Tuesday, June 02, 2020 ~Kelly Lake, Burnt Lake, Jack Lake I woke up to a gorgeous morning on Flame. Low fog mixed in with morning sun. It sure takes longer to break camp when you are solo. I kept looking around for my Wabi buddies…where are they? Napping? Ha. Eventually, I was all packed up and ready to go about 9am. Later than I planned, but the coffee tasted great.

The plan was to make it to Jack Site 928. Crossing Burnt, I wanted to practice my compass skills and boost my confidence. I tried to find the portage without looking at the shore for clues, using only map and compass. I looked up about ten feet from shore, and the bow was pointing straight at the portage. I needed that boost of confidence. I also felt a humble exoneration for those constant messages of inferiority: I may not be good at cooking, baking or acting like a lady, but I know my way around a compass.

I was apprehensive about the portage from Burnt to Kelly. In the end, it was not that bad because I was still fresh. I fought a strong headwind up Kelly, but I started understanding the Prism. However, by the time I arrived at my planned campsite, I was beat from hard paddling. From that moment on, the theme of the trip was WIND.

 

I noticed the site had a lot of animal activity and lots of moose poop. I set my tent out of the way and put everything but my food under my tent rain fly. I felt like it was the respectful thing to do. I wasn't afraid, but more feeling like an animal had recently been active there, so trying to stay tucked away on the site.

We've had a lot of death and tragedy in my family. That is always a part of being in the wilderness for me. It helps me come to terms with it. A beautiful rock ledge on this site is perfect for this type of contemplation. I had a wonderful evening on the site. I went to bed early for an early start. I wanted to make it to Cherokee the next day, and planned to have a day off on Cherokee on Thursday. I knew it was going to be tough, but thought I could do it.

 

Lakes Traveled:   Kelly Lake, Burnt Lake, Jack Lake,