3 lakes, 2 portages

We awoke at 6:30, cooked breakfast on the stove, and ate while standing in the mud--but NOT in the rain! That seemed promising! (There had been lots more rain in the night.) The view of the little island was pleasant, with blue sky above and beautiful blue water.

After portaging back into Horseshoe Lake we were on the lookout for moose, remembering our experience the day before. On the first turn I notice two small (yearling?) females, one down by the water who saw us and turned into the brush, and another that was just coming out and also turned back as soon as she saw us. Last year's twins?

As we came around the next point I saw another one down by the water, very far away, and was observing him so closely I almost didn't see the one near us on our shore.

Both were young bulls with just the beginning of antlers. Another set of twins? I managed to get both in one photograph, although the far one is really too small to see unless you know exactly where to look.

We only saw one camp on Horseshoe. It appeared to be a solo canoeist, traveling with a spotted dog. There were two loons who put on a show for us at that spot, too, near the portage to Caribou Lake.

We portaged 20 rods to Caribou Lake and paddled to the north shore. Tried to check out an obvious campsite on the island (no longer a campsite) and looked at two others on the shore, neither of which were very nice. We ended up camping about 11:00 on a grassy point. It was a pretty site with a good view of the lake and several islands. While it appeared heavily used, it was still grassy and the flowers were just beautiful.

This site was a real bramble patch. It not only had two colors of rosebushes (dark and light pink) but raspberry and elderberry plants, blueberries, and red currants with a few ripening. There were the tiny pink twinflowers (which we had seen in several spots earlier) and blue mertensis (bluebells or Virginia cowslip.)

I also photographed an unusual tree with roots growing over a boulder.

The sky was silver with a mixed formation of gray and white clouds always changing as they blew over.

Spartan1 went scouting immediately and came back to report that a tree was blown down and covering the biffy. He went back with his axe and cleared the branches so that it was usable.

As we were finishing our lunch we heard a canoe pull up and a young couple came into our campsite, identifying themselves as Forest Service. They had come because of a report of a downed tree. The woman went back and checked our biffy area, and she decided that Neil had done an adequate job of cleanup. They took their two saws, loaded up, and went on to the other campsite within our view.

While Neil was gathering wood and exploring I lay on a warm rock in the sun and rested. This rock was right along the water, and it was really relaxing. I have become so relaxed and comfortable in this environment that I worry about adjusting to the noise and hectic pace of reality in a couple of days. Even my resting pulse is slower out here--probably blood pressure is lower also!

The only visitors this afternoon were a mama duck and a group of seven ducklings (wood duck). We could see several canoes with fishermen, but I didn't hear anything to suggest that they were having any luck.

Black clouds continued to blow over, but with the sunshine we got things dried out well, and even the wet laundry and rain-soaked outer clothing dried in the brisk breeze. The sun also brought back the butterflies and dragonflies, and that is much better than mosquitoes! Bumblebees buzzed all afternoon in the roses, and we tried to enjoy this last quiet time before the end of the trip. I remember wondering a couple weeks ago if we would be ready to end by this time--and I am really NOT! I guess once you adjust to the quiet it is just something you never want to end. Still, a shower and a meal without having to scrub black pots sounds like a novel treat!

We had a nice fire for our last supper, and I used the freeze-dried corn and some leftover Bisquick to make some corn fritters. Served with the last of the syrup, they tasted very good.

During supper and all evening we had great views of the light and the sunshine changing the colors on the water and trees, and a show of spectacular clouds. This was a nice site for our final evening, and we were thankful that we finally had some good weather.

After going to bed, Neil called me out around 10 PM to see the wonderful reflections of the perfect evening calm. The party of five canoes camped nearby is quiet; I think they are watching the "view" too.