Monday, July 18, 2022 Pretty big thunderstorm last night but we stayed dry. Glad I set some twigs under cover for the morning's fire. Got up to sunshine but clouds off in the northwest, got my coffee made before it started raining again. I sat under the tarp drinking coffee and watching the play of rain on the lake. This is the best shelter I've been able to rig so far, and I'm glad. Also, I got a new rain coat this year, an Outdoor Research Gortex.....and I always assumed gortex was really not that much better than what I had. I think I was wrong! Much less clammy, none of that "I'm dry but I feel damp".

After all these hot sunny days it's good to get some rain. I keep thinking back to my trips during the drought last year, when I just wanted to cry watching the younger trees turning yellow and brown in July and August, and the brush so crunchy and dry, no berries. It felt like watching the slow death of the boreal forest...awful.

Rain quit and I made my pancake fire. There is nothing in the world like wild blueberry pancakes cooked over an open fire. I don't know if I could ever get tired of them.

It's interesting to face away from the direction the weather is coming from. First the wind totally dies and it's hot. Then it starts again, but cooler. When I turn around I see the grey/purple cloud and hear thunder. Wondering if I will get out on the water today at this rate. Oddly, I'm no longer restless or impatient. My mind feels calm, quieter than it has been in a long time. And bingo, this is the thing that I so love about solos! There is no one else and their moods and happiness to worry about. So it rains all day, no one is getting bored. So the portage is really tough, or you can't find a nice campsite, or you're feeling cranky...it doesn't affect anyone but you. And that is really wonderful.

Took a short walk along the shore and found a double armload of driftwood in about 1/2 a block. The high water mark from this spring is at least 2 feet above current water level, based on the debris line. Then we went for a paddle into Little Loon. Saw a cormorant drying it's wings and a doe drinking at the water's edge. She gave a hoarse bark and ran off. The campsite along the west shore looks pretty rough. Several big trees down near the firepit- one at least looks to have been cut.

Just saw the eagle fly by and dive to catch a good sized fish. And it was cedar waxwing party time in the juneberries behind my tent. It's hot and still tonight. I found a working pen, which is the only trash here so far. No skeeters at dusk tonight, so sat down by the water after the sun went down and took some photos.

~Little Loon Lake, Loon Lake