Our original plan had one layover day scheduled somewhere. After the early start yesterday, we would use it quickly and loaf around Cherokee. Breakfast was hash browns and bacon and round after round of coffee.

We packed our lunch and explored Cherokee, venturing up to Gordon. Gordon was a quiet, interesting lake, much smaller and cozier than Cherokee. We lunched on the northern campsite and scrambled as the wind took one of our canoes. Thankfully, we had two. Caleb got another laker and a couple pike while my bad luck continued. Caleb also managed to get his lure hooked into his life jacket and net on the portage to Gordon.

Both the sites on Gordon are small, were covered with moose poop, and looked to be unused before our visit. A nice lunch of salami and cheese wraps on the north site preceded our return to Cherokee, where we battled the wind back to our campsite. As we traveled, we noticed a pretty steady stream of canoes and that most of the campsites were filled up.

Around a dinner of trout and mashed potatoes, we made the call to base camp at Cherokee for the whole trip. We knew the Temperances would be busy and didn't desire to scramble for a site or have to keep moving all the way to Burnt or Smoke in one day. It wasn't that kind of trip.

So we stayed up late chatting around the fire, enjoying some libations, and glorying in the wilderness.

~Cherokee Lake, Gordon Lake