There was a misty rain at dawn and that's all the excuse I needed to sleep in late. When the sky cleared the sun was already pretty high in the sky. I had mountain house's biscuits and gravy with added Italian sausage-good energy meal to start the day. I was very pokey about getting camp packed up and getting under way. A quarter mile portage and I find myself on Pocket Lake. It was a very pretty portage that followed a fast flowing creek. The portage out of Pocket I was able to skip as the water was high and gentle enough to float down. It was a rock garden in the water though and just as I started down a steady gust of wind came up making it hard to navigate through but it went okay. On the way down the Pocket River I came upon a beaver dam that I have to get out of the canoe and pull it over with all my gear inside. One more short portage and I'll be back on the monster lake of Lac Le Croix but first I take a turn and head up Ge-be-on-equet creek in the hopes of seeing and taking a few photos of the thrones of the kings court but the creek is still weed choked and when I get to a beaver dam that I would have had to pull up and over I decide to turn around. If I had gone forward I would have had to camp there as I was so pokey about getting moving this morning. Soon I’m past the last portage and I'm on to the big lake but first another beaver dam. This one isn't bad though as I am going down stream and able to get over without getting out of the boat. Lac Le Croix is calm and I decide to take advantage of it and bypass the first campsite and head to the next one on my list. On my way I come around a corner and in a bay I see a bigger boat with a large motor on it. Motors are not allowed in this part of the lake and as soon as he sees me he fires up, turns the boat around and starts heading straight at me at full throttle. He turns soon enough as he must come out of the bay to turn north to get back to legal territory. I see there are at least four people aboard and I wave as they pass and the boat driver waves back. The next campsite is open although at first it did not appear to be. I stop to make a deposit and find two broken fishing poles and one of those heavy chairs in a bag tied to a tree. It's blue and in plain sight from the water. I also find a bar of soap on the ground and a small bottle of liquid soap near the shore. Later, as I was getting back under way, I also see a Gatorade bottle full of water. I feel bad about leaving it all but I have far to go and really don't want the extra burden. The big lake was still relatively calm but it won't last long and before I'm to the next campsite I am quartering the waves as I back into the site having poorly distributed the pack weight. The campsite is a gem. I quickly set up camp, have fettuccine alfredo for dinner, take a hobo bath and off to bed. I don't sleep well and listen to the waves crashing along the shore most of the night.

Power: When I was first old enough to go to the bar my friends and I formed a team and joined a pool league. After the first season a couple of the players dropped out because, let's face it, it's boring which is why I no longer play. Anyway, the league found a couple of replacement players one of which was Tom Kough-the city’s mayor. His last named was pronounce "Cue" as in pool cue the irony of which is, I'm sure, is the only reason why I remember it. One night I overheard a stranger talking to him, "The only people who want to be cops are precisely the types of people who should never be cops." Here in America, Mariel, there has been a lot of news about police brutality and racism the last couple years and I often think of this story. It has never really left me though. I'm sure the stranger was talking about people who have a strong desire to hold power over others. You will see this in very many people if you keep your eyes open and look for it. Try not to take offence by it but don't forget who they are either.