Day Eight: Travel Day

We were up at 6 AM, to another misty morning, with a chilly temperature of 38 degrees. It was very calm and I took just a few photos before breakfast. We ate oatmeal, MH sausage patties, and hot chocolate, and tried using pods for our coffee. (Tastes better, but a disposal issue.) We tried to get an early start, but 8:50 seemed to be the earliest we could make it. It was a beautiful sunny morning, and the water was calm on the paddle to the portage.

We were overtaken on the water by two young men in an aluminum canoe. They seemed motivated and very strong, and they greeted us in a friendly manner. I noticed the big red pack but didn't really put two and two together until we arrived at the portage just shortly after they did, and we saw the firemen's hats, the fire gear pack, and the motorized pump! They were firemen! At the end of the short portage I spoke with them, took their picture, and asked about the fire. They told me that they had put out a fire on Fire Lake (seems appropriate) and when I asked "Where?" they said, "Right nearby to where you were camped." Evidently they had been dropped in by plane the day before we got to Fire Lake, had extinguished a small fire, waited a day, and were paddling out. The planes we had seen were forest rangers looking for fires started during the lightning storm we experienced on Day Two!

The portages out of Fire Lake are made more difficult in low water. You carry for 20 rods, put into a small stream-like pond through a rocky canyon, then carry again for 30 rods. The put-in and take-out in the small pond are very rocky and interesting. At the take-out I didn't hold the canoe carefully and Neil ended up maneuvering alone for a little while, but he managed to get it back where it belonged, and after the second carry he loaded us up to continue our journey into Lakes Four and Three.

Back on Lake Three, we saw lots of canoes, enjoyed a bald eagle circling overhead, and noticed that it was getting quite warm in the sun. We stopped for lunch at the campsite we had occupied on Day One. The moose bones were gone: burned? carried away?

The sun felt downright hot by the time we reached the two portages back into Lake One. We paddled a good deal on the lake, looking for an open campsite, and finally stopped at a great island site at 3:30. An eagle flew over just as we were arriving, and later on we saw another eagle in one of the trees overhead. After a few minutes, they were both sitting in the tops of tall trees on another island close by, watching us as we made camp. They were quite visible and gave you a feeling of being watched.

This campsite is somewhat odd. The best tent site is 'way back, and the rather large island is honeycombed with trails. We opted to make an easy camp near the fire grate, and to cook with the stove on this evening. We were tired, and Neil's blood sugar was low. We ate the traditional Symphony Bar (saved for when we felt we deserved a reward), and did some other snacking, also. The eagles watched us from afar for a couple hours.

This site had squirrels! Very aggressive and active squirrels! More than two, for sure! They were trying to get into our packs, stealing our trash, coming right up to us expecting to be fed. Such a big change from the previous campsites! I enjoyed the task of trying to photograph them, and it distracted me from the sadness of cutting our trip a day short, and the anxiety of worries about our health.

Our supper was BPP Southwestern Smoked Salmon Pasta, followed by BPP Apple Cobbler. Both very good. I went over to photograph the sunset on the other side of the island, and ended up staying a long time, as the sunset was pretty and there was a big beaver swimming around nearby.

I got back to start dishes when it was almost dark, and Neil was preparing a pine fire to roast our remaining six marshmallows. I don't recall if I have ever done the dishes in the dark, but guess there is a first time for everything! Neil doesn't enjoy hanging the packs in the dark. He wasn't particularly happy with me.

I had another episode of the head pain in the evening, and was up again at 11:30 with a very severe attack. I was aware that there were probably other campers on the lake and I was trying so very hard not to scream or cry out loudly, but it was becoming almost impossible. Neil would hold me while I tried to pee, and sometimes I would just bang my head against a tree. It felt, literally, like the top of my head was coming off. Once I finished and got back into the tent, I would shiver and shake, and eventually the spasms in my head would subside, but each time it seemed that it was taking longer. It appeared wise that we were heading out a day early. I was becoming afraid.