Another gray gloomy morning greeted us on a travel day. There was some minor wave action out on the lake, but we agreed to cut across the heart Gabi to the protruding peninsula on the northern shore. Rain started up shortly after we hit the water, but otherwise it was (thankfully) an uneventful crossing.

The short 16 rod portage into Agamok Lake proved to be both rocky & muddy, but level. Even in the persistent rain, long & narrow Agamok Lake exuded an unmistakable intimate ambiance that we had not yet experienced on this trip. I’m sure having just crossed the open expanse of Gabi undoubtedly intensified this feeling.

The rain had lightened to a sporadic mist by the time we reached the 112 rod portage to Mueller Lake. Never the less, this trail was treacherous due to all the slippery rocks. Of course, at about the halfway point, we set our loads down and hiked back to view Mueller Falls.

Once again, due to the slippery rocks, we didn’t linger or explore as much as we likely would’ve otherwise. But, Aurora really enjoyed seeing a larger waterfall.

As I trudged into the Mueller Lake landing with our last load, I was instructed to pull up a chair. Aurora was going to sing me a song as a thank you for getting her back to see the waterfall. I can’t honestly say that I remember the words, but her performance sure warmed me up; on what was a cool damp day. After paddling across Mueller Lake we hit the 103 rod portage to Ogishkemuncie Lake. This one has a tougher hill than our last portage but, the trail consists of more rubble & gravel thus providing far better footing on this wet day. And, I think its easier heading in this direction.

Our goal for the day was to at least make it to a campsite somewhere on the eastern half of Ogish’. We could see smoke coming from the 5 star island site just out from the portage and, the site straight north of us soon proved to be occupied as well. Before we even reached the narrows, Aurora had leaned back on my Duluth Pack and drifted off to sleep. There was still some intermittent drizzle, so I cinched up the hood on her rain jacket as best I could. Vickie & I quickly agreed to push on to Jasper Lake (regardless of campsite availability on Ogish’) so Aurora could sleep awhile longer.

At the Kingfisher portage we got to see a bear up close & personal! (Aurora was none too happy to be woken from her slumber.) Fortunately, by the time we reached the landing on Jasper Lake our happy go lucky girl had returned and she playfully stomped around in the shallow water and found a few more ‘cool’ rocks before we pushed off.

The nice site closest to the portage landing was open but, before officially claiming it we paddled over to visit the site just SE of the island. Vickie & I had stayed here on our first trip together, so it was something of a sentimental visit. There is nothing particularly noteworthy about this site and wouldn’t rate much more than 2 stars in most people’s book. It was just an unlikely, though welcome, sanctuary for us after a long cold & wet day. I think we were also some of the first people to stay there after the fire, because we did a lot of cleaning up of downed burnt trees.

Once we had camp setup, it was a pleasant surprise to find a little welcome wood to lessen the burden of camp chores. There were a couple of nearly tame chipmunks scurrying about camp, which held Aurora’s interest while supper was being prepared.

Aurora was still having fun but, we could see she was nearing her limit. Originally we had planned to spend one more night but, tonight after supper we decided, if conditions permitted; we’d paddle out tomorrow. Consequently, it would be an early night.

Gabimichigami Lake, Agamok Lake, Mueller Lake, Ogishkemuncie Lake, Kingfisher Lake, Jasper Lake

Daily travels, 5 portages totaling 296 rods.