Sunday, September 06, 2015

We stayed in the tent until about 8:00am. Ruby was a little raspy this morning as all the fresh air and hard work had really taken their toll on her. I found some allergy medicine in the first aid kit and she took that as we got up to make breakfast. As I started the camp stove to get some water boiling, I could tell Ruby just wasn't herself this morning.

I made us a big breakfast of bacon, oatmeal, coffee, and hot chocolate (for Ruby). We devoured our food and just relaxed. I soon got some water ready for the dished and Ruby just didn't want to do much. I also opened up the tent to towel out some of the water from the night before. Camp was soaked this morning. I had put everything under tarps, etc., but it was going to be a muddy, gross day.

I got things all tidied up and we went down to the lake to enjoy the sun and hang some wet clothes on the clothesline. The sun snuck out for a few minutes, but we could tell it wasn't going to last long. The wind was pretty strong today and I knew we would probably be bound to camp all day. Ruby just wasn't feeling herself though.

At this point it was around 9:30am. I told Ruby we should decide in the next hour if we were going to stay or just leave today and cut our trip a day short. I did not want her to be miserable all day. Shortly thereafter, she said she wanted to go. I told her we could do that, but we were going to be in for a hard paddle back. The wind was pretty strong out of the southwest. I packed up a wet and muddy camp and we brought everything down to the canoe. As soon as we got to the shoreline, the heavens opened up and started raining! At this point I told Ruby, we made our decision and soon we would be on the portage where the rain wouldn't be so bad. We pushed off from camp and the wind pushed us straight across the lake to the north shoreline. I was a little worried at this point, because the wind was strong. We hugged the shoreline and soon we saw the portage. Two trips up and down that muddy portage went quick. Ruby did a great job navigating around the puddles and mud. The wind seemed a little more easier to deal with on East Bearskin. We hugged the south shoreline and made great time down the lake. At the little islands where the lake turns, we got the brunt of the wind and again got pushed to the northern shoreline. We slowly made our way along the north shore now and soon found the access we had left just yesterday. I could tell Ruby was glad to be back and off the water. She was worried I was going to be disappointed about leaving early, but I reassured her I was not. We had a great time on this short trip. Ruby experienced many firsts, including her first portage, her first night of wilderness camping, and catching her first walleye. I asked her on the drive home if she wanted to go again next year, she hesitated and said, "Maybe in a couple years." It brought great joy to my heart to share this trip with her. I can't wait to get my other kids up there and show them this amazing wilderness. Thanks for reading!