo” our lost friend (and father of “Young virgin boy with many knives chopping wood”). This trip was for all of us, but for his memory – to celebrate one of his favorite places to be. It was a bittersweet moment. We had two new people to the BWCA with us and all they knew so far of the trip was exhaustion and no one was having any fun. There had been many factors from the initial plan date to now that seemed to be telling us something. We needed to listen. Who knows what was head of us on that route but we all truly felt that God was leading us back. Once it was discussed that really “the planned trip route” did not matter. It was what we made of it while there… that is the success of the trip. What we do and what we learn from it. Once the decision was made to head back, it was like 5 attitudes changed. We relaxed more. The trip became more fun from this point forward.
Dinner was chicken and noodles for some and beef and noodles for others with garlic mashed taters. A FEAST! The skeeters actually were not nearly as bad on this site as we had encountered for most of the 2 days out there so far (tolerable on the point at least). “Young virgin boy with many knives chopping wood” did not disappoint us with a great campfire. “One-eyed girl carries picture box stalking critters” took a nap after dinner. She was up in time to take some critter pics and a some snapshots of an eagle and a gorgeous sunset. When the skeeters started to get crazy, “old virgin portage-shocked man farting with wolves” and myself (“girl wearing hoops, hate ‘em skeeters”) went to the tent, watching the hundreds of skeeters trying to get in the tent (unbelievable!). I had nightmares about those skeeters getting me in my tent! It rained pretty hard ALL NIGHT. (Don't believe the weather forecast!)
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